Athletics
BULLDOZERS MOVE INTO NATIONAL STADIUM LAGOS
As expected, the Ministry of Youth and Sports commenced the demolition of illegal structures within the National Stadium from yesterday following the inability of lobbyists to save their properties.
According to Thisday newspaper in Nigeria, over 120 structures mostly food kiosks, food vendor shops and sports shops that are not in the initial master plan of the edifice are been demolished and the ‘short’ exercise will end tomorrow (Friday) which will form phase one of the reformation the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare promised to bring to sports sector.
The National Stadium in Lagos was iconic and tourist attraction when it was opened on 4 December 1972. It had however seen its better days as it became derelict.
Recently, the Nigerian government through the Ministerial Implementation Committee of the Sports Ministry gave all the affected owners 14 days ultimatum before the bulldozers commence final demolition which expired on Monday 1st September, 2020.
It was also gathered that some shop owners have reportedly been putting pressure on the sports ministry to stop officials of the Implementation committee from doing the needful but it yielded no dividend.
“The Sports Minister had secured the permission of President Muhammed Buhari before taken this holistic decision which many before him failed to do,” a top official from Abuja informed Thisday.
Since 2004, the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, has been abandoned with virtually all aspects of the complex, including the seats, tartan tracks, turf and the media centre in bad state.
The state of the edify made some entrepreneurs to transform the ‘Sports City’ as its fondly referred to into business venture when numerous drink bars/joints emerged to give the 4-year old monument a ‘life’ line as it became a meeting point for business meetings during day time and to lovers and corporate men and women a relaxation arena in a bid to avoid rush hour madness on Lagos roads at night.
Interestingly, majority of the occupants (shop owners) have legitimacy to the spaces they occupied because they all have receipts to back up their stay which they have committed annually.
As at yesterday, all the stalls under the ramps leading to the main bowl of the complex have been demolished while offices in same areas harbouring some association affiliated to government were given the boot as well.
However, while most the sports related shops and offices were marked for demolition, the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Lagos Chapter were spared in the exercise mainly because they are partners in sports development according to the report of the committee.
On assumption of office last year, Sports Minister, Dare had made it clear that the stadium which has been abandoned for long was not constructed for business purpose outside sports.
Dare in a statement through his official twitter handle had announced the inauguration of a Task Force which was to regulate the activities of business activities at sports facilities across the country.
“Today, I inaugurated the task Force on the verification of the businesses in the National Stadium Surulere. This is a first step towards the reopening of the stadium but also meant to restore some sanity to the stadium ahead of the concession.
Dare said the measure was part of the lager plan to concession the stadium via a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
The Task Force, it was gathered completed its assignment under three weeks during which all the occupants were screened and the aftermath led to the ongoing demolitions.
The stadium was built during the regime of General Yakubu Gowon in December of 1972 towards the hosting of the 2nd African Games the following year. Since then, it has played host to many important events including the African Cup of Nations in 1980 and 2000, FIFA Under-20 finals in 1999, African Athletics Championship and outside sports, it staged the ‘controversial’ FESTAC 77.
It has been a training ground for athletes but in the last 15 years, it was reduced to staging Inter House Sports mainly by private schools and other novelty events.
However, with most of the food vendors out of the premises, it is not clear the adequate provisions that would be made for genuine athletes, crowd and staff of the Sports Ministry in area of feeding considering the fact that the vendors in no small way broke monopolistic tendency of just few or one approved restaurant as the case is likely going to be.
BY DANLADI BAKO
Sports and indeed global athletics have been the cynosure of quite a huge community of track and field afficionados in the last nine days at the Tokyo World Athletics finals.
The global athletics fraternity congregates annually to celebrate new world beaters and champions.
Athletes spend a large amount of time, energy and resources to train, attracting the best coaches and utilizing some of the high impact facilities in developing qualifying times for their individual events.
So many nations facilitate the upscaling and upgrading of their athletes’ mentality, physique and performance standing through investments in the training and welfare of their high-profile athletes by providing grants, scholarships and appreciable reward systems.
These have been in short supply in Nigeria and indeed within the developing world where the priorities of most governments are education, health, poverty and so many other development challenges.
However, the benefits of investing in sports are unquantifiable especially on the world global diplomatic stage, unassailable visibility and an incredible reputation unachievable in so many other areas of human existence. In the eighties and 90s the Americans literally ruled the sprints with female 100 meters legend Florence Griffiths – Joyner and 400 meters world champion Michael Johnson.
Just like America used the movies to show Americans as the world best, sportsmen like basketball’s Michael Jordan and boxing’s Muhammad Ali put America on the pinnacle of human capacity for endurance, determination, strategic planning and near perfect execution.
America might have the size and population above 200 million so it’s success can be expected, however Jamaica an island of 150 miles by 50 miles has gone beyond exporting Reggae’s global icons like Bob Marley and Alton Ellis to producing 100 meters legends Usain Bolt, Sherry Ann Fraser-Price and Marlene Ottey thereby winning international recognition and inevitable public reckoning far beyond most African countries.
Now a land locked southern African sub-continent country Botswana with less than the population of Lagos State just on Sunday won the 4 x 400 men’s relay gold at the Tokyo 2025 games even after picking a few other medals through individual athletes Tebogo et al.
