A former footballer, Billiaminu Umar was spotted sitting idly and looking weary outside Giginya Memorial Stadium in Sokoto State last October. His potentially illustrious career has been severely impacted by the state government’s lack of support.
At 23, Billiaminu had already lived a lifetime in the sport. He remembered the thrill of his first match, the exhilaration of scoring his first goal. Football had been his escape, his passion, his everything to live an impactful life.
Billiaminu would kick around makeshift balls made from plastic bags and twine in Sokoto’s dusty streets. His pure talent attracted local coaches, and he eventually had the chance to play for Old Star Football Club, a grassroots football team in Sokoto.
His imagination ran wild with visions of cheering crowds, trophies, and a life beyond the limitations of his humble beginnings.
But now, Billiaminu’s gaze drifted listlessly across the stadium. Weeds pushed through the cracked pavement and took over some of the spectators’ seats. The situation exposed the gulf between his dreams and his reality.
“The government doesn’t care about sports,” Billiaminu said, his voice barely above a whisper. “They did not see the will to invest in the sector like their counterparts from the southern region of the country,” he added.
“See how unkempt our main bowl is,” he said pointing across the pitch. Adding “With the condition of this stadium, we can’t even host an outside team to come and play with us.”
After deciding to quit football, Billiaminu was allowed to secure a place in Giginya Memorial Stadium’s main bowl as part of the staff.
“I have been here for two years, and nothing great has been done to the stadium. Even the bushy grasses on the pitch were just cleared recently in early August,” he revealed.
He recalled the countless times he’d watched teammates hang up their boots, frustrated by the lack of opportunities. The ones who remained were forced to play for peanuts, their talents wasted on poorly maintained fields.
As he spoke, a group of children gathered at the stadium’s entrance, their eyes shining with excitement. They kicked around a tattered ball, laughing and shouting. Billiaminu watched a pang of sorrow in his chest.
“What chance do they have?” he wondered aloud. “The system fails us at every turn. No infrastructure, no support, no vision. We’re just numbers (to win elections) to them, not athletes, not people.”
Billiaminu’s own story was a testament to the neglect of the sports sector by the Sokoto government. His complaint is not unfounded. Data has shown that Sokoto state has a trend of woeful performance in the National Sports Festival.
For example, in 2020, Sokoto finished 36th out of 37 teams. With only three bronze medals at the national sports festival held in Edo state, they finished ahead of only Taraba. More recently, in 2023, the state also finished 32nd out of 36 states at the 7th National Youth Games in Delta, winning only two medals.
Meanwhile, a glimmer of hope flickered for Billiaminu in 2020 when the state government under the administration of Aminu Tambuwal moved to facilitate the construction of a modern sports facility. But this hope has been short-lived after the government failed to fulfill its promise.
A statement issued by Muhammad Bello, the Special Adviser to the Former Governor Aminu Tambuwal on Media and Public Affairs, announced the state executive council’s approval for the multi-billionaire projects.
“The two projects will be at the proposed Sokoto New City and they were awarded to Qualitrend Global Solution. While the sports arena is expected to be completed within 44 weeks, the sports hall is to be completed within 20 weeks,” Bello, announced in July 2020.
In October 2020, the state government flagged off the construction of the project. The managing director of the construction company, Qualitrends GS Company said the projects when completed will accommodate all the indoor sporting activities such as lawn tennis, hockey, badminton, and squash among others.
He also admitted the government mandated his company to deliver the project within a time frame of 12 months.
He said: “This project when completed will include a standard or modern stadium in which the field is designed to accommodate standard soccer and other indoor activities.
“The stadium is designed to accommodate 5,000 sittings with an additional 6,000 people with a provision for VIP sittings in it.
“The sports arena was awarded at the cost of N1.250bn while the indoor site was awarded at the cost of 450m naira which brings the total cost to N1.7bn,” he added.
Multi-Billionaire Investment Down the Drain
A document obtained from the Sokoto State Bureau of Public Procurement and Public-Private Partnership reveals that the project was awarded on June 22, 2020.
In February 2022, Former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal also told Ex-Nigerian Sports Minister Sunday Dare that his government had released approximately N3.5 billion for the execution of the project at the time.
This revelation from Tambuwal excited the former sports minister, who stated that the project would be a legacy that will serve the people of the state and future generations of youth after completion.
In one of his social media posts in December 2021, Hon. Bashir Usman Gorau, the lawmaker representing the Gada-Goronyo Federal constituency and Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Emergency and Preparedness also confirmed the potential of the project if completed.
He said: “The 3D of the ongoing Construction of Modern Stadium and Indoor Hall at New Sokoto Sports City. Currently, the Stadium is at 65% work done while the Indoor Hall is at 78% work done. No doubt when the project is completed, it will be the best of its kind (a State-owned Sports Facility) from Northern Nigeria.”
However, SaharaReporters’ finding revealed that the contractor had left the project abandoned in 2022 without any significant work done. During a recent visit to the project location in September 2024, the place was almost overtaken by overgrown weeds.
