By Patrick Omorodion

Four months ago, I wrote on this page, advising that it was too early in the day to allow the Abuja National Stadium, built a little over 10 years ago with billions of Naira belonging to impoverished tax payers, deteriorate.

That was when I heard that the National Sports Commission, NSC was toying with the idea of sourcing for fertilizer to help nourish the grass of the playing turf, so that the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, could bring Super Eagles matches there.

I reminded all that the Department of Facilities in the NSC whose responsibility it was to cater for the turf of the Abuja Stadium and all other National stadia scattered all over the country was not doing its work. But nobody seemed to take my word serious.

Some weeks after, another news about the same stadium filtered in, that is there were plans to excavate the grass in the stadium and replace it with astro turf. The same astro turf dotting various stadia across the country, which most of our foreign-based players avoid to play on like a plague.

Nigerians waited for the news to be denied but till now no denial from the managers of the edifice which was the pride of Nigerians in 2003 when the country hosted the All Africa Games.

National-Stadium Abuja wears a new look after the weeds were cleared

Africans from other countries marvelled at the beauty of the stadium and even the Senegalese-born president of athletics’ world governing body, IAAF, Lamine Diack whispered into the ears of Dan Ngerem, then president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, that Nigeria could comfortably bid to host African and world athletics championships there.

However, nine years after, like every national infrastructure built with colossal amount of money, the Abuja National Stadium is already in a state of disrepair, going the same way of the National Stadium in Lagos, the pride of Nigerians which also hosted the 2nd All Africa Games in 1973.

The Lagos stadium started with the excavation of the playing surface a couple of times before it was totally abandoned to assume the status of public toilet for social miscreants who troop into the arena on daily basis.

The only portion that was rescued, was the section hired out to a business man who turned it into a huge kitchen for all kinds of menu as well as beer parlour for liquor consuming Nigerians. The place was almost burnt down early in the year when it was gutted by fire but for the quick intervention of Nigerians who came to its rescue before the arrival of the ever snail-speed Fire Service.

So it was a pain in the hearts of sports loving Nigerians when a picture of the sorry state of the Abuja Stadium with over grown weeds which can only serve as the abode of dangerous reptiles was splashed on the pages of newspapers a couple of days ago.

Why in the name of God, are those whose duty it is to maintain the stadium, unable to discharge their avowed responsibility? What has happened to the money budgeted for its maintenance or nothing was voted for it?

If like every other national property the stadium cannot be properly maintained, why not contract  its maintenance to a private concern, to save the edifice from decaying. Must we keep wasting hard earned money because we don’t care or lack maintenance culture? It tells no good about us as a serious nation.

I once mentioned how FIFA recommended the pitch of the IITA in Ibadan as one of the venues for teams training during inspection of facilities for the U-20 World Cup which the country hosted in 1999. That was after the IITA had asked the sports authorities then to jettison the idea of importing grass from Kenya for the National Stadium in Lagos.

Apart from the IITA, there are several other corporate organisations who have playing fields that are well nurtured and kept lush green all year round, dry season and harmattan notwithstanding. They could be approached to lecture the NSC workers on how to maintain a pitch or could even be contracted to maintain it.

The report that the Minister of Sports and Chairman, NSC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi has demanded for explanation from Abubakar Mogaji, Director of Facilities of the NSC, charged with the responsibility of maintaining the pitch of the stadium is just not enough.

For allowing the pitch to get to the stage it can no longer host matches, how much more turning into a forest and abode for dangerous reptiles calls for more serious sanctions than mere query. That the grass was quickly cut a few days later after the query is not an escape route for a serious offence as dereliction of duty.

Mogaji’s department has brought shame on us as a sports nation. His department’s action once again attests to the growing concern about corruption in our country where huge sums are budgeted for projects and other assignments but vanishes into thin air and nothing is heard about it any more. Nigerians demand more than query to Mogaji from Abdullahi now.