The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has charged the Super Eagles of Nigeria to be steadfast in winning a fourth AFCON title ahead of the 34th edition, which kicks off on Saturday.
Mr Sanwo-Olu, who hosted the Super Eagles to a send-off dinner in Lagos on Tuesday, encouraged the team with the popular slang “no gree for anybody” as they go for gold in Cote d’Ivoire.
The governor began his speech by telling the Eagles that they are the “country’s unifier,” and it’s expedient for them to represent the nation well.
“You are our country’s unifier. As much as we will be putting pressure on you during the matches, Nigerians expect you to do that for us. We believe we have the men who can do it for us.
“People might say we don’t have a team; it’s another thing to believe in yourself, and once you believe in yourself and as a team, we are on that track already, no matter the obstacles, no matter the fuel price facing the country, but just to go out there and demonstrate your undying spirit as a Nigerian, with a total of two hundred and 20 million people in the country and the Diaspora are right behind you.
“And this is how you can write your names in gold forever. And I want to assure you that this number (220 million Nigerians) is behind you in support.
“We know you have a sense of patronage and patriotism. Let that be your driving force. Let it encourage you that, for our country at the moment, we need this unifier. We need peace, and we need sports as a healing tool for us Nigerians.
“We need that cup to be succour, that would energise us and bring together all the yearnings of this country. And I pray God to give you the strength to achieve this.
“You should qualify and make sure that you don’t give up. You could be in the first half, which is not what you want—to give up. It could get to 70 minutes; don’t give up.
“You could see 80 minutes; don’t give up. You have to have that belief that until the whistle blows, you still have an opportunity, and that’s how life is.
“Because when we want to say that we will do it again, it is not by mouth alone; it’s about that team’s spirit and commitment. Just know that over 222 million Nigerians are behind you,” he said.
Rewriting history after a decade, Musa reassures Nigerians
Recall that the Eagles last won the AFCON title 11 years ago, when the late Stephen Keshi-led team broke all odds to win the competition.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria, who returned to the country with a chartered flight alongside their captain Ahmed Musa, assured Governor Sanwo-Olu, the minister of sports development John Owan, and other sports personalities present, of proper representation at the event.
Musa, a member of the title-winning squad in South Africa in 2013, will lead the team in a competitive event since he assumed the role of skipper of the Eagles. This was after John Obi Mikel retired from international football after the 2021 AFCON played in Egypt under former manager Gernot Rohr.
The Eagles will travel to Cote d’Ivoire today on an 80-minute chartered flight to Abidjan.
