My last assignment as a sports journalist was at the 2006 National Sports Festival (NSF) in Abeokuta and Ijebu Ode, Ogun State – the same year Germany hosted FIFA’s World Cup Finals. Six years is a pretty long time, and I was wondering how the London Games would go by without me putting a word.

But times have also changed. I moved from being a sports reporter to a technology writer, after a spell as Communications’ Consultant with one of the nation’s brightest firms in Lagos. But what do the Games of the XXX Olympiad hold in stock for humanity? Are Nigerians really in the mix for a better outing? What new technological innovations are we likely to experience with the London 2012 Games?

For starts, the London 2012 Games would be the most viewed programme on television in the history of humanity. Olympic officials estimate an incredible four billion people across the world would atleast watch one sports of the games through the 17 days of this summer.

That would double the figures of Beijing, China in 2008 where it was recorded that 1.3 billion Chinese (alone) watched the closing events. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), noted then that it was the most watched event in human history.

“We had more broadcast coverage to more people, in more places than ever,” said Rogge during his closing news conference in the Chinese capital. Now, South Sudan would be added as a nation of people who watched the games this summer.

Each games come with its own peculiarity: broadcast innovations, marketing breakthroughs and entertainment values. The London 2012 Games are already awash with what it would bequeath mankind. Costs are mind-bugging as governments of host cities go all out to secure financing for the Games.

A BBC cost overview of the London 2012 Games shows why poor countries would never afford to host the Olympics. “On 15 March 2007 the government announced the budget for the Games had risen from £2.4 billion to £9.35 billion, although it said the cost of the Games would be £5.3 billion.”

So how did that work out? “New venues cost £3.1 billion – these include the Olympic Park at Stratford and the athletes’ village. £1.7 billion spent on regeneration and infrastructure. £600m spent on extra security – the government of David Cameron is already crossed with the private security firm contracted to provide security for the Games. The UK government had to call in over 3, 500 soldiers to help provide additional security.

“The government set aside £2.7 billion in a contingency fund in case costs rise further. The Olympics will have to pay an £840m tax bill. £390m will be spent on other costs, such as the Paralympics and community sport.

“Income: The government will provide £6 billion, with other funds coming from London council tax payers and the National Lottery. Further income will come from International Olympic

Committee TV and marketing deals (£560m); sponsorship and official suppliers (£450m); ticket revenues (£300m); licensing (£60m) and London Development Agency (£250m).

Other revenue sources for the Games will include: “9.6 million tickets for sale – 8 million for the Olympics and 1.6 million for the Paralympics.”

It shows the details LOCs take in planning and running the Games.

When Nigeria failed in its bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games to Canada, I remember asking a colleague how we would have succeeded in hosting the Commonwealth Games, seeing that we made a mess of the 2003 All Africa Games in Abuja.

For the Beijing Games, one of America’s TV network, the National Broadcast Corporation (NBC), paid $894 million for the exclusive broadcast rights to the United States and it succeeded in generating more than $1 billion in advertising revenue.

The same cannot be said of Nigeria or any other African country – perhaps South Africa being an exception.

London 2012 would also present the most diverse mix of media coverage than at any other Olympics.

The internet will be awash with Olympic contents, especially on social media platforms like twitter, google+, facebook or youtube.

Viewers are expected to plant themselves through either of these platforms to follow the Olympic trends.

For the Nigerian viewer, it is still light years behind the technological age.

 The irregular public electricity supply is nolonger news worthy for media outlets.

The promised Eldorado after the landing of two submarine fibres has not delivered the much hyped broadband freedom.

Download speed is still not faster than a snail crawl.

Watching internet TV is laborious and tasks the eyes and brain.

Transmission on the local terrestrial TV networks would not give accurate account, as most events won’t be broadcast live. Viewers would be limited to DTH options for the full Olympic experience. 

But even then, I gloss over what would excite the Nigerian viewer to budget for extra fuel cost just to power his generator set to view any of the events?

The Nigerian contingent to the Games didn’t provide any gold medal excitements.

The qualification of the men’s basketball team was as exciting as it come – no medal prospect.

Perhaps one sport Nigerians might think of watching could be in the men canoeing where the Anglo-Nigeria Johny Adeyemi, 23, competes having eliminated the Beijing 2008 bronze medalist to get listed for London 2012.

Akinyemi’s feat over the much rated Benjamin Boukpeti, in canoe slalom, men’s kayak (K1) early this year makes him the most exciting individual Nigerian to watch-out.

Traditionally, track and field used to be a favourite medals prospect for Nigeria, but not anymore with several elite athletics defecting to European countries where there are better remunerations and affection for the athlete.

Last Friday, Benedict Efe, a Lagos based sports journalist was bemoaning the absence of the Nigerian football teams having watched Brazil made a mince-meat of the Cameroonian Lionesses.

 But you can be sure that after London 2012, the government would go back to the drawing board for a better performance at the next Olympics!