AS Americans get set to spend over $150m (N225b) to inaugurate Mr. Barack Obama President of the United States of America, Nigerians in the diaspora have sent a warning home: Don't celebrate more than the owners of the occasion.

Rather, Nigerians should use the occasion to ponder and pray for their country. Americans and Kenyans, the warning went on, worked hard to get to their present status in life.

The warning is coming as Nigerians are trooping to the United States to witness the historic occasion, tagged the most expensive US inauguration ever.

Perhaps, one of the most painful Nigerians comments arose when pictures of Obama's Kenyan grandmother were shown on CNN Espa--ol on her way to the US aboard Kenyan airways.

To most of the removed Nigerians, as Africans, Nigerians are thrilled by the event but the real celebrants are Kenyans and Americans as well as men and women of goodwill. The inauguration, one of them said, is a time to "pray for our country and our children in America..."

Elsewhere in the world, the Obama inauguration is getting feverish. From Germany and Poland, the feeling is high as it is in Nigeria.

An Obama admirer in Germany, with links in Poland told Saturday Vanguard in an email that there, "the people are very happy about it. Even in Poland they are very optimistic. Germans celebrated everywhere that day he won".

U.S. intelligence services said such a high profile event would be perfect for a terrorist attack, but they have no specific intelligence that anything has been planned. Obama will use the same Bible used by Abraham Lincoln during the swearing in ceremony.

Meanwhile, cost of Obama inauguration is reported to be the most expensive ever. With disputes on the actual cost, some pundits have put it at over $150m. Obama is said to have raised over $45m, while bailed out US banks are contributing to Obama's inauguration fund.

Citibank executives, expected to ask for another billion-dollar federal bailout on top of the $45b in rescue funds they received in November, have contributed the most to Obama's inauguration fund - at least $113,000 as of Wednesday.

Among those contributions is $50,000 from Ray McGuire, Citi's co-head of global investment banking, and $50,000 from Louis Susman, the recently-retired vice chairman of Citigroup.

The presidential inauguration has already cost Maryland at least $11m, state officials said. The unbudgeted spending, mainly for transportation and security, is part of some $75m that Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia have already had to absorb, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty told reporters. The $11m figure also includes costs associated with Obama's Saturday train trip and scheduled stop in Baltimore.

There will also be all sorts of souvenirs for sale, including T-shirts, hats, buttons, pens, cuff links, key chains, porcelain plates, even throw rugs at the event. There are Obama commemorative coins too.

But irked by Nigerians' excitement over the inauguration, one the Nigerian commentators said, "I remember there was a time we used to read with glory Nigerian Airways. A Nigerian pilot of the Nigerian Airways flew the our Aircraft to Philippines for repair at a cost of almost $100 million. We did not pay and the Aircraft was seized. Greed, corruption empty pride is responsible for Nigeria's woes. Yet, some idiots from the pulpit, in the name of preaching are blaming innocent people for witchcraft, in a country with battalions of scientists. The sad part , is none of those so called scientists ever came out to denounce these preachers.

"South Africa has taken over leadership from Nigeria, Ghana followed and now Kenya has come to the forefront. Those in the Diaspora who should know more are dedicated to tribal jingoism insulting either who thinks different and who differ in belief. Ours is a condemned nation. Our nation like Herod is decaying gradually. Another sad part is that we are many decaying with Nigeria because we are helpless and our voices are not heard and we are not listened to."

For those Nigerians in the diaspora, the occasion calls for sober reflection on how to move the country forward. One of them reminding Nigerians of Fela's statement on a follow-follow mentality, said Americans and Kenyans "dedicated and worked hard to attain this goal; all we can do as Nigerians is to clap for the winner instead of seeking how we can achieve the same progress so that Nigeria may be blessed.

We sit in front of our computers and sing praises of how our forefathers were dedicated enough to get us where we were before the Civil war. Yet we cannot step up to attempt half as much. $500.00 ticket to go no where near Obama but simply dance, eat and drink in his name. Wake up folks!!! Celebrate but think of your future."