Except for the iron fittings installed in what appeared to be the sitting area for spectators, which gave the impression that it was a sports facility, nothing indicated that it was an ongoing huge sports project.
“My father now uses part of the land to farm beans,” a young boy who claimed to be the son of a guard hired to secure the abandoned project told SaharaReporters.
Company Linked With Politician, Fraudulent Records
Findings by SaharaReporters revealed further that the company, Qualitrend Global Solution is owned by a prominent member of the Nigerian ruling political party, All Progressive Congress (APC), Usman Murtala Banye. Banye is a member of the Federal House of Representatives currently representing Batagarawa/Charanchi/Rimi constituency in the 10th National Assembly.
The company incorporated on the 5th of March 2012 with Registration Number: RC 1015014 has two directors: Usman Murtala Banye and Abubakar Bukar.
The award of the Sokoto Modern Sports Arena project to the company violates Section 69(11)(b) of the Sokoto State Bureau for Public Procurement and Price Intelligence (Amendment No.2) Law, 2020, which prohibits the government from awarding public contracts to companies linked to individuals such as Honourable Usman, who can easily influence the bidding process decision.
Section 69(11)(b)states that a conflict of interest will exist during the procurement process where a person “possesses a direct or indirect interest in or relationship with a bidder, supplier, contractor or service provider that is inherently unethical or that may be implied or constructed to be or make possible personal gain due to the person’s ability to influence dealings.”
Further findings showed that the company was linked with fraud in 2019 by The African Development Bank Group (AFDB).
An investigation conducted by the AFDB’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that Qualitrends Global Solutions Nigeria Limited engaged in numerous acts of fraud in bidding for a construction contract under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Program Phase One in Nigeria.
While participating in a tender for the development of social infrastructure in Nigeria’s Niger State, the AFDB claimed that the company misrepresented its experience in similar construction projects and submitted a fake bid security. This resulted in the company’s 36-month debarment.
Barely 12 months later, the same company awarded N1.6 billion to build the ‘now-abandoned’ Sokoto Modern Sports Arena project.
In an attempt to obtain comments from Honourable Usman on our findings, SaharaReporters made multiple calls to his two phone numbers, which were confirmed to be his through Truecaller.
However, these calls were consistently unanswered, with some declined, suggesting a deliberate avoidance of response. Furthermore, text messages and WhatsApp messages sent to him remain unanswered.
Dreams Crushed
The effect of abandoning the project—coupled with not having an existing good one—is damaging to both aspiring athletes in the state and Sokoto United.
Kabir Sanni was a kid, his dream, like every other kid of his age, was to (at least) become a national footballer. The belief he had in his prowess as a young baller was strong.
“I believed if I could join any of the grassroots clubs at the stadium, it won’t be long before football takes me to the limelight,” he told SaharaReporters in September.
However, he will later tell our reporter that the dream was short-lived when he saw the situation at the stadium. It was below his expectations. Sanni’s dream was to train with professionals in a well-tarred pitch.
“I concluded the dream was a mere dream. I was greatly discouraged by the pitch we trained on the first day I joined the grassroots team. It was a sandy floor decked with rocks.
I can’t bear to get injured on that muddy pitch,” Sanni said.
Musa Yunusa is another athlete who specialises in basketball, he expressed his deep concern about the wreckage of the Infrastructure and facilities at the stadium that have been taunting the basketball players in the state.
“If appropriate facilities were put in place for the basketball athletes, many players would have made it out to the world. I can say only football is more of a concern than other sports here in Sokoto.”
Also, Safiullahi Abubakar, a football player, expressed his concern over the negligence of the Sokoto Government towards the rehabilitation and renovation of the stadium complex. He said, “Apart from the main bowl, the entire medium pitch within the stadium also needs to be rehabilitated.”
He added that it’s sad to point out Sokoto State Stadium as one of the states’ stadiums in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, when this reporter asked Billiaminu Umar how the Sokoto United team would accommodate and host the away team, he replied, “I have no prior knowledge about that, but most of the time our team (Sokoto United) always plays on an away pitch or hosts away in some other part of the country.”
A grassroots coach from Gingiya Stadium, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained the importance of completing projects like this.
“It will help us discover more talents and provide us with facilities to train better. It will even encourage the younger ones to develop interest in sporting activities,” he said.
Government Reacts
When contacted, the state government blamed the non-execution and irregularities surrounding the award of the project on the past government.
Mr Muhammadu Aminu, the spokesman for the State Ministry of Youth and Sports said that the records of the project’s financial expenditure were not with them.
He said: “The government of Sokoto State under the leadership of Governor Dr. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto has not abandoned any project aimed at bringing development to the state. Instead, the government is working tirelessly to put all records straight and ensure the completion of all projects initiated to improve the lives of the people of Sokoto State.”
Abubakar Bawa, the Chief Press Secretary to the State Governor, Ahmad Aliyu also told SaharaReporters that the current government will investigate SaharaReporters’ findings.
This report was published with support from the Civic Media Lab.
