The recent announcement of a N21 billion estimate by the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, needed to fix the National Stadium, Surulere, following the delay in the completion of work elicited huge outcry among Nigerians. We, however, believe many are ignorant about what obtains in other parts of the world.

For example, the exchange rate which is roughly one dollar to N750 is a big factor that makes the estimate huge because of the status of Nigeria’s currency. Recent checks revealed that the average global estimate for stadium renovations range between $400 million and $678 million. For example, the Wembley Stadium was built at a cost of £798m (£1.27 billion today); Real Madrid Stadium renovations cost $700 million while the renovation of a 12,000 capacity stadium in Maldives will cost $25 million. Only during the week, Manchester City announced that the Etihad Stadium will be upgraded from its 53,000 capacity to 60,000 at an estimated cost of over $370 million.

No doubt, the expectations of Nigerians are high about the Surulere Stadium but it is important to put narratives in proper perspectives. Experts have warned that 40 percent of the terraces at the stadium must not be used after failing integrity tests initiated by the sports ministry. It also means that part of the stadium will have to be pulled down and rebuilt.

Last week, heavy wind and rainstorm brought down one of the four floodlights at the main bowl. This is a natural occurrence which also shows that more structures might go down as the rainy season enters its full swing. Overall, the minister deserves huge commendation for at least starting the gradual revival of the National Stadium, Surulere. He also did this with the private initiative of philanthropists who keyed into his ‘Adopt Initiative’. He faced a problem many past administrators dodged and now created a template for complete rehabilitation of the stadium. We make bold to say the coming administration should continue from where the Buhari government stopped so that the edifice used for the 2nd All African Games will be back again.

However, we frown at the fact that there were no reports of what was done to people in charge of the stadium when all the theft and vandalism were carried out. Going forward, we insist that it is important to generally embrace the culture of infrastructure maintenance in the country rather than continually neglect national monuments with the slightest excuse. We are acutely aware that in Nigeria, almost everybody is an expert in sports. Many argue about technical issues such that trained coaches and technical experts will only listen and laugh off.

When ex-internationals who played the game to the highest level express their views on crucial national issues, the ordinary Nigerian will counter them and give 1,001 reasons why the ex-players are wrong. On infrastructure, the story is the same as many ignorantly discuss building of stadiums, its maintenance and renovation without evaluating what obtains in other parts of the world. The current administration of President Buhari has done well on infrastructure across the country. Daura Stadium was fixed; the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium was renovated while the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, which was abandoned for 13 years, was also revived.

The National Stadium, Surulere, was also adopted by businessman, Chief Kessington Adebutu. But the rot and decay of the edifice was too intense such that of the 17 problems identified, only three were listed to be done by Adebutu who supported the project with N450m. The three are the football pitch, the scoreboard and the tartan tracks. Interestingly, Adebutu and Dangote directly procured the equipment specified by the ministry and no money went to officials. The Federal Government also spent over N200 million to back the renovation of the National Stadium in Surulere just as about N300 million was expended on the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium in Ibadan.

The sports minister noted that the 18-year neglect of the edifice wrecked various parts of the stadium while hoodlums took away all the armoured cables. Dare said: “There was no water at the stadium while the electricity bill was about N600 million when I came in. Over 108 illegal shops, stores, rest houses, food canteens, drinking joints, churches and mosques took over the place to distort the original design of the stadium. We pulled down the illegal structures to restore some sanity. “And to bring the stadium back, so much must be done. The last estimate was about N21 billion and this is because the edifice has been neglected for too long. The entire underground armoured cables were stolen and other critical electrical cables and equipment vandalised. The stadium flood lights were also vandalised completely.

Rust and decay have also set into the iron bars, gates, scaffoldings and other areas.” Today, water is back at the stadium just as the swimming pool, sports hall (for multiple events), tennis courts and practice pitch are functional while the National Institute for Sports (NIS) is wearing a new look. We want to emphasise that in the best interest of sports development there must be a concerted effort to ensure all the stadia in the country are well maintained.

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