thelastPope:

Why did you not compare the abandoned Abuja stadium to the Abandoned Teslim Balogun stadium and the renovated Teslim Balogun to the renovated Abuja stadium.

Ans: because you are a sycophant and a bundle of deceipt. Keep the propaganda coming.

thelastPope:

What are you talking about? What is government? You think government is a man sitting inside a house in abuja? What a way to think. Government is everyone. Every citizen and every agency has a role to play. The whole purpose of criticism is to get the government to respond, not to effect a power change like some of you think. I watched a news item on CNN yesterday where they showed a bridge that was too low and was destroying trucks somewhere in the US. The videos where pulled from youtube. The simple message was to get the authorities to respond. The campaign has been on for like 10 years and the government hasn't responded since then.

You actually expected a government, which was just about 1 year old then, to have seen every rot in Nigeria and fixed it by the middle of last year? You don't know what you are saying, bro.

Mexyz: @nap2,u re spreadn lies abt arsenal fc nt playn because of d stadia,d game was cancelled due to oda reasons abeg. @op,my guy when last ve u bn to abj stadia,i can tel u authoritatively dat d stadia is under full maitenance nw by julius berger.

OWERRI - The Lagos Government on Tuesday donated N1 million to the family of Nigeria’s late international, Sam Okwaraji, as its contribution to an ongoing Under-17 youth tournament in his honour.


The cheque was presented at the Okwaraji family home in Owerre-Umudioka,in Orlu Local Government of Imo.


Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, said the money was his government’s modest support for the Sam Okwaraji Foundation toward the organisation of the competition.

OLUFEMI ATOYEBI visits the Surulere National Stadium and discovers that the statue of the late football hero, Samuel Okwaraji, which is at the entrance to the complex, is overshadowed by overgrown trees

The statue of the late midfield maestro, Samuel Okwaraji, built by Lagos State in front of the Surulere National Stadium, is one of the few reminders that Nigeria is paying lip-service to its sporting heroes.

In this instance, Okwaraji’s bust, with braided hair locks resting on its shoulders, sits on a white marble structure at the park, standing about 7ft high.

The football star died in active service after he collapsed from heart problems in the 77th minute of a 1990 World Cup qualifier against Angola at the stadium on Aug. 12, 1989. He was aged 25.

Though there have been a few late sport stars that have been remembered like Okwaraji, the statue meant to honour his patriotic disposition is slipping into irrelevance over lack of maintenance.

The bust was erected by Lagos in Okwaraji’s memory following his death and the state has been responsible for the beautification of the environment it shares with a sport symbol and another statue erected as a gift from Syrian Arab sculpture Fouad Shaher Warhani.

Unless one is told that the late footballer’s statue stands at the spot, it’s easy to go past the sidewalk it is situated without noticing it. Although the well-manicured lawn in the park where the statue stands is a beauty to behold, it’s hidden from view by overgrown trees that need trimming.

Some of them are flowers and tall palm trees intended to add to the beauty of the environment, but there is also a fruit-bearing tree just beside the statue that has grown out of proportion.

Strikingly, during the dry season, the tree sheds its dead leaves, littering the place and the adjoining lawn.

A semblance of order was however restored recently when an armoured personnel carrier manned by policemen was stationed by the stadium gate to provide security from rampaging pupils and young athletes who invade the complex everyday in search of fruits.

However, some of the passersby this Wednesday morning say Okwaraji deserved better. Many of them frown at the diminished state of the statue, saying the late footballer stood for something bigger.

Simon Ibiam lives at Hogan Bassey Street, which is near the stadium. He works with a computer distributing firm at Alaka Estate, a community close to the stadium. Each day, Ibiam walks to work and passes in front of the statue. He says Okwaraji’s statue is lost in the park.

“I know it exists, but the beauty got lost a few months after it was erected,” Ibiam recalls. “The other sport symbol towers high above Okwaraji’s statue and the tree is too big. It’s like a bush if not for the groomed turf.

“There is the statue of the late Teslim Balogun at the entrance to the Teslim Balogun Stadium opposite the National Stadium. It’s imposing and you can’t miss it. Okwaraji deserves something like that or more. He was a national hero who died serving Nigeria. It does not matter if the Federal Government does it or any state government.”

[b]A group of players, who were leaving the stadium after their morning training, wanted the stadium to be named in the late player’s honour,saying he was worthy more than those who have had their names imprinted at the gates of many stadiums in Nigeria.

“Lagos State did well by remembering the late player, but the FG has been unfair to his family,” says Biodun Obideyi, coach of a five-aside Futsal team at the stadium.

