Dare’s quit notice unsettles squatters at MKO Abiola national stadium
Squatters at the MKO Abiola national Stadium Abuja whom many prefer to call ‘illegal occupants’ are faced with a bleak future as the ultimatum issued by the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Sunday Dare for them to quit the sporting edifice draws nearer.
It is an open secret that due to under-utilisation of the gigantic sporting arena constructed in 2003 by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to host the 8th All Africa Games, some Nigerians in search of accommodation have invaded some sections of the sporting arena which until recently was known as Abuja national stadium.
Trust Sports investigation also revealed that most of the occupants of the structures inside the Package B of the MKO Abiola stadium are people who are displaced by the insurgency in the northeast. Displaced persons at Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs camps in Abuja chose to ‘migrate’ to the national stadium with their families.
Discovering that it costs almost nothing to live there, the first settlers then beckoned on other IDPs to come over to the stadium where they would be guaranteed better accommodation when compared to what exists in the camps.
Even as most of the spaces they’ve occupied lack basic social amenities like electricity and potable water, they at last found a solution to their accommodation problems even if temporary.
Apart from the squatters, the unkempt surroundings of the MKO Abiola stadium is also an attraction for herders who unleash their cows on the overgrown bushes.
Sadly enough, some outdoor sporting events like handball, lawn tennis and handball had come under threat as the animals would encroach and sometimes interrupt proceedings on the courts.
To make matters worse, the massive car park in Package B became a criminals’ den as people of questionable characters converted it into their safe haven where they perpetrate acts of criminality.
The gradual and illegal occupation of the Abuja national stadium by individuals reminded many of the fate that had befallen the Lagos national stadium after it was abandoned by successive administrations.
After so many years of neglect, the multi-purpose Lagos National stadium Surulere built in 1961, after playing host to the 1973 All Africa Games and two AFCON finals in 1980 and 200, was taken over by hoodlums and other illegal occupants who erected additional kiosks to accommodate businesses like restaurants, beer parlours and betting shops.
Although the present minister of sports has disclosed plans to concession the National Stadium Lagos, nothing of such has taken place yet, so the once magnificent structure is still in a sorry state.
However, it must be acknowledged that the minister has since inaugurated a task force that would midwife the concession of the Lagos National stadium and the same has been extended to the Abuja national stadium.
Without any iota of doubt, the MKO Abiola stadium is going the way of other stadia like the national stadium Lagos and the Ahmadu Bello Stadium Kaduna but some decisions taken recently by the sports ministry are said to be indications that the edifice may be rescued sooner than later.
For instance, the decision of the Sports Minister in September 2019 to relocate his office from the federal secretariat to the MKO Abiola national stadium inevitably exposed him to the extent of degradation of the stadium.
As expected, the minister discovered first-hand how the sporting facility which cost the country over $360m to construct was allowed to waste away.
Consequently, it is said the number one sports administrator was left with no option than to take drastic measures to restore the lost glory of the multi-billion naira federal asset.
Consequently, when he embarked on an inspection tour of the stadium on June 20, the minister gave all illegal occupants 25 days to vacate the facilities for proper rehabilitation to commence. The ultimatum ends on July 15.
Following the quit notice given by the minister, our correspondent visited the stadium to observe the situation on ground and also interact with those at the receiving end of his decision.
It was observed by our correspondent that some squatters still live inside the uncompleted hotel at the Package B of the stadium.
While their husbands went ‘hustling’, the women were engaged in domestic chores as they washed and hung their children’s clothes on the fence of the building to dry. Those who had finished washing were seen preparing lunch under the tree for their families. Meanwhile, others engaged one another in chit-chats as our correspondent approached the uncompleted building.
Emmanuel Adamu, the only man left at home at the time of the visit said no official of the stadium or ministry had come to tell them about the evacuation order. He, however, said they heard about it in the news.
“Till now, we have not seen the stadium manager or a government official coming to tell us to prepare to leave here. I have been living here for almost seven years with my family.
Although the present minister of sports has disclosed plans to concession the National Stadium Lagos, nothing of such has taken place yet, so the once magnificent structure is still in a sorry state
“We are all family people here. There is no unmarried person here except for our children. Most of us came here after being displaced by the insurgency in Maiduguri and Adamawa,” he said.
Emmanuel who is a farmer within the stadium said he came to live there through a friend who knew about his predicament in Adamawa. He also confirmed that he never paid rent to anybody.
“You know how we are in Nigeria. When one person sees his friend in need, he will ask him to come over. That is how most of us began to live here and we have not paid rent to anybody.
“We live in the midst of dangerous snakes which we kill on a regular basis. We have never had light here but some of us use generators.
“As I speak to you right now, I don’t have any money on me that I can use for transport to Nyanya let alone get an apartment. I can trek to Area 1 from here but I can’t do so with my family. If we are ejected from here, we simply don’t know where to live with our families,” he lamented.
Speaking with a group of women who declined to mention their names, they collaborated with Emmanuel that they were yet to receive any quit notice from the government.
One of the women who volunteered to speak on their behalf said they are worried about how they would be accommodated, if ejected.
“We will simply go and live under the bridge and see how we can pick our lives gradually. We all came here from Kaduna, Adamawa, Maiduguri while escaping from Boko Haram attacks and religious crisis. Most of us have spent five to seven years here,” she said.
However, one of the women said that even if chased away, she wouldn’t mind because she was tired of living in squalor at the stadium where there is neither electricity nor pipe-borne water for them.
According to her, as a dutiful wife, she has been living there because of her artisan husband who had gone to work outside the stadium when our correspondent visited.
Meanwhile, as the squatters resign to fate, the ministry of sports has said there is no going back on its decision to evacuate the illegal occupants and also revive the abandoned national stadium especially the package B where the Indoor sports hall, gymnasium, basketball and handball courts, lawn tennis centre as well as hockey pitch are located.
It will be recalled that in November 2019, the Minister of Sports and FCT Minister carried out a joint inspection of the entire stadium to explore areas of collaboration. Plans are therefore ongoing to complete some of the abandoned projects such as the mall and hotel.
“Plans are on to jointly restore to full functionality the car park within the stadium premises and also complete the bridge that connects the stadium to the road in the CBD axis.
“Also, the plan to have a fivestar hotel and mall in the stadium ground fully funded by private organizations is being discussed by the FCT.”
“The supply of water is restored. Power from the national grid is back. Two of the generators that were spoilt have been fixed and are working. Security lights in the perimeter of the stadium are now functional since February,” said John-Joshua Akanji who is an aide to the minister of sports.
If claims by the minister’s aide are anything to go by, then it will be safe to say that there is still hope of survival for the once breath-taking architectural master-piece now in misery.