By Okey Maduforo, Awka
Former Secretary and player of Rangers International Football Club , Chief Jeo Martins Uzodike has lamented that Nigeria’ has lost four football super stars in one single year describing their death as a result of lack of attention at old age .
Uzodike who was reacting to the death of former Green Eagles captain and coach of Super Eagles late Chairman Christian Chukwu at Niger Foundations Hospital Enugu , further lamented that the old players played with patriotism without love for materialism.
“Christian Chukwu was picked from Nike Grammer School Enugu to play for Rangers and at some point he coached Rangers Football Club and later became the Captain of the Green Eagles”
“He was the Captain that won the first Nations Cup for NIgeria and also won the African Nations Cup as a Coach ”
“He spoke to some of us three days ago and we never knew that it was the last time we shall hear from him and of course he has been sick just like most of them who played in those years and this has to do with fatigue as footballers ” he noted.
Uzodike also cried that ” We have lost four of them in one year such as Christian Isiadinso, recently Kenneth Abana left , Mecha also left and they are all going in quick succession and Emele left last time and you can see that life is just a passage ”
He however expressed the appreciation of the players for the assistance provided to them by successive administrations in Anambra state who commenced the payment of stipends to the players irrespective of their states of origin.
“Peter Obi started it and infact he initiated it by paying them N13,000.00 monthly and Willie Obiano increased it to N15,000.00 then Gov Charles Soludo came and increased it to N100,000.00 monthly ”
“They all have tried in their own capacity despite the fact that Christian Chukwu is not from Anambra state, he is from Obe in Enugu state and Mecha is from Abia state and when he died , Peter Obi had to buy land for him where he was buried and what is left now is to build a house for him ” he said.
Uzodike also observed that most of the players of old played for the love of the country and not for money adding that it was why they never had no houses of their own.
“Today people play football and make millions of naira but their set played for patriotism and not money example is late Christian Nwokocha who died without a house and we had to build a house for him at Nawfia in Njikoka local government area of Anambra state ”
“This is the plight of old people and our people don’t remember them and their roles in the country and this is indeed terrible ” he lamented.