“There are many stadiums named after people who did not contribute to the progress of this nation. Okwaraji did and died here. What other reason do we need to honour him with this stadium? Since he died here serving Nigeria, the stadium should be named after him.”

One of his players, Chris Adejo, supports his coach’s submission.

“He is saying the mind of the people,” he adds. “I was very small when he died, but we read a lot about him as we grew up. I think he was a better Nigerian than today’s footballers who demand money to play. History says Okwaraji played without demanding money or ticket refund, so this statue is too hidden to immortalise him.[/b]

Bimbola Akinsoju, an artist who hawks his works on the pavement opposite the statue, says the park was like a tourist site when Lagos State first rehabilitated it and erected the statue. He says that is no more as the bust gradually gets lost in the setting.

“I give credit to the sculptor for such a wonderful work,” says Akinsoju. “It could have fetched a fortune. Before I was sent parking from under the bridge, I witnessed many people taking a photograph of the park and people using the bust as background for their photograph. They were obviously attracted to the place because of its newness and what the statue stood for.

“As an artist, the first thing to consider in a work is how long it will attract an interest. The statue is beautiful, but it probably lost its value because of purely professional defects. Something is missing in the background and it has affected its relevance.

“Okwaraji played and died for Nigeria so a statue in his remembrance should be bigger and placed in a place where it won’t compete for relevance.”

Okwaraji was one of the few Nigeria players who embraced education. He played club football in Europe with NK Dinamo Zagreb, VfB Stuttgart and SSV Ulm 1846 and had a degree in international law.

He came home to play for Nigeria in 1988, making the Green Eagles squad and representing the nation in the Maroc ’88 Nations Cup, where he scored one of the fastest goals in the history of the tournament. The goal was scored against Cameroon.

He slumped in the match against Angola, throwing the whole nation into mourning.

Eko Ile:

Why should I compare apples and oranges? While your uncles abandoned Abuja stadium, TBS was never abandoned.

Right now, TBS is fully functional and Abuja National stadium is not. On top of that, they are fixing it now because the press and the public yelled at them, not because they care.

What about the police college? Jonathan was giving police IGs national awards while the police colleges under under their command was rotting away, the police IGs still have their awards, but still no accountability or any disciplinary actions.... And the story goes on an on and on... That's the story of your uncles in Abuja...


Keep quiet joo...

Eko Ile:

So its no longer the job of the people we hire and overpay to maintain our infrastructures and its actually the job of common Nigerians to waka to Abuja and surulere to renovate the national stadiums? The sad and crazy things you hear on nl set. You yourself are incompetent in the head .....smh.

thelastPope:

If you were not an idiiot and a bigot, you will actually recall that even your sponsor, Fashola, always emphasise that the citizens are the most important component of government and that government cannot succeed without their input. But like I said, you are too daft and blinded by hate to recall anything meaningful.

Mexyz: I dnt even knw wat u guys get by spreadn rumours nd tarnishn Nigeria's image in public,wait o,we re calln naija all sort of names,its me nd u dats d naija nt d land. Ask urself,wat meaningful thing ve i done to improve naija? Nawao 4 una.

Eko Ile:

You mean fashola said its the common man's job to maintain federal properties? Did the common man renovated Teslim Balogun stadium.? You are very very fact and I don't use that word a lot..

laptop zombie, it is still not the common.man's job to maintain federal infrastructures, they hire and pay your incompetent masters to do that and your masters fail all the time, time after time so keep quit with that rubbish.

nap2: I was just about to suggest that you compare Teslim Balogun Stadium and National Stadium Surulere, when I saw Okiki_Oluwa's post.

However, one good and/or bad thing about Teslim Balogun Stadium is that it has a synthetic pitch. The Lagos State Government decided to lay synthetic pitches in stadia across the state (Teslim Balogun Stadium, Campos Mini Stadium, etc) because it is easier to maintain and will not deteriorate to such shocking conditions as the state of the pitch at the Abuja National Stadium. However, some teams refuse to play on synthetic pitches, considering them inferior to natural grass surfaces.

playboy19:

Only village people will refuse to play on synthetic pitches cos the whole world over has stopped using natural grass on their pitches a long long time ago. So only village players will refuse to play on synthetic pitches. Do they even know stadiums abroad, in England for example, do take their pitches out for maintenance? And yes, you read that right, they take the pitch out of the main stadium siting arena.

thelastPope:

The whole world does not use synthetic pitches. Players get injured on synthetic pitches easily. get some education. you are way too misinformed. Th EPL, La Liga and all major football leagues dont use synthetic pitches. duh!

igbo boy: ACN's 40 laptop crew or should i say attack dog is at it again headed by special agent Eko Ile (head of the lagos chapter), dayokanu (Head of the other non lagos chapter) and Rhino.5dm (head of the kwara feasibility study group)

playboy19:

Only village people will refuse to play on synthetic pitches cos the whole world over has stopped using natural grass on their pitches a long long time ago. So only village players will refuse to play on synthetic pitches. Do they even know stadiums abroad, in England for example, do take their pitches out for maintenance? And yes, you read that right, they take the pitch out of the main stadium siting arena.

naptu2:

Hahahahahahahahahaahhahaha! The whole world has stopped using natural grass, pray tell, what kind of surface do they have at the Emirates, Wembly, Old Trafford, etc?

