The rejection of the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is not a minor administrative setback, nor is it a technical footnote that can be wished away with official spin. It is a loud, international verdict on governance failure in Oyo State under the administration of Engineer Seyi Makinde. More damningly, it is an indictment of how humongous taxpayers’ money can be expended without commensurate results, accountability, or shame.
This episode represents a metaphorical slap in the face of citizens who were repeatedly told that the stadium renovation was world-class, strategic, and future-facing. CAF’s verdict says otherwise—and in governance, outcomes matter far more than propaganda.
From Renovation to Ruination
Governments are often eager to showcase infrastructure as evidence of competence. In Oyo State, the Adamasingba Stadium renovation was loudly marketed as one of the flagship achievements of the Makinde administration. Billions were reportedly sunk into the project, accompanied by glossy images, choreographed inspections, and self-congratulatory narratives. Yet, when subjected to the unforgiving test of international standards, the edifice failed spectacularly.
A project that cannot host international competitions after consuming vast public resources is not an achievement; it is a policy disaster. Renovation that ends in rejection amounts to ruination—of public trust, fiscal credibility, and institutional reputation.
CAF as an Unintended Auditor
CAF did what local institutions failed or refused to do: conduct a rigorous, objective assessment. Its rejection functions as an unintended forensic audit of the project. It raises unavoidable questions that the Oyo State Government would rather not answer. How were specifications determined? Who supervised compliance? What benchmarks were used? And crucially, who certified the project as complete and fit for purpose before the government sought CAF’s approval?
In functional democracies, such an outcome would trigger investigations, resignations, or at the very least, public explanations backed by documents. In Nigeria’s subnational politics, however, failure is often normalised, excused, or aggressively defended.
The Arrogance of Optics Over Substance
The Adamasingba fiasco exposes a recurring weakness of the Makinde administration: an obsession with optics over outcomes. Governance has increasingly been reduced to social media optics, press releases, and controlled narratives, while the hard work of institutional strengthening and technical diligence is neglected.
Infrastructure is not about paintwork, floodlights, or ceremonial commissioning. It is about standards, durability, safety, and compliance. Any administration serious about hosting international events would embed CAF requirements from the design stage. That this apparently did not happen suggests either gross incompetence or a reckless indifference to standards—both equally damning.
Public Finance Mismanagement and Moral Failure
Beyond politics, this episode is a moral failure. Public funds are not abstract numbers; they represent the sweat of traders, artisans, civil servants, and small business owners. When such funds are poured into a project that cannot deliver on its stated objective, the issue transcends inefficiency—it becomes an ethical breach.
The opportunity cost is staggering. The same resources could have strengthened primary healthcare centres, rehabilitated rural roads, improved school infrastructure, or enhanced security architecture. Instead, they have produced a stadium that cannot pass CAF’s test. This is the very definition of waste.
Accountability Without Consequences?
One of the most corrosive aspects of Nigerian governance is the absence of consequences. Projects fail, money is spent, excuses are issued, and life goes on. If the Adamasingba Stadium rejection attracts no sanctions, no independent probe, and no transparent review, it will confirm that failure carries no cost in Oyo State governance.
Who takes responsibility? The Commissioner for Youth and Sports? The contractors? The consultants? The procurement process? Or does responsibility dissolve conveniently into bureaucratic anonymity?
Opposition politics exists precisely to ask these uncomfortable questions. Silence, in this context, would amount to complicity.
A Warning Signal Ahead
The Adamasingba episode is not an isolated incident; it is a warning signal. It reflects a broader pattern where governance is driven by public relations rather than public value. If a relatively straightforward infrastructure project like stadium renovation can end in international embarrassment, citizens are entitled to worry about less visible sectors where failure is harder to detect.
Conclusion: Beyond Excuses, Toward Reckoning
CAF’s rejection should mark a turning point. Not for cosmetic adjustments or defensive press statements, but for a serious reckoning with how Oyo State plans, executes, and accounts for public projects. Until then, the Adamasingba Stadium will stand not as a monument to sporting excellence, but as a concrete symbol of waste, misplaced priorities, and governance without accountability.
For an administration that prides itself on competence and technocratic efficiency, this failure is not just embarrassing- it is devastating.
