By Ben Efe, in New Delhi
As the curtains fell on the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India yesterday,  Nigeria could have been the next destination fo the competiton, but the Games will drift to Edinburgh, Scotland in 2014.

Scotland beat Nigeria to the hosting rights of the 2014 Games after they won 47_24 voting during the bid presentation November 9 2007 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Nigeria wanted to host the Games in 2014 to mark its 100 years anniversary as a nation, but that did not sway the Commonwealth Games Federation voting members.

Commonwealth Games historian, Peter Mathews during a seminar in New Delhi revealed why Nigerian lost the bid. He indicated that Nigeria did not put in a good bid, and that the bid committee headed by former Head of State General Yakubu Gowan did not assure delegates that there will be a good organisation.
“Nigeria and Kenya are African countries that can host the Commonwealth Games. But they must have to put in a good bid. There must be assurance that there will be good organisation and then the rest will depend on the politicians,” said Mr. Mathews.

He added that African nations would have to try harder to convince the Commonwealth member nations and their athletes to come to the Games in Africa. This is because of the experience with the New Delhi 2010 Games, where a lot of top athletes pulled out, because of fears ranging from security to health concerns.