The Tokyo games have come and gone with Tobi Amusan putting Nigeria on the medals table with her 100 meters Silver medal. Ajayi’s efforts in the 100 meters men’s final was also commendable.
For me the highest point was the super- human diminutive Kenyan Faith Kipyegon in the 1500 metres clinching gold and 5000 metres silver.
Another great spectacle was the exploits of American idol Noah Lyle who anchored the last leg of the 4 x100 metres gold winning quartet.
Lyle won the 200 metres gold as well becoming one of the audaciuos and eye-catching supreme athletes of Tokyo 2025. Mention must be made of Sweden’s Armand Mondo who broke the pole vault world record thrice in two days.
So when and how would Nigeria get to these towering heights of conquering the world?
The fact is that we once had Olympic and World Athletics finalists like Innocent Egbunike (400m) , Chidi Imo (100 and 200m), Yusuf Alli (Long jump) and Falilat Ogunkoya (400m) although it was the American University collegiate structure that groomed them to become world beaters with little or no input from the home government.
Once in a long while a training grant of $50,000 gets handed to them in preparation for Olympic games to pay their coaches and for utilizing training facilities abroad. Even Ezekiel Nathaniel and Oyinkansola Ajayi are still beneficiaries of the American University collegiate structure.
The aforementioned names who also schooled and trained in the United States are still very much around especially Yusuf Alli, Falilat and Mary Onyali.
The authorities need to device the appropriate strategies to achieve podium standings in the nearest immediate future.
All the products of the National Youth Games and the School Sports Federation games should be drafted into a growth enhancement program, hire some of the best Athletics coaches from around the world and ensure the construction and maintenance of high-performance pitches and gymnasia.
The Sports Federations must be populated with patriotic and passionate sports men who are brimming with enthusiasm, desire and creativity.
President Tinubu did not only resuscitate the National Sports Commission, he gave an unprecedented 12 billion naira to the Sports Ministry for AFCON and other tournaments earlier this year so we have a listening President who can restore our lost glory in sports and athletics in particular. Nigeria must reclaim its podium standing capability as soon as possible.
Danladi Bako, OON was Senior Special Assistant to former Minister of Youth and Sports as well as one-time Chairman Sokoto State Football Association.
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By KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria’s silver medal finish at the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships once again highlighted the country’s roller-coaster fortunes on the global stage.
While the podium placement ensured Nigeria did not return empty-handed, the overall medal count has remained stagnant in recent years compared to other rising athletics nations.
At the Doha 2019 Championships, Team Nigeria endured a barren outing, failing to register a single medal. Three years later in Oregon 2022, Ese Brume broke the drought with a stunning gold in the women’s long jump — Nigeria’s first-ever world title in the event.
The momentum continued into Budapest 2023, where world record holder Tobi Amusan claimed silver in the women’s 100m hurdles, cementing Nigeria’s presence among the elite hurdlers. In Tokyo this year, the nation repeated the feat in the same event, albeit again settling for silver.
A comparative glance at the last four editions shows a troubling trend: Nigeria has not improved its medal tally, with just one medal each in 2022, 2023, and 2025.
This raises urgent questions about depth, consistency, and investment in talent development beyond the few star performers.
Comparative Medal Table (2019–2025)
- Doha 2019 – 0 medals (No standout performance)
- Oregon 2022 – 1 Gold (Ese Brume, Women’s Long Jump)
- Budapest 2023 – 1 Silver (Tobi Amusan, 100m Hurdles)
- Tokyo 2025 – 1 Silver (100m Hurdles)
The pattern underscores Nigeria’s reliance on individual brilliance rather than systemic excellence. Athletics analysts argue that unless the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) strengthens grassroots programs, invests in coaching and sports science, and improves athlete welfare, the country risks stagnating while competitors from Africa and beyond surge ahead.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria wrapped up its campaign at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo with a single silver medal, finishing joint 25th on the overall medals table with eight others on the medals tables as the curtain was drawing on the championship.
The position may even deepen at the end of the day.
Star hurdler Tobi Amusan delivered the country’s only podium finish, placing second in the women’s 100m hurdles.
Despite the modest medal haul, several Nigerian athletes impressed with near-misses and record-breaking efforts.
Ezekiel Nathaniel narrowly missed out on a medal in the men’s 400m hurdles, finishing fourthin a national record time. Kanyinsola Ajayi also reached the men’s 100m final, settling for sixth, while shot put specialist Chukwuebuka Enekwechi placed fifthin his event.
Nigeria fielded 15 athletes – eight men and seven women – in Tokyo. While the performances reflected resilience, the lack of medals beyond Amusan’s silver highlighted gaps in preparation and depth.
Analysts point to the absence of Nigeria’s traditionally strong relay teams, logistical challenges, and inadequate athlete support as major setbacks.
Sports observers insist that the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) must chart a new path if the country is to climb the global athletics ladder.
Key recommendations include better logistics and athlete welfare, renewed focus on relay programmes, grassroots talent identification, and consistent funding.
Despite the below-par medal count, the performances in Tokyo suggest Nigeria still possesses world-class potential. With reforms and stronger administration, the AFN has an opportunity to turn near-misses into podium finishes at future championships.
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