Kaduna State Governor, Senator 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 won Nigeria’s first Olympic football gold medal in Atlanta, United States, in 1996.
Amokachi disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking with journalists after inspecting the ongoing reconstruction of the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.
He recalled that after the team’s historic victory, the federal and state governments made several promises to the players, but many of them were never fulfilled.
According to him, Governor Sani has now redeemed one of those 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.
Amokachi, a former professional footballer and football manager, said the beneficiaries were short of words to appreciate the governor, particularly for his commitment to rewarding veteran footballers and coaches while they are 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, also a former Super Eagles player and ex-General Manager of Kaduna United Football Club, described the renovated Ahmadu Bello Stadium as a world-class facility that would meet FIFA standards when completed.
He said the project would restore Kaduna’s position as a major football hub and reduce the need for the Super Eagles to travel to other parts of the country for training.
“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, another member of the Atlanta ’96 gold-winning team, said the governor had succeeded in bringing together the football community in Kaduna and restoring the vibrancy associated with the state’s 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 also recounted his initial disbelief when he was informed that the governor had allocated land to the Olympic gold medallists.
“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 football veterans, coaches and administrators for their contributions to the development of sports in Kaduna State and Nigeria.
He said the state remained one of Nigeria’s leading football-producing states, having produced several players who made their mark 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 determined to restore Kaduna’s lost glory in sports, particularly football, through massive investment in sporting infrastructure.
He recalled that the last CAF-sanctioned football tournament played at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium was in 2016, when the Super Eagles hosted Egypt.
According to him, the deteriorating condition of the stadium prompted him to approach President Bola Tinubu for its handover to the Kaduna State Government for reconstruction.
The governor said
