The ongoing collaborative effort of the Governor of Lagos state, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, with the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports to take over the management of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, is a welcome development. By this move, the massive edifice, popularly known as Sports City in the halcyon days, will now join the league of federal government-run stadia ceded to the host state governments for proper operation and maintenance.
The other facilities are the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna, the Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi and the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu. Expected to complete the takeover cycle is the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, which is ill-maintained but not in a state of desuetude as the Sports City.
As a way forward, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Barr. Solomon Dalung, and Governor Ambode have undertaken a tour of the abandoned facility with a view to assessing its current state.
The governor expressed the state government’s desire to take responsibility for renovating a facility which has gone from being one of the country’s most iconic sporting structures to a monument of shame.
“I will like to bring the National Stadium back to life,” the governor told the sports minister, noting that the last time a game was played at the National Stadium was in 2005.
“We want to bring back the football culture of Lagos state to the National Stadium after its renovation. There is also the employment aspect of football and hosting of matches at the stadium. That includes the jerseys, branding, mama put, the sign writers, the supporters, merchandising, and so on.”
Responding, Barr. Dalung said he would study the proposal and work on it, saying, “It is only fair that we hand over the stadium to Lagos state for renovation since we’ve given to Enugu, Bauchi and Kaduna states.
“After years of failing to return the structure to its former state, the Ministry of Sports was in the process of concessioning the facility, but the expression of interest by the Lagos state Government will take priority.
“We were trying to drive a concession but Lagos state’s interest in the National Stadium is what we call an overriding interest which is based on equity. If Governor Ambode is interested in the National Stadium, then the concession process is already abated.”
The idea of concessioning the stadium has been parroted by successive ministers for close to seven years now but nothing positive has come out of it.
Constructed by the Yakubu Gowon administration to host the 2nd All-Africa Games in 1972, the Olympic-size stadium stood out as one of the best in Africa. It is also a fact that the 60,000-capacity stadium was the regular destination for important national and international competitions and a pride to the Nigerian sporting family.
Aside from the All-Africa Games, the stadium hosted the First and Second National Sports Festivals in 1973 and 1975 as well as the first ECOWAS Games in 1977. The complex also housed the offices of the defunct National Sports Commission (NSC). Its proximity to the National Institute of Sports and the sprawling hostel accommodation for athletes in camp made the facility a beehive of activities between the 70s and the 90s.
However, after the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations Championship co-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana, the story of neglect of the gigantic edifice began to unfold. The epilogue to the sad story was perhaps written when another ultra-modern 60,000-capacity stadium was put in place in Abuja, incidentally to host the 8th All-Africa Games in 2003. Curiously, the Sports City was not even considered as one of the destinations for the Games.
The age-long neglect of the Sports City tells a vivid story of the poor maintenance culture which government at all levels and its agencies are notorious for.
Blueprint believes that the Sports City, under the management of Lagos state Government, will come alive again and take its pride of place as a destination for domestic and international sporting engagements which are necessary to keep it in good condition. Lack of regular use of sporting facilities is largely responsible for their deterioration in the country.
As a sports loving state, Lagos is better predisposed to run the facility as exemplified by the tip-top shape of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Onikan, Lagos.
Also, by taking over the 45-year-old edifice, the state will rescue itself from the shame of being home to the sorry sight that the facility constitutes.
