By Ofonime Honesty

I know a smear campaign when I see one.

I am fully convinced that what has unfolded in recent days against the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo is nothing short of a coordinated and deeply irresponsible attempt to tear down one of the few things this country can point to with pride.

Enough is enough. I have watched the nonsense for days, and my patience has run out.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria laboured to a narrow 2-1 win over the Les Barea of Madagascar in Uyo in an African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.

It was a drab, uninspiring performance capable of sparking a hard conversation about the team. Instead, voices in the social media space decided the culprit was the stadium. Not the tactics. Not the lack of cohesion in midfield. The stadium!

Read the “indictment.” The pitch is “very bad.” There is “no under-soil heating.” It is a “taboo” for a stadium not to have digital advertising hoardings. One Facebook page admin had the audacity to suggest that Stanley Nwabali’s spectacular one-on-one save was made possible by the “bumpy pitch” slowing the ball. A goalkeeper produces the save of the night, and we are told to thank the grass. It is insulting to the man!

Then came the punchline: “Uyo is no longer fit to host the national teams.”

It is an agenda. An agenda propagated by those irritated by the fact that Akwa Ibom State has become Nigeria’s football Mecca.

For context, I was one of the early birds in the stadium ahead of the match last Friday. I attest that most of what is being circulated on social media is stranger than fiction. The pitch I saw was in its usual pristine and lush condition. The whole facility was glittering. The ambience was serene. The only truth in their claims were the absence of a digital substitution board and LED advertising hoardings.

For context, that is the only stadium in Nigeria currently approved by both CAF and FIFA to host international matches. It has held that status for many years

Our elders say “the calabash that serves water must not be smashed, for we shall be thirsty again.” Nigeria has been smashing calabashes for decades. Look at the evidence: the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos; Liberty Stadium, now the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium in Ibadan; Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna; the National Stadium in Abuja; UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar; Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt, and others. These were iconic home grounds for the national teams in bygone years. Today, they are in ruins.

Segun Odegbami, one of the finest and accomplished footballers this country has ever produced, wept over the rot: “I weep when I think of the amount of damage they have done to Nigerian football. The infrastructure that we had in the country, some of the historic monuments that were facilities for football in this country. Whether it was wilful, whether it was ignorance, they did irreparable damage to what was Nigeria’s heritage.”

Then he said the line that should shame the haters: “Uyo (stadium) is the best we have in Nigeria.”

FIFA, CAF, players and officials of visiting nations, and football legends have endorsed the venue. But some keypad hirelings and haters are attempting to ruin the momentum.

The Super Eagles keep returning to Uyo for a reason, and it is not only the stadium. It is the city. Uyo is neat and organised, with an excellent road network and a low crime rate. Its calm ambience contrasts sharply with the congestion and disorder of many others cities in the country. Uyo offers stability and safety and a working stadium. For that, it is being smeared.

Let me pre-empt the mischief. No serious person is claiming the stadium is perfect. But there is a world of difference between “this house needs a new roof” and “burn the house down.” One is a call for repairs. The other is arson. I admit, the stadium needs digital advertisment hoardings and substitution board. But the claim of a poor pitch and deterioration of the facility is unfounded.

The agitation for Uyo to be cancelled must be drowned with immediate effect.

We have lost Surulere. We have lost Ibadan, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Abuja. Nigeria has not hosted the Africa Cup of Nations since 2000.

If we lose Uyo, we lose everything.