By Funso Alarape
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
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The captain of Nigeria’s national team, Ahmed Musa, has appealed to fans of the Super Eagles to stop cyber attacks directed at their team member, Alex Iwobi, following Nigeria’s loss to Cote D’Ivoire at the final of the just concluded African Cup of Nations.
He appealed while fielding questions from State House Correspondents shortly after President Bola Tinubu hosted the team and honored the entire team and officials with the prestigious Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) for their outstanding performance at the 2023 Africa Nations Cup, where they secured the silver medal.
The federal government, represented by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), granted each member of the team a plot of land and a flat with the location yet to be announced.
Asked about his lengthy post on his social media handle about cyberbullying concerning Iwobi, and his message for Nigerians, Musa said: “We know that we are very disappointed with the result but there’s nothing we can do about this. That’s what happens in football. So now we have to go back and work ahead for the next AFCON and we have some more couple of games for the World Cup qualifiers so that is more important.
“We appreciate all Nigerians for the massive support that they gave to us. It’s not that easy. We know everyone wants the cup but that is what Allah decided that is going to happen.
“Yeah, for our colleagues, I don’t think he deserves what is getting now because I think we have done our nation proud. So we think everyone has to be proud of every one of us. But with what we saw on social media, if you want to attack, just attack all the teams, not individual players.
“So is not everyone that has that mindset. We are humans. There’s nothing we can do we made a mistake but when something like this happens, we have to come together and appreciate one another.”
Asked if they learned some lessons from the tournament, the Super Eagles Captain said: “There are a lot of lessons. We were thinking and hoping that we would win the cup but at the end of 95 minutes we lost the game, that is a big lesson that we have to go back and look into it.”
Napoli star, Victor Osimhen on his part has described the cyberbullying on Iwobi as sad, appealing to the fans to think of his mental health.
He said: “It is sad about the happening for the past two weeks now. Some of our fans in Africa just as it has been said… but of course you will see there is a big solidarity in the team. And I urge Nigerians that cyberbullying is bad because we are also human.
“Sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes we have a good game, and we get the hype. But of course, when you criticize you have to be constructive when doing this type of thing. I think to be fair, what they have done to Alex is out of this world, and is not good. They should also look at his mental health because some of us take this to heart and then keep on grinding. And there are some of us that these things will get to our head and we will lose focus and will lose form.
“So I think we are rallying around him, we have spoken to him individually and collectively. So I think he’s a strong dude and is ready to continue to give his all for his nation.”
On the World Cup qualifiers and how ready they are, he said: “We are ready. I think we just finished a tournament that is one of the hardest we have played in since I started my career. And now we have to go back to our clubs to keep up the good work and hopefully, we will get called up by our national team and give our all also. But of course, the goal is to get the ticket to the World Cup and I think we have the team and we have the squad to achieve this.”
My first time being hosted by a country’s president- Peseiro
Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, has said in his 60-year-old, President Tinubu is the first president to have hosted him.
While showing his appreciation to Nigeria’s President, he said it was a thing of pride to be invited.
He said: “First of all I like to say thank you to the President. I am 60 years old, this is the first time some president has invited me to his house. Is an honor and pride to me and I thank the President of the Republic of Nigeria for the invitation to me.“
Speaking on the AFCON Finals, the coach said: “About the finals, if you ask me, I think we did a fantastic job, our team showed very good spirit and played well. My boys did 100 percent, same for my staff the NFF (Nigeria Football Federation), and everybody. Of course, I would have liked to bring the cup to the Nigerian people, but I’m sad about that. But of course, I’m happy because I think we did a fantastic job. In the final, I think we felt that atmosphere.”
We are highly elated for the honor – Gusau
President of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, has said the team and the federation are highly elated to be given national honor.
He said: “ This is a great day for all of us. You can see how the President received the team and we are highly elated to say that we have been honored with MON, to our entire team including me and my general secretary. That is a great thing that has happened to this country. That shows that Nigerians are really happy especially the President. We thank God for the support given to this team and by the grace of God we will continue to do our best to ensure that we make Nigerians happy through football.
“Ahead of World Cup qualifiers, the Next qualifier for the World Cup in June, we have a FIFA Window that we are trying to organize high-quality matches for the team for them to prepare for the match in June.
“We will give the coach all the necessary support needed for us to ensure that our team is fit in the next round of qualifiers.”
President Tinubu who received the National Football team, expressed pride in the team, acknowledging their role in fostering unity within the country through their remarkable performance.
Despite finishing second, he encouraged them to hold their heads high and maintain their team spirit.
Troost Ekong, the team’s vice-captain and most valuable player, expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for his support, expressing a desire to present a trophy rather than silver medals.
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