Thieves and prostitutes have virtually taken over the one-time pride of Lagos, the National Stadium, in Surulere.
The Point’s findings show that the stadium’s new tenants moved in, having noticed that nothing was being done by relevant officials to secure the place.
This is aside from the fact that the activities for which the stadium was built have reduced.
A week-long monitoring of ac-tivities at the Stadium revealed that the over 30 shops located within the facility have been taken over by beer parlour operators and carousers alike who usually converge on such joints at odd hours.
While prostitutes, whose ages range between 20 and 35, walk unrestricted, looking for unscrupulous men that are interested in their trade, thieves remove parts from stationary vehicles littering the stadium.
Experts have said that the stadium, built with tax-payers’ money, has the capacity to generate huge revenue for government if properly managed.
The Federal Government had made moves in the past to privatise the stadium but nothing concrete has been done.
“The neglect may be because the Lagos State has its own stadium – Teslim Balogun – directly opposite the National Stadium,” a sport lover and Managing Director of Pleasant Motors, Alhaji Hakeem Hakeem, said.
