PHOTOS: Killing Muda Lawal, again!

Many have come around to the conclusion that one of the worst ways to eulogise a Nigerian is to name a public facility after them. It is almost certainly going to end up in tears. Examples abound, from airports to universities to public buildings to currency notes.

Most Nigerians agree that the country lacks a maintenance culture. But nothing can prepare anyone for the shame that is the Muda Lawal Stadium, Abeokuta today. It is a disaster. If various Ogun State Governments set out to deliberately do damage to the name and memory of Muda, they could not possibly do a better job.

Muda Lawal, MON, was a football colossus. A former Green Eagles (now Super Eagles) Captain, he was the first African to play in 5 consecutive African Nations Cup (1976-1984). He was a key member of the team that won Nigeria its first Nations Cup title in 1980, scoring one of the 3 goals in the Final match. He had also been a dominant presence when IICC Shooting Stars won Nigeria’s first continental club title, the Cup Winners Cup, in 1976.

His death, in 1991, just a few months after he retired from actively playing the game, hit the nation hard. Tributes poured in from all corners of Nigeria and Africa. Ogun State, his home State, quickly renamed the Asero Stadium after him. At the time, Asero Stadium was the mecca of football in the State and served as the home to great teams like Abiola Babes, Concord FC and Gateway FC. It was a high honour done to one of Nigeria’s finest ever footballers.

Today, that edifice wears the look of a war-ravaged facility. The popular stands have been completely taken over by bushes. The VIP and Covered stands are now wrecked, the chairs in tatters. The pitch is overgrown with weeds. It is a sad spectacle. The pictures speak for themselves.

The Ogun State Government desperately needs to take some action on the stadium. True, there are a lot of competing needs. But surely something can be done. And if there’s none, then the State should remove the name of Muda Lawal from what remains of that stadium. That way, it will not stand accused of killing the great man, again!