The Pains of 1980 AFCON Winners and Growing Calls for Retirement
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SATURDAY TELEGRAPH 20 Sport 28 DECEMBER 2019 The pains of 1980 AFCON winners and growing calls for retirement benefits Nigeria won the Nations Cup for the first time in 1980 and our correspondent AJIBADE OLUSESAN explores the lives of the heroes who earned the country that success 39 years ago and discovered that many of them are suffering debilitating health issues. Their plights have deepened discourse for the establishment of retirement benefits for retired professional athletes The 1980 AFCON team he big party started immediately The players became instant heroes; rassing as government whom Chukwu during a career, plus levels of depression referee Gebreyesus Tesfaye from some musicians even waxed records in served meritoriously for several years comparable to the general population that Ethiopia blew the final whistle; their praise while they received gifts from turned blind eyes to his plight. can be aggravated by that injury-related 85,000 fans that thronged the Na- all quarters. The Chairman was the one that lifted pain, can make the transition to retirement tional Stadium, Lagos, erupted in wild The Shagari-led government rewarded the trophy, he was so assured in the de- difficult for many players.” Tjubilation, Nigeria has won the African the team with a national honour, a house fence that it was believed no striker could According to the lead researcher, Dr. Cup of Nations for the first time. The day in FESTAC Town, and a car each; nothing easily dribble past him and seeing him Thomas L. Schwenk, “Many retired play- was March 22, 1980. was too much for these heroes, they thor- in a terrible shape with illness about to ers have a rate of moderate to severe de- The joy was boundless, the then Presi- oughly deserved anything, everything, score a regrettable goal against him left pressive symptoms similar to the general dent, Shehu Shagari, was the cheerleader; they were at the centre of this glory. many Nigerians worried that someone population. Nevertheless, they also have he clapped, jumped, danced, the broad However, the thinking of the average of his stature and history could be so a huge burden of chronic pain, from inju- smile on his face mirrored the mood of citizen is to serve his or her country and be abandoned. ries and the stress of a professional sports the nation. appreciated for life but 39 years after that Despite a sustained media campaign career. The two interact to cause significant Forward Segun Odegbami had scored historic triumph in Lagos, the tales of these to force the intervention of government in sleep disturbance and other miseries.” two goals to land the country her first ma- heroes are not only gory but horrifying. Chukwu’s situation, the people in power The study emphasized that this state jor silverware after the Green Eagles wal- As at today seven members of the win- were adamantly unmoved and the former of depression and chronic pain can lead to loped Algeria 3-0 in the final. Muda Lawal ning team are dead and those who are Eagles coach resigned to fate counting the financial difficulties, lack of social support was the scorer of the third goal. still alive are passing through excruciating days he might join his departed colleagues or friendships, and abuse of prescribed “It was a day I can never forget and it pains with no help from the country they until help came through a Billionaire phi- medication, alcohol or other drugs. will always remain a great day in the his- served with all their hearts. lanthropist, Femi Otedola. For the study, the Schwenk’s group tory of football in Nigeria. I was a young Goalkeeper, Best Ogedegbe; defend- The businessman did not only splash surveyed 3,377 retired members of the player, I couldn’t believe we had become ers, Okey Isima, Annas Ahmed and Tunde the cash for surgery he personally super- NFL Players Association. Of the 1,594 who the champions of Africa,” said Henry Bamidele; midfielders, Alloysius Atueg- vised the process that ensured Chukwu responded, almost 15 percent reported Nwosu, who just finished his second- bu, Lawal; and forward, Martins Eyo, are got adequate medical treatment in the moderate to severe depression, a figure ary school education to join the winning the departed souls and some of them left London hospital. comparable to the public, Schwenk said. team. He was the youngest member of with regrets for spending the active days Chukwu is now recovering after a suc- However, half of those respondents also the squad. of their lives serving their Fatherland. cessful surgery but his ailment was typical said they suffered from chronic pain. And Nigeria has recorded many more The gory story of the illness of the of the challenges professional athletes pass “this puts them at significant additional achievements in football since that tri- captain of the side, Christian Chukwu, through after retirement. risk for depression,” Schwenk said. umph in 1980 but arguably they all paled typified the excruciating and painful ex- A study published in the April 2007 Kadiri Ikhana joined the Eagles from in comparison with the success of winning perience of these heroes. The picture of edition of the medical journal, Medicine the Nigerian Army; he came on in the the first AFCON. It was symbolic not only Chairman, as Chukwu, is known, clutch- & Science in Sports & Exercise, lends second half of that historic final at the because it was the first major victory for ing onto his crutches trended on the social credence to this fact that the glamour of National Stadium, Lagos; he was enter- the country in the sport, but the way it media and reports emerged that he would playing professional football can fade fast prising, trying to ensure that the country deepened the unity of Nigeria 10 years need about $50,000 for surgery or he gets and hard once an athlete’s career is over. protect her lead over Algeria. He played after the civil war and one year after the confined to the wheelchair or even ulti- The study conducted by some Univer- his part in that success but he is today suf- return to democratic rule after 13 years of mately lose his life. sity of Michigan, U.S researchers report fering from several ailments. military interregnum. However, his situation became embar- that: ‘Chronic pain from injuries sustained He recently underwent two different .