By Onochie Anibeze.
Shipping container is among the things denying Lagos is claiming as City of Excellence.
Trucks conveyed by block roads, many are abandoned in areas that ordinarily should look descent. And these days when Lagos State government approved erection of truck yards in purely residential areas containers have become a huge menace to the lives of Lagos residents. With authorities losing focus in the management of shipping line, containers now flood everywhere in Lagos. They constitute such terrible sights especially now that touts stop them on roads to collect tolls. The traffic this causes hurts.
Shipping container have turned a nightmare to Lagos residents especially those in Amuwo Odofin and Apapa areas. Here in Qatar, it is different, Stadium 974 is a sight to beheld. It is one of the stadiums that will host the 2022 World Cup starting here in less than 71 days from today.
Stadium 974 was built with 974 containers. They were beaten to shape to produce one of the spectacles of the 2022 World Cup. The same containers that make a mess of Nigerian roads add to the beauty of Qatar, the 2022 World Cup and the history that will be told and retold to generations to come. It is the first World Cup in the Middle East.
It is the first compact World Cup, the first in November and so the first that truly captures the context of the word ‘world’ and it’s meaning to the Mundial. If the World Cup is hosted by a few countries we may begin to redefine the word ‘world’ that actually underscores its global character. It will be wrong to deny any part of the world hosting rights because of their religion, time difference, weather or any natural disposition. And that’s one of the reasons the world will be here in Qatar from November 20 for the World Cup. Initially, some people wanted the World Cup taken away from Qatar because of the weather. Summer is considered too hot for football in Qatar. But they installed cooling technology in their stadiums and were ready to host at anytime of the year. However, there was good reason to move it to the conducive period of November and December which will just be about 28 degrees celsius, which Lothar Matthaus says will be ‘lovely for football.’