Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has fulfilled a 30-year-old promise to members of Nigeria’s 1996 Atlanta Olympic gold-winning football team by allocating plots of land to three Kaduna-born members of the squad and naming streets after them. The beneficiaries are former Super Eagles stars Daniel Amokachi, Garba Lawal and Emmanuel……
Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has fulfilled a 30-year-old promise to members of Nigeria’s 1996 Atlanta Olympic gold-winning football team by allocating plots of land to three Kaduna-born members of the squad and naming streets after them.
The beneficiaries are former Super Eagles stars Daniel Amokachi, Garba Lawal and Emmanuel Babayaro, who were part of the historic “Dream Team” that secured Nigeria’s first Olympic football gold medal at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, United States.
Amokachi disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking with journalists after inspecting the ongoing reconstruction of the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.
The former striker said governments had made several promises to members of the victorious squad following their historic triumph, but many of those commitments remained unfulfilled for decades.
He said Governor Sani had now honoured one of the outstanding promises by allocating land to him, Lawal and Babayaro, while also directing that streets be named after other members of the team who had not previously been immortalised.
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Amokachi said the gesture was particularly significant because it demonstrated appreciation for the contributions of former footballers and coaches while they were still alive.
“We lack the words to thank the governor for this kind gesture. He has shown that veterans who contributed to the development of football can still be appreciated in their lifetime,” he said.
Lawal, a former Super Eagles player and ex-General Manager of Kaduna United Football Club, also praised the ongoing reconstruction of the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, describing the facility as world-class and capable of meeting FIFA standards when completed.
He said the project would help restore Kaduna’s status as one of Nigeria’s major football centres and provide the Super Eagles with a suitable training facility in the northern region.
“Now, Super Eagles will not have to go to Uyo to train. This one is right here at my doorstep. It is a wonderful project and, by the grace of God, we shall come and unveil it by November,” Lawal said.
Babayaro, who was the goalkeeper of the Atlanta ’96 gold-winning team, said the governor’s initiatives had helped reconnect members of Kaduna’s football community and revive the state’s longstanding football tradition.
“Coming to the stadium and seeing the edifice and the amazing work going on here, I cannot but admit that he is indeed a political conundrum,” the former goalkeeper said.
He said he initially doubted the information that the governor had allocated land to the Olympic champions, believing it could be linked to a political event.
“The first time Garba Lawal called me and sent me the papers for the land, I doubted it. I thought perhaps they needed us to attend an elaborate event for political purposes.
“But nothing of such happened. That means he gave us those lands because he is that awesome. He did not ask us to come and thank him on television or support any political campaign,” Babayaro said.
Responding, Governor Sani commended the former players, coaches and sports administrators for their contributions to the development of football and sports in Kaduna State and Nigeria.
He described Kaduna as one of the country’s leading football-producing states, noting that several players from the state had gone on to achieve success on the international stage.
“Kaduna is the leading footballing state in Nigeria. We have produced more stars that have gone out of the country and made their marks globally,” the governor said.
Sani said his administration was committed to reviving the state’s fortunes in sports, particularly football, through sustained investment in sporting infrastructure.
He recalled that the Ahmadu Bello Stadium last hosted a CAF-sanctioned football tournament in 2016, when the Super Eagles played Egypt.
According to the governor, the poor state of the facility prompted him to seek President Bola Tinubu’s approval for the stadium to be handed over to the Kaduna State Government for reconstruction.
