It might have taken long in coming, but President Goodluck Jonathan honoured Chief Obafemi Awolowo last week during his official visit to Ogun State by re-naming the Liberty Stadium after the late national icon. FEMI ATOYEBI visited the facility during the week and narrates his experience. A tour of the newly-renamed Liberty Stadium facilities will make one wonder how brilliant
the vision of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo when he started the building of the first sports
stadium in the west coast of Africa in 1958.
The bright imagination of the late sage was so amazing that the site of the stadium is easily accessible to visitors and people living in Ibadan. And after the stadium was completed in 1960, the year Nigeria became an independent nation, it was named the Liberty Stadium.
In honour of the exemplary life and the role that the former Premier of the defunct Western Region played in building the nation, President Goodluck Jonathan renamed the stadium after Awolowo during a visit he paid to Awolowo‘s widow, Chief Dideolu, in Ikenne, Ogun State, last week.
It was an announcement many have expected for a long time considering the fact that several stadiums in the country have been named after late politicians. But it only came 23 years after the death of Awolowo and 50 years after the stadium was opened.
Today, the former Liberty Stadium is ageing but the beauty is still visible. Designed by J.E.K. Harrison Chartered Architect in consultation with the then Ministry Works and Transport in the old Western Region, the stadium has features that are not present in many other stadiums built after decades of its existence. Not that the features are no longer in vogue, but they were left out of the present plan probably because the builders felt they would stretch the budget.
For example, the stadium has a tunnel with its entrance beside the players and match officials dressing rooms. The tunnel terminates just beside the pitch although it is no longer in use because the exit was closed when the tracks beside the pitch was increased from six lanes to eight lanes in compliance with the modern guidelines in athletics.
In those days, players and officials entered the pitch through the tunnel, a unique feature that set the stadium aglow when matches were to be played. The media centre, with its adjoining office, has the capacity to accommodate 100 people. Within the corridor is a dope room and locker room for the groundsmen.
The referees‘ dressing room is expansive with several toilets and bathrooms, the same feature that the players’ dressing room has.
Inside the main arena, there are signs that efforts have been made by the Federal Government to replace some old facilities with new ones. The manual scoreboard installed at the stadium completion in 1960 is still there but there is an electronic scoreboard, which is no longer working. In place of the concrete slab used as seat before, there are rows of chairs which add beauty to the stadium.
Apart from the main bowl, there are two big hostels, a squash hall, basketball courts, hockey pitch, two indoor sports halls, handball pitch and other sporting facilities. It is however odd that despite the availability of these facilities at the stadium, it was neglected and under-utilised for so many years.
Since the Lekan Salami Stadium was opened by the Oyo State Government, Liberty Stadium is no longer the home of Shooting Stars Sports Club and they returned there this season because of the repair works going on at the stadium.
Liberty Stadium has hosted a number of memorable events since it was opened in 1960. The late Dick Tiger once won a boxing title there in 1963 before his death in 1971 while Shooting Stars won African Winners Club Cup and CAF Cup at the stadium. In the days when wrestling was a major entertainment sport in Nigeria, international wrestlers like Mighty Igor, Mill Mascaras and Argentina Apollo fought Nigerian wrestlers at the stadium in the 80s.
Steve Olarionye era
But the stadium is coming back to life gradually with the restructuring works that the National Sports Commission is doing through its South-West Zone One, with Steve Olarinoye as the coordinator. The roof of the stand has been removed while the tennis courts, basketball courts, squash hall, hostels and swimming pool are being rehabilitated.
Olarinoye, who came out with the idea of renaming the stadium as a mark of honour for the late Awolowo, says millions of money have been spent on the stadium and that athletes now make use of the facilities.
“We need to give thanks to our forefathers, especially the late Awolowo for his vision for sports development. It‘s hard to imagine that as far back as 1958, someone could have an idea like this in mind. The completion of this stadium in 1960 gave rise to the Federal Government decision to build the National Stadium in Lagos,” says Olarinoye.
“I was posted to Ibadan in 1988 by NSC as zonal organising secretary and I was impressed with the state of the stadium at the time, although there were signs that something needed to be done to save its beauty. I left in 1990 but when I returned this year as the zonal coordinator for the NSC South-West Zone One, I was unhappy with what I saw. The stadium was in bad shape in need of genuine repairs. Refuse littered the front gate. At that point, it struck me that my priority as a coordinator here was to put the stadium in good shape and make it attractive to athletes and players.”
The former executive secretary of the pro league in Nigeria says he met nine tennis courts in 1988 but did not see anyone when he returned in 2010. The squash hall was also been used by a food vendor while the cricket pitch had vanished.
He says, “We have renovated two tennis courts and players have started using them. The swimming pool is about 50 years old, but it is still one of the best in Nigeria. I was told that only a major work would solve the problem it had, having been out of use for so many years. After examining the pool, we decided to clean it and it was a surprise that we brought out ten buckets of frogs. With personal effort and little spending, the pool is functional now.”
Olarinoye dismisses the notion that the renovation works are embarked upon prelude to the understanding that the Federal Government would rename the stadium. He explains how he first informed NSC Director-General Patrick Ekeji of the importance of naming the stadium in Awolowo’s name.
“I did not come across any prior proposal on the need to change the name. I just thought that since there are other stadium named after notable personalities in Nigeria, Liberty Stadium would be better named after the person who built it.
“After telling Ekeji, he said I should make it official and that was how the whole move started. We made some important contacts to make sure that the proposal reached the president‘s table. We should thank President Jonathan for doing the right thing. History will not forget him.”
Pointing out the importance of having functional stadium in the society, Olarinoye speaks on the link between sports and national development.
“We grew up in an environment that offers space for growth. In mu youth days, I played table tennis and football. I have had the opportunity to play against Felix Owolabi and Adokiye Amasiamaka as university students. I also represented Kwara State and Lagos State in table tennis championships. All these were possible because there was space to demonstrate what I could do. Today, there are no more space and that is why a stadium like this should be put to use.”
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010112013232496
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