In spite of this warning, flights to the US from Nigeria for the event are said to have been fully booked.

Nigerians in the US are not left out of the excitement. Event flyers are being sent out online by different groups as they plan to mark the day. But one of the posts that irked the Nigerians abroad was the flyer from www.innercaucus. com, an event company based in the US asking Nigerians to "Join us as we celebrate the historic election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of United States of America, Saturday, January 17th, at The Luxurious The ' Enat Plaza Hotel, in Washington, D.C.

The event which will feature fashion, music etc will cost over $500 as tickets.

The Obama team train is also not left out in the appeal for inauguration fund as they are asking for at least $5.There are also packages for certain individuals who from their little purse contributed for the event. There are other ways volunteers are asked to participate for the inauguration in an email from Obama's wife, Michelle, which she and her husband will be involved in.

The areas to participate include "cleaning up a park, giving blood, volunteering at a homeless shelter, or mentoring an at-risk youth - you can help start this important journey. But this is about more than just a single day of service, it's the beginning of an ongoing commitment to your community", she wrote.

The inauguration is also aimed at as a memorial for slain Martin Luther King's Day, as every January 19th is known.

Most Expensive Inauguration

Obama inauguration could also be the most expensive ever, with media reports saying it is expected to cost a whopping $150 million. This overshadowing the $42.3 million spent on George Bush's inauguration in 2005 and $33 million on Bill Clinton's in 1993.

Part of the spending includes emergency funding announced by the White House on Wednesday to help with the soaring costs.

The costs are likely to go up if it snows during the ceremony, as long-term weather forecast has suggested there are chances of snow on Sunday as well as Tuesday, the day of inauguration.

The surge in spending is partly because of Obama's decision to make the event as accessible to the public as possible.

The US government has earmarked a budget of $49m for the inauguration. But this is exclusive of demands from Virginia and Maryland, States surrounding the capital that have asked for emergency funding. The Washington DC transport authority has also put in a request to the government for extra funding. Together, these costs could be to the tune of more than $75 million.

In addition, funding would also come from Obama's own fund-raising efforts and from private contributors.

Obama has managed to raise $45 million towards the cost of the event. Hollywood stars, including Sharon Stone and Halle Berry, have contributed over $48,000.

Meanwhile, sale of online tickets for the occasion were last Tuesday banned by the United States Congress. The bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California passed by voice vote will need passage by the House before next week's swearing-in. Whether the House will pass it before the inauguration is uncertain.

Feinstein said he wrote the bill in response to overwhelming demand for the approximately 240,000 tickets to the historic Jan. 20 event - and reports that they were being offered online for sky-high prices. The bill contains an exemption for the official presidential inauguration committee, which is selling ticket packages for fundraising.

Problems for cell phone companies

Barack Obama's address at the inauguration ceremony to the estimated 2 million people expected to gather will no doubt create problems for cell phone companies. This is because the audience will simultaneously hold their cell phones aloft to snap and send photos, call friends and family, and send text messages. But reports say the carriers have been preparing for a predicted explosion of cell phone traffic during inauguration, as the millions of visitors are expected to gather in the Washington area for festivities.

Wireless operators plan to boost capacity at cell sites along the Beltway and underground on Metro. Before January 20 , they will have rolled in extra cell towers on truck beds and expanded bandwidth on wired parts of their networks.

Hotels have been fully booked. Capital Hill Suites, Marriott's 300 rooms were booked since last November. As soon as Obama was confirmed winner, reservations poured in at Ritz-Carlton West End by the end of the day, it was 80 percent booked, while Ritz-Carlton Georgetown was 60 percent booked.

For budget travellers, private homes are offering room for rents through websites like couchsurfing.com and airbedandbreakfast.com.

Meanwhile, according to Washington Post, the Gettysburg Address of President Abraham Lincoln titled "A New Birth of Freedom" will be the inspiration for the Obama inaugural. Words from the address will be incorporated in the rites, which will be held a few weeks away from the Lincoln Bicentennial on Feb. 12, 2009.