Of course I know that the grass is grown somewhere else and then laid on the surface at the stadium, but it's still natural grass, not synthetic pitches.

honeric01: can anyone show us the recent pictures if the ones here are false?

naptu2:

The pictures here are not false, rather this was the state of the National Stadium Abuja for much of last year until the President visited the stadium in September (in fact the pitch was already bad by 2011. Julius Berger had to work on the surface to enable the Super Eagles play a match against Guinea in 2011).

After the President's visit, Julius Berger was mandated to move in and renovate the stadium. Work started in January. The stadium is currently undergoing maintenance. I'll get you links (hope the antispam bot doesn't ban me again).

King Solomon I: SENATE President David Mark Tuesday warned that if Nigeria as a country must get it right in the area of Sports and compete favourably with other nations of the world, there was the urgent need for the Federal government to stop what he termed lip service to the sector and show serious commitment.

Lamenting the deplorable condition of Sports and its facilities in the country, the Senate President who cited the Abuja National Stadium as a case study in this bad state of the sector, stressed that the edifice had been taken over by reptiles and weeds due largely to lack of attention by the government.



He equally decried the way the country’s Super Eagles was starting its 2014 World Cup qualifier, warning, “It will be a major embarrassment if Nigeria fails to qualifier for the World Cup.

Senator Mark who also accused the Federal Government of being solely responsible for Nigeria’s dwindling sports development, stressed that sports administrators were running the sector purely on what he termed their selfish desires.

The Senate President spoke yesterday during debates on a Bill for an Act to Repeal the Nigerian Football Association Act Cap. N110 Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and Enact the Nigerian Football Federation Act 2013 to provide for football administration in Nigeria which was sponsored by Senate Committee Chairman on Sports and Social Development, Senator Ibrahim Gumba, PDP, Bauchi South.

He said, “Football unites Nigerians and we have to do what it takes to save football in the country. Government cannot fund football and not be involved and this is what FIFA doesn’t want so we need to strike a delicate balance”, he said, adding: “This Bill needs to be accelerated so that we can remove the gray areas. Government alone cannot run football”.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/03/reptilesweeds-take-over-abuja-national-stadium-mark/

[size=14pt]Julius Berger to Resuscitate Abuja Stadium Pitch.[/size]

21 Sep 2011

Abuja National Stadium pitch not up to scratch

Construction giants Julius Berger has offered to resuscitate the playing turf of the National Stadium, Abuja ahead of the very crucial 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifying match between the senior teams of Nigeria and Guinea on Saturday, October 8.

Speaking during a visit by top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation last week, the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Mr. Wolfgang Goetsch said his company was committed to bringing the pitch back to life for the sake of the Super Eagles and the Nigeria Football Federation.

“We are ready to work on the pitch to ensure that the Super Eagles have a good surface to train and play a good match, and also because we like the efforts that the present NFF administration is putting in order to ensure that Nigeria is up there among the best football-playing nations of the world,” said Goetsch.

Already, the construction company has started the preliminary work and expects to finish its work before the Super Eagles commence their training sessions for the big match on October 3.

Nigeria tackles Guinea in a must-win, make-or-break 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifying match at the National Stadium, Abuja on Saturday, October 8, starting from 2pm. The Super Eagles need a win to overtake the Syli Nationale on the top of group B table and earn automatic slot at the 2012 African Nations Cup finals.

On Tuesday, Head Coach Samson Siasia unveiled a list of his 22 players for the match against the Guineans, with five others to join the group for the international friendly against Ghana in London three days later.

naptu2:

Hahahahahahahahahaahhahaha! The whole world has stopped using natural grass, pray tell, what kind of surface do they have at the Emirates, Wembly, Old Trafford, etc?

Of course I know that the grass is grown somewhere else and then laid on the surface at the stadium, but it's still natural grass, not synthetic pitches.

naptu2:

The pictures here are not false, rather this was the state of the National Stadium Abuja for much of last year until the President visited the stadium in September (in fact the pitch was already bad by 2011. Julius Berger had to work on the surface to enable the Super Eagles play a match against Guinea in 2011).

