Old glory: Abuja MKO Abiola stadium swimming pools turn reptiles’ abodes

Old Glory: Abuja MKO Abiola Stadium swimming pools have become a haven for reptiles, with the pools now teeming with all kinds of lizards and turtles. In the past, people would swim in the pools, but now, they provide a safe refuge for these animals. The stadium’s warm waters have become a breeding ground for these creatures, and they flock to the pools in droves. The water is not only safe for them, but also for the people who visit the stadium, as it is regularly monitored and tested for safety. Visitors to the stadium often observe these reptiles basking in the sunshine, swimming around, and even competing over food. It is a beautiful sight to behold, and a reminder of the importance of preserving habitats for wildlife. Old glory: Abuja MKO Abiola Stadium swimming pools have become a unique haven for reptiles, and a reminder of the beauty of nature.

The abandonment is also evident in a 2022 incident that led to the death of a 13-year-old boy, Matthew Godwin, who drowned in the swimming pool due to the absence of lifeguards and security officers.

Godwin’s death led to the shutdown of the swimming pool arena by the Ministry for Youths and Sports Development, while the former Minister, Sunday Dare, ordered an investigation into the incident. Nevertheless, the situation has worsened.

The swimming pool showed signs of decay due to lack of maintenance, while frogs and toads have continued to breed inside it like a pond of fish.

Checks by our correspondent also revealed that many of the seats in the spectators’ section of the swimming pool arena had been badly damaged, while many of them had been torn and looking tattered, with the bad ones dumped on the top deck in a messy lump.

Five out of the over 10 fire-fighting vehicles seen at the stadium complex had broken down for many years.

Though our correspondent couldn’t gain access to the main bowl, it was observed that the toilets within the dome-like structure where the Presidential Inauguration Concert was held between Thursday, May 25 and Friday, May 26, were poorly managed.

Also, the open field that harbours local footballers, athletes, boxers, and other sportsmen and women, stinks with waste littered all around, while the waste containers are filled to the brim, and spilling over.

Package B does not show much difference, as the facilities there have also deteriorated so much.

The MANS is also equipped with emergency service units and closed-circuit security cameras, many of which are no longer functional.

The glory of the stadium, which was for some time, a pride of sports-loving Nigerians, did not last long, twenty years after its completion, and the several renovations it experienced, especially following the change of its name by former President Muhammadu Buhari, whose government hurriedly put the stadium in shape to host the 19th National Sports Festival, Abuja 2019, which was hosted by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, proved to be inadequate.

The stadium was in deplorable condition before December 2018 when the sports fiesta was held in Abuja. Before then, both Package A and Package B of the stadium were taken over by weeds to the extent that grasses outgrew the beautiful landscaping of the stadium.

Also, about two years after the Dangote Group of Companies handed over the stadium to the Federal Government, after spending a whopping $1m to renovate it, the rehabilitated football pitch of the stadium is back to its old deplorable state.

The stadium renovation was made possible courtesy of the Federal Government’s Adopt-A-Pitch initiative aimed at private-sector collaboration to uplift sports facilities in the country.

The revamped Moshood Abiola Stadium is complete with nursery beds, two digital scoreboards, 24 sprinklers, and two-year maintenance, as part of the contract reached with Dangote Industries under the Adopt-a-Pitch Public-Private Partnership initiative of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

In February 2022, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, whose company, Dangote Industries Group, sponsored the rehabilitation of the pitch, expressed satisfaction with the job done, as he was conducted around the pitch with the sprinklers working perfectly, and the two digital score-boards beaming live.

In his remarks, Dangote assured the Sports Minister of his continued support.

“You can be assured of our continued support. You can always knock on our doors. We shouldn’t allow our stadia to collapse. Nigerians have a very strong love for sports, so I think we need to complement the government’s efforts to ensure that everything works,” he said.

Prior to Dangote’s intervention, the stadium had deteriorated from a monument of national pride to a site of national embarrassment, with the pitch in a bad state.

The facility, which had been turned into a grazing ground by herdsmen, has cattle droppings all over the surroundings of the indoor section of the stadium.

Sportsmen, women lament

Some sportsmen and women who frequent the stadium, and spoke to our correspondent during his visit, noted that the poor management of the facilities was affecting sporting activities.

“Most people don’t feel good training or playing football, lawn or table tennis, and even basketball here anymore due to the poor management of the facilities,” John, a local footballer said.

“Before now, my family and I usually came here to train and play different kinds of sports every Saturday and Sunday. But that has stopped now, and I only come here once in a while these days. We stopped coming because most of the facilities are either bad or poorly managed, and the environment is dirty,” said Patricia, an athlete.

The Ministry of Youths and Sports Development could not be reached, as several phone calls and text messages to the phone line of the former Minister for Youths Sports, Sunday Dare were not returned.

Meanwhile, sports fans and analysts have urged the new administration of President Bola Tinubu to invest more in sports and improve on the little gains of the former administration.

A sports lover, Adeola said, “We’re hoping that the new government of Asiwaju Tinubu would do better than the former administration by increasing the budget and investment into sports.”

“The government needs to invest more in sports, and also empower young sportsmen. We know that they have been trying, but they need to do better,” Joel said.

“If the government invests more in this stadium and does proper monitoring and management, things will get better here, and sporting activities would improve over the years,” another sports enthusiast, Ada, said.