Lincoln will have a significance in the 44th U.S. president's swearing-in rites, the Washington daily pointed out, since the two men served as Illinois lawmakers, while Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for black's participation in the U.S. political and economic affairs.

Activities surrounding Barack Obama's inauguration

SATURDAY, JAN. 17: President-elect Barack Obama and his family ride the train from Philadelphia to Washington, stopping in Wilmington, Del., for Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his family. Train will stop in Baltimore for speech before heading south.

BET Honors, an awards ceremony, at the Warner Theater. People's Inaugural Gala Celebration at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.*Will.i.am "Yes We Did" concert.* Concert with Mary J. Blige, Common and Nelly at nightclub Ibiza.

SUNDAY, JAN. 18: Obama will kick off inaugural activities with a welcome event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday afternoon. The event begins at 2:30 p.m. Beyonce, U2, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Usher, Shakira, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban and James Taylor are among the musicians scheduled to perform.

Presidential Inaugural Luncheon and Fashion Show at the Ritz-Carlton. EMILY's List Inaugural Luncheon with scheduled guests including Cabinet appointees Hillary Rodham Clinton and Janet Napolitano, Sens. Kay Hagan and Jeanne Shaheen, and North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue. African-American Church Inaugural Ball at the Grand Hyatt Washington.2009 Latino Inaugural Gala with Marc Anthony at Union Station.Aloha Inaugural Ball, organized by former Obama campaign workers, held at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel at 7:30 p.m.

MONDAY, JAN. 19: National Day of Community Service event: To honour Dr. King's legacy, Obama, Biden and their families, joined by Americans across the country, will participate in activities dedicated to serving others in communities across the Washington, D.C. area.

Black Tie & Boots Inaugural Ball, sponsored by the Texas State Society, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Green Inaugural Ball at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture. Ball hosted by former Vice President Al Gore.  Huffington Post preinaugural ball at the Newseum.* Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball at the Harman Center for the Arts. Hosted by the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Russell Simmons, LL Cool J, among others.

A children's evening concert at the Verizon Center honoring military families. Event hosted by Michelle Obama, who will attend. Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers are among the entertainers. Obama to attend three private dinners to honor former secretary of State Colin Powell, Biden and Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, for their public service. Dinners at the Hilton Washington, National Building Museum and Union Station.

TUESDAY, JAN. 20 (INAUGURATION DAY): Gates to the Inaugural Ceremony open at 8 a.m. The inaugural festivities are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. They will include:  Musical selections of The United States Marine Band, followed by the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein provides call to order and welcoming remarks. Invocation by the Rev. Rick Warren.

Musical selection of Aretha Franklin. Biden will be sworn into office by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. Musical selection of John Williams, composer/arranger with Itzhak Perlman, (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet).

Obama will take the Oath of Office, using President Lincoln's Inaugural Bible, administered by Chief Justice John Roberts. Scheduled around noon. Obama gives the inaugural address. Poem by Elizabeth Alexander. Benediction by Rev. Joseph E. Lowery.  The National Anthem by The United States Navy Band "Sea Chanters."

After Obama gives inaugural address, he will escort outgoing President George W. Bush to a departure ceremony before attending a luncheon in the Capitol's Statuary Hall. The 56th Inaugural Parade will then make its way down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.

Later that day, the Presidential Inaugural Committee will host 10 official inaugural balls: Neighborhood Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center, Obama Home States (Illinois and Hawaii) Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center, Biden Home States (Pennsylvania and Delaware) Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center, Midwest Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center, Mid-Atlantic Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center, Western Inaugural Ball at the Washington Convention Center, Commander in Chief's Ball at the National Building Museum, Southern Inaugural Ball at the National Guard Armory, Eastern Inaugural Ball at Union Station, Youth Inaugural Ball at the Washington Hilton.