After the President's visit, Julius Berger was mandated to move in and renovate the stadium. Work started in January. The stadium is currently undergoing maintenance. I'll get you links (hope the antispam bot doesn't ban me again).

[size=14pt]Rehabilitation begins at National Stadium, Abuja[/size]

2013-01-14 23:00:44

Comprehensive rehabilitation of the main pitch of the National Stadium, Abuja has begun.

Work on the stadium began last week, with the contractors who built the stadium Julius Berger Plc, being in charge of the rehabilitation effort.

The Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Bolaji Abdullahi, had assured Nigerians in December 2012 of total rehabilitation of the stadium, starting this, “We have concluded arrangements with Julius Berger to bring alive the pitch of the main bowl and training grounds in January, after the holidays.”

The scope of work includes removal and replacement of the topsoil, planting the approved species of grass, well-watered and nourished until roots are established, maintenance of the pitch, including watering and trimming of the grass for three months.

The terms of the contract also requires Julius Berger to provide new water sprinklers for the stadium.

According to the contractors, work on the stadium would be completed in late February, while the maintenance would take an additional three months.

It is expected that the stadium will be ready for use in late May or early June 2012.

Director of Facilities at the NSC, Ibrahim Shehu, said that systems have been put in place to ensure top-grade maintenance of the stadium when the contractors finish their work.

“The problem we had in the past was as a result of theft of the power cable which supplied power to the stadium. With the lack of electricity, we could not power the water pumps and so could not wet the grass. Now all those problems have been solved. We will make sure that the stadium is of international standard at all times,” Shehu said.

[size=14pt]Rehabilitation begins at National Stadium, Abuja[/size]

2013-01-14 23:00:44

Comprehensive rehabilitation of the main pitch of the National Stadium, Abuja has begun.

Work on the stadium began last week, with the contractors who built the stadium Julius Berger Plc, being in charge of the rehabilitation effort.

The Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Bolaji Abdullahi, had assured Nigerians in December 2012 of total rehabilitation of the stadium, starting this, “We have concluded arrangements with Julius Berger to bring alive the pitch of the main bowl and training grounds in January, after the holidays.”

The scope of work includes removal and replacement of the topsoil, planting the approved species of grass, well-watered and nourished until roots are established, maintenance of the pitch, including watering and trimming of the grass for three months.

The terms of the contract also requires Julius Berger to provide new water sprinklers for the stadium.

According to the contractors, work on the stadium would be completed in late February, while the maintenance would take an additional three months.

It is expected that the stadium will be ready for use in late May or early June 2012.

Director of Facilities at the NSC, Ibrahim Shehu, said that systems have been put in place to ensure top-grade maintenance of the stadium when the contractors finish their work.

“The problem we had in the past was as a result of theft of the power cable which supplied power to the stadium. With the lack of electricity, we could not power the water pumps and so could not wet the grass. Now all those problems have been solved. We will make sure that the stadium is of international standard at all times,” Shehu said.

[size=14pt]President Jonathan Visits Super Eagles At Training Ground[/size] by semid4lyfe(m): 9:34am On Sep 06, 2012







President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday stormed the National Stadium, Abuja, where he urged members of the national football team, the Super Eagles to ensure that their encounter with Lone Stars of Liberia in Moronvia on Saturday was a huge success.

The Super Eagles who are undergoing training at the Abuja Stadium will be meeting with the Liberian national team in a qualifying match for the 2013 African Nations Cup, South Africa 2013.

Jonathan implored the players to work hard to ensure they do well in the match, saying sports was strategic in his administration's agenda and promised that he would revamp the sporting sector.

According to the president, he has already set up a special committee at the Federal Executive Council meeting earlier in the day to work towards restoring the lost glory of the country's sports.

Calling for a replay of the Atlanta 1996 Olympics Game in which the country carted away gold medal in football, Jonathan expressed belief that Nigeria could still win gold in that category and others in subsequent Olympics.

Lamenting over the poor state of the stadium which was overgrown with weeds at the time of his visit, Jonathan directed the management of the stadium to correct the anomaly immediately.

anonimi:
The bold part is the major problem we have in our country. Let it rot and issue big contract to fix it so the big party boys too go [size=13pt]chop up and inside pocket (Jeun s'oke, Jeun s'apo).[/size]
No sense of REGULAR maintenance.
Most Lagos roads, including those on VI, Ikoyi etc are flooded anytime it rains as Fashola and the LGA people cannot organise DAILY clean up of the gutter and the roads.


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