Some athletes at the National Stadium, Lagos have lamented the state of the stadium, after a heavy windstorm on Wednesday brought down half of one of the floodlights pillars in Terrace K of the arena.
Although no life was lost or injury recorded, regular visitors to the stadium attributed the collapse of the floodlights to the long neglect of the facility, which was built in 1972 under the administration of General Yakubu Gowon (retd.).
Our correspondent, who visited the stadium on Thursday, met some displeased athletes, who blamed the poor maintenance of the facility for the wreckage.
A para-athlete, who plays chess, Paul Pighi, who was at Terrace I when the rain started, told The PUNCH that he had been observing the edifice since 2018 after the trees were cut.
“After they cut the trees surrounding the stadium in 2018, I started observing it, that it could affect the arena in the future. I noticed that sometimes, when it was windy, the floodlights wobbled and I kept saying ‘this thing will soon fall down’ but people did not pay attention,” Pighi said.
“So, yesterday (Wednesday), when the windstorm started, I watched the floodlights again for a while, knowing something disastrous might happen, and I saw it and I shouted ‘look at it, look at it, it is falling,’ before it fell down with a vibration. It is part of the carelessness of our country, this is an edifice that should be protected. There is no other stadium like this in Africa, it should be maintained.”
An athlete, who gave her name simply as Chidera, said, “The people that used to play football here will not be able to play this weekend when they get here on Saturday, the government needs to remove the floodlight debris from here soon. The glasses will affect those walking around, so, we all have to be more careful now,” she said.
Our correspondent observed some children practicing karate with their trainer, close to the other half of the floodlights that fell. There were no partitions, separations or even a roll of tape.
The Stadium Manager Kehinde Owopetu, whose office is very close to the scene of the collapsed floodlights, declined to comment on the issue, saying he needed a directive from the sports ministry in Abuja.
He, however, confirmed that no life was lost and no injuries sustained.
