National Stadium: Sad testament to Nigeria’s maintenance culture

Nigeria has a history of hosting major sporting events, including the 1973 All African Games, the Africa Cup of Nations in 1980 and 2000, the 1999 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Despite investing billions in sports facilities since gaining independence in 1960, many structures have fallen into disrepair. The most notable example is the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos.

Once considered an iconic ‘Sports City’—complete with a main bowl, an indoor sports hall, an Olympic-size swimming pool, squash and tennis courts, training pitches, a National Institute for Sports, and offices for sporting associations—the National Stadium is now such a shell of its former self. It is not even worthy of being called a hamlet.

Since its descent into a state of decay in the early 2000s, a succession of sports ministers promised to restore the stadium to its former glory days. Every single one of them has failed. The once magnificent arena was built in 1972 in preparation for the 1973 African Games, which Nigeria hosted successfully.

The National Stadium, Lagos also hosted the 1980 AFCON final as the Green Eagles defeated Algeria 3-0 to win Nigeria’s first-ever title in the continental showpiece. The final matches of the 1999 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2000 AFCON were also held at the famed Sports City.

However, by the time Nigeria hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2009, the National Stadium was no longer suitable as a venue. Although Lagos was one of the host cities, the organisers rather preferred the Teslim Balogun Stadium, just on the other side of the road, to the National Stadium.

The last big sporting event held at the stadium, once considered one of Africa’s most recognized, was the 2000 AFCON, when the Super Eagles lost the final on penalties to Cameroon. That was 25 years ago. For the arena, it has been a steady, unchecked descent into disintegration since then.

There was a glimmer of hope during Sunday Dare’s tenure as sports minister under the Muhammadu Buhari administration. Dare initiated a public-private partnership that encouraged wealthy Nigerians to support sports projects financially. Aliko Dangote contributed to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, while Sir Adebutat Kensington focused on the National Stadium in Lagos.

The plan was partly successful because the Abuja facility — which was so bad at one point that its main football pitch became grazing ground for cattle, was rehabilitated and in use for some time before its own inevitable decline.

The story of Lagos was different. Dare estimated that about N2 billion would be needed for a complete renovation of the Lagos stadium, a figure far beyond the government’s willingness to allocate. Sir Kesington, the gaming billionaire owner of Premier Lotto, popularly known as ‘Baba Ijebu’, provided N400 million to refurbish the main football pitch, the surrounding running tracks, and the electronic scoreboard.

In October 2022, the sports ministry announced the commencement of restoration efforts, stating, “One of Nigeria’s iconic stadiums, National Stadium, Surulere, is on the verge of a complete turnaround thanks to Sunday Dare’s Adopt-a-Pitch initiative.” The ministry reported ongoing work, including the deployment of rollers to the turf, and expressed optimism about hosting events there soon.

“After preliminary inspections and several weeks of work, rollers have now been deployed to the turf, as work enters a new phase. Nigeria won its first AFCON trophy in 1980 at this stadium and it remains a historic place in the history of Nigerian football.”

Attesting to Nigeria’s poor maintenance culture, Dare admitted back then that the once beautiful landmark had been allowed to degenerate to such a sorry state. “This facility was abandoned for many years. The stadium, unlike the Abuja Stadium, had a zero-maintenance fund for almost 17 years, but we got Chief Adebutu Kesington to get it back to life,” he said.

“It took me a while to come here, but my coming is a validation of the fact that I’m impressed with the level of work that has been done. I hope we can host events here very soon once we get the place functional. We are going to clear the debris. The grass is being properly maintained and the tracks will soon be laid and we are good to go.” Those were optimistic words from the former minister.

However, three years later, the situation remains bleak. The National Stadium is still an eyesore, having hosted zero events recently. The pitch is overgrown, the scoreboard is inoperative, and the tracks would not be suitable for any serious athlete. Once a vibrant hub of activity and a Mecca of Nigerian sports, it now exists only as a relic of its glorious past.

It was where Christian Chukwu, Segun Odegbami, Adokiye Amiesimaka and other Green Eagles became national heroes; where Rashidi Yekini, Austin Okocha, Finidi George, Sunday Oliseh and others delivered joy to millions of Nigerians.

It was where Mary Onyali, Falilat Ogunkoya, Chidi Imoh, Henry Amike, Yusuf Alli and other overseas-based athletes showcased their unique track and field talents to Nigerians at the annual National Athletics Championships. It was where young sportsmen and sportswomen were inspired by their heroes and dreamt of becoming superstars themselves. It is a crying shame that these exploits are now only in the history books, with no successors nor current references.

Despite hundreds of millions, probably billions of naira (at least on paper) having been sunk into trying to bring this once proud landmark back to life, the National Stadium, Lagos has sadly remained abandoned, neglected and deserted over the last two decades. It is, unfortunately, what has now become the Nigerian way.

Like the National Stadium, Surulere, the Liberty Stadium in Ibadan has been left to rot for years. Others like the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu and the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna, are barely shadows of their former majestic selves. It is a tale of sad decays of monumental proportions.

It is indeed embarrassing that a country that has hosted the AFCON twice (1980 and as co-host with Ghana in 2000), the African Games twice (1973 and 2003), the FIFA U-20 World Cup (1999) and the FIFA U-17 World Cup (2009) has only one stadium considered good enough for international matches by FIFA and CAF.

Nothing better showcases how deeply flawed Nigeria’s maintenance culture is than the case of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. It is, indeed, a sad testament to what neglect and poor maintenance culture can do to a nation’s legacy and aspirations.
The tragic decline of the stadium is a stark and painful reflection of the country’s broader failure in maintenance culture and sports infrastructure management. Once a symbol of national pride and sporting excellence, the stadium now stands as a neglected relic, emblematic of decades of official negligence, inadequate funding and broken promises.

Reviving the National Stadium and other sporting facilities requires urgent, committed intervention, transparent management and a cultural shift towards valuing maintenance as much as construction. Without this, Nigeria risks losing not only its sporting heritage but also the opportunity to inspire future generations and harness the unifying power of sports for national development.