In many countries, national sports stadiums are considered significant landmarks, and Nigeria is no exception. But the country's once-shining facility in Lagos has fallen into disrepair, to the chagrin of sports fans and historical preservationists alike. CGTN's Deji Badmus has the story.

It used to be called Nigeria's Sport's City and the home ground of the country's national football teams. It's hosted some of the most memorable sporting events in Nigeria's history, among them the 1973 edition of the All Africa Games and the 1980 Africa Cup Nations, which the country won for the very first time. Kunle Solaja was there when it happened.

KUNLE SOLAJA SPORTS VILLAGE SQUARE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF "It was a glorious moment. The atmosphere was electrifying. The then-President, Shehu Shagari, was there. He was the cheerleader holding the rattler and cheering the Green Eagles as they were then called. Those are fine memories that one really has about the Lagos National Stadium."

Those were the good old days. The Lagos National Stadium is now a very dark shadow of what it once was. The pitch of the main bowl is in a bad shape. The racetracks are gone. The floodlights are all dead with virtually all the bulbs fallen off. And the electronic scoreboard, simply a standing relic. The roof of the covered arena is giving way. Most of the seats have disappeared and the ones still in place are old and outdated.

DEJI BADMUS LAGOS "The National Stadium is in a complete state of dilapidation. No official national sporting event takes place here anymore. The last time the senior national football team, the Super Eagles, played an international match was way back in 2004."

KUNLE SOLAJA SPORTS VILLAGE SQUARE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF "It's unimaginable that a stadium of that capacity, a stadium that was competing as one of the best in the world at the time it was constructed in 1972, could be in that state now – in such a state of disrepair."

KAYODE TIJANI SPORTS JOURNALIST "It's a tragedy. I'm not exaggerating here, it's a complete tragedy that the national stadium is the way it is, and everybody doesn't care. They don't understand what it means."

The 55,000-capacity multi-purpose stadium, when it was originally built, comprises an Olympic-size swimming pool, spaces for basketball, boxing, tennis, and several other sports. The capacity was later reduced to 45,000 in 1999 for a FIFA tournament, but since 2004, no national tournament has taken place here because of the poor state of the facility.

The Lagos state government has been pressing the federal government to hand over the facility to it, so it could rehabilitate and run it. But for some political reasons, the central government has not done so. 

"It obvious the federal government cannot maintain that stadium. Even the state government might be able to maintain it. It is better that stadium is concessioned to people who can make use of, maintain and sustain it."

While both sides engage in a back-and-forth negotiation, Nigeria's sports city continues to rot away. DB, CGTN, Lagos, Nigeria.