Unofficial balls include: Congressional Black Caucus Inaugural Ball at the Capitol Hilton.Creative Coalition Inaugural Ball at the Harman Center for the Arts. Recording Industry Association of America's ball for Feeding America. BET's Inaugural Ball at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Africa on the Potomac inaugural celebration at Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va. American Music Inaugural Ball at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Inaugural Purple Ball at the Fairmont Hotel.

Human Rights Campaign's Equality Ball at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel. Inaugural Peace Ball at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Impact Film Fund ball.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 21: The president, vice president and their families will participate in a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.

On Sunday, tradition will be upheld with a free star-studded concert on the National Mall, starting at 2:30 p.m. Among the many performers: Bruce Springsteen, U2, Beyonce, Usher, Garth Brooks, Stevie Wonder, John Mellencamp, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Herbie Hancock, Josh Groban, John Legend and James Taylor. Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III and Queen Latifah will read. Obama will stop by and HBO will broadcast "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial."

Oprah Winfrey will host a live episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" from the Kennedy Center Opera House on Monday. She'll also host a second episode on Wednesday. Winfrey has not announced her plans on Inauguration Day.

Spike Lee will appear at a daylong symposium at Howard University on Monday to discuss topics including the impact of Obama on Black America. Also there will be Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Henry Louis Gates. Lee will also host an after-party Tuesday evening.

Media preparation Next week's presidential inauguration will extend beyond the Mall in Washington to include movie theaters and even coffee shops across the country. MSNBC and other news outlets are looking to capitalize on the heightened interest in the inauguration of Barack Obama, as watch parties are being planned in cities across the nation. The programme will projected onto movie theater screens in 21 cities next Tuesday.

The channel is also planning to announce a partnership with Starbucks to simulcast its coverage in 650 of the company's stores.

On Monday, a line of people encircled the American Film Institute's theater in Silver Spring, Md., where 400 tickets were distributed for an inauguration simulcast. The institute plans to show the coverage from the TV One cable channel.

From Little Rock to Los Angeles, other screenings are being planned at churches, community centers, government offices and bars. In New York, screening events are planned at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Queens Theater in the Park, among others.

The Fox News Channel will be shown on the Astrovision screen in Times Square. Some groups, including public school systems, have asked CNN for the right to show its coverage of the event, and the channel has approved those requests, said Edie Emery, a CNN spokeswoman.

No official counts of swearing-in screenings are being kept. But the Presidential Inaugural Committee is asking Mr. Obama's supporters to hold watch parties for the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball next Tuesday evening. Those events are being registered on PIC2009.org.

With the inauguration less than a week away, news organizations continue to announce detailed plans for coverage.

This week, ABC said it would extend its half-hour evening newscast, "World News," to 90 minutes on Tuesday, beginning at 6:30 and running until the network's coverage of the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball starts at 8 p.m.

Security, transport most budgeted

The bulk of the cost for the event will be on security with more than 10,000 police and troops forming a ring of steel around Washington DC. Obama has managed to raise £30m towards the cost of the event with a host of Hollywood stars, including Sharon Stone and Halle Berry, contributing the maximum amount of £33,000. His money will fund many of the extravagant balls and also for giant TV screens to be placed along The Mall to allow visitors to witness the historic moment when America swears in its first black president.

More than 2million spectators are expected, and thousands of seats are currently being set up along the parade route, as Obama will ride in his new Obama will be seen in his new official limousine, dubbed the 'Obamamobile'.

It said the city would get federal money for protective measures 'undertaken to save lives and protect public health and safety.' Officials estimate 10,000 charters buses will arrive in Washington with roughly 500,000 passengers. All bridges leading into Washington are being closed and cars banned from a two mile area where Obama will stand on the steps of the US Capitol building to take the oath of office. Visitors have been told to use public transport and be in their place at least three hours before the service begins.

U.S. intelligence services said such a high profile event would be perfect for a terrorist attack, but they have no specific intelligence that anything has been planned. Obama will use the same Bible used by Abraham Lincoln during the swearing in ceremony.