The 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has paid a sympathy visit to the former Super Eagles winger Tijiani Babangida, who was involved in a car accident last month.
The accident was ghastly for Babangida, while it proved fatal for two family members of his.
Specifically, the 50-year-old former Nigerian international, who also played for Ajax Football Club of Holland, broke his right leg in the accident that claimed the lives of his son and younger brother Ibrahim, who also played for Nigeria in the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup winning team.
Tijiani’s wife was also seriously injured.
Obi, who spoke shortly after visiting the injured Babangida, in Abuja on Thursday, said that both Tijjani and his late brother Ibrahim, made the nation proud with their service.
He said, “They made us happy with their talents, and in times like this, they deserve our sympathy and attention.
“I came to commensurate with him for the wound, for the lost ones, for the trauma and to show him that he is not forgotten.”
Obi’s Media Office released a statement stating that Tijiani, who was still tending to his injured leg, informed the LP standard bearer that he had lost his brother and that both his son and his wife were still experiencing severe pain from the unfortunate accident.
Tijiani, who is the President of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria, told Obi how help had been coming to him through his former colleagues and club in Holland, the Ajax football club.
The statement read in part, “The Atlanta 1996 Olympic gold medalist and the General Secretary of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria, Emmanuel Babayero, who was with Tijiani when Obi visited, thanked him for the pleasant visit and said such a gesture is necessary to encourage the ex-player.
“He thanked Obi for who he is and what he has achieved in trying to make society better.”
