Save Agbonavbare for us, Okoku, others beg Jonathan

A plea for help has been made by members of the Mexico
1983 Flying Eagles squad to President Goodluck Jonathan re­
questing him to come to the aid of their shot stopper, Wilfred
Agbonivbare who is critically ill with cancer.
Agbonavbare, a member of the U-21 Mexico 83 Flying Eagles,
and 1994 AFCON gold medalist, is ravaged by cancer and is
barely clinging to life in a hospital in Spain. His team mates,
Paul Okoku, Dehinde Akinlotan, Tajudeen Disu and Femi
Olukanni were in tears running from pillar to post soliciting for
funds to help save the life of one of their own.
According to Okoku, who was the Vice Captain of ‘83 Flying
Eagles, the current health condition of Agbonavbare on the
sick bed should concern all kind hearted Nigerians .
It was gathered that the AFCON 1994 gold medalist was
relieved of his job after he was diagnosed with cancer and had
spent all the money he made playing professional football on
the medical bills of his late wife who incidentally died of
breast cancer three years ago.
Agbonavbare’s three children had been brought back home to
Nigeria because of his illness.
“As we speak, Wilfred Agbonavbare is clinging on to his life in
Spain; he is very weak to the point that you could scarcely
hear his voice sitting next to him. To execute his wishes, he
has been relocated back to Spain after spending five months
in a Tampa, Florida, hospital, to continue with his treatment.
“We have been conditioned to believe that, the labour of our
heroes past shall never be in vain, which is so rightfully
embedded in our national anthem, and that government is a
continuum, a promise made in 1960 is a promise made in
2013.”
“Again, as the promise keeper, Mr. President, we’re appealing
to your good conscience to make these promises become true
for us in 2015.
Speaking in the same vein, Tajudeen Disu and Femi Olukanni
decried the neglect of past heroes of this country and appealed
for the monetization of the Scholarship promised the team as
a means of saving the life of their team mate.
“We, the 1983 set of Flying Eagles players, are calling on the
President, Goodluck Jonathan, as the promise keeper, to
honour the promised scholarship the then president of Nigeria,
Alhaji Shehu Shagari, made to us in 1983 after qualifying
Nigeria for her first ever FIFA-organized tournament. In doing
so, Wilfred, who is terminally ill, will not be in want financially
and he can focus on his treatment with a peace of mind. And
equally, many of our teammates in despair, struggling to make
ends meet financially and suffering from deplorable health
conditions with no medical assistance will have hope. We
have lost three of our teammates, Captain Ali Jeje, Chris
Anigala and Tarfa Kpako.
“Losing Wilfred Agbonavbare, due to lack of funds, would be
tragic. Our two coaches are not left out too as both Chris
Udemezue and Isiaka Yakubu are of blessed memory. How
many more will have to die from our set without enjoying the
fruit of their labour? They all left children behind and what a
way to reward them from the labour of their national heroes,
deceased parents.
“We have made our request, through direct action, to the
Minister of Sports, Hon. Tammy Danagogo and the Director
General of National Sports Commission, Hon. Gbenga
Elegbeleye respectively. We have gone through the proper
chain of command properly and purposely and have been
assured that a recommendation has been made to your
offices.
“Sir, It is appropriate for me to point out here that both
gentlemen have been very helpful and supportive in our
campaign. We are very thankful to them for their
encouragement. “They have demonstrated responsible
leadership in the manner in which they showed concern and
their support for true heroes of a nation and more importantly,
respect for our unprecedented record,” he stated.