For celebrated AFCON 1994 winner, Wilfred Agbonavbare, life has been unfair. Having played for Nigeria at different levels, comprising the Flying Eagles squad of 1983, which were the first to represent Nigeria at the FIFA U-20 World Championship in Chile in same year and the then Green Eagles squad of 1984 and later the Super Eagles team of 1994, before seeking the proverbial pastures greener to Europe, where he played and retired, the 48 years old Edo state native should at least be living well off above the middle income level.
But like is the fate of many former super stars of Nigerian sports, that dream has remained a pipe-dream for Agbonavbare, who is not only unemployed right now but is bereaved and living on borrowed time because of the scourge of cancer, which has confined him to the hospital bed, seeking financial lifeline from compassionate Nigerians and the federal government, which in a way, is alleged to have an indirect hand in the goalkeeper’s precarious health and financial predicaments.
Born on October 5, 1966 in Lagos, Agbonavbare, who played for the famed New Nigeria Bank FC of Benin City and BCC Lions, before moving to Spain in 1990, where he spent the rest of his career, starting with Rayo Vallecano in the second tier of the Spanish league, is clinging on to his precious life in Spain and he is weak to the point that you could scarcely hear his voice sitting next to him.
His exploits in between the sticks for clubs and country are still legendary. He was a cat that was always ready to spring to action. But in his battles to help Nigeria succeed, he is now paying the heavy price of neglect, owing to serious health issues affecting him.
In a brief chat with some of his former colleagues Agbonavbare recounted his grace to grass story thus: “I was relieved of my job after I was diagnosed with cancer. My wife died of breast cancer three years ago and when she was diagnosed with breast cancer I spent all the money I made playing professional football on her medical bills to keep her treatment uninterrupted. Consequently, I had to send my three children to Nigeria because of my lethal health condition”.
Soon after sending his kids back to Nigeria, he was relocated back to Spain after spending five months in a Tampa, Florida, hospital, to continue with his treatment, which requires money, an item that Agbonavbare can’t afford now.
For his former teammates, this situation could have been avoided had the Nigerian government redeemed its pledge to the Mexico ’83 Flying Eagles squad, who were promised scholarship to the tertiary level by the then Shehu Shagari-led government after they returned back to Nigeria from Chile.
According to Dehinde Akinlotan, who now resides in the USA, it was high time that the present government under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan bore the cost of the treatment of Agbonavbare, who he lamented was suffering because of government’s failed promise.
“We are using this medium to appeal to Mr. President to look back into our plea for the scholarship awards promised to the 1983 Flying Eagles as the first ever Nigerian national team to qualify for FIFA tournament and registered the country’s name on their map.
“This will go a along way to help out oAgbonavbare, who is plagued with a serious sickness and on the hospital bed, seeking financial support and also fighting for his life. We are hoping that our plea to Mr. President to redeem the pledge would be of great help to him. We have already lost three of our teammates to illness during our plea”
According to another worried teammate, Tajudeen Disu, it was high time that the President Jonathan came to the rescue of Agbonavbare, who he lamented was a problem of government’s neglect.
“ We are using this medium to thank President Jonathan for supporting all our sports men and women because his administration has been very supportive of sports participants more than any administration. I really want to go back to the 1983 promise made to us for being the first team to ever quality Nigeria for a FIFA tournament by the then government and up to date it has not being fulfilled. We have been calling for the redemption of the promise and I believe that he will do it because he is a president who genuinely cares for sports men and women and I have no doubt in his trust.
“It’s unfortunate that one of us is at the point of death struggling to pay hospital his medical bills and if your government redeems this scholarship pledge, it will help to save his life. I am talking about Wilfred Agbonavbare. We are also asking FG to find a way to put together a retirement plan so players have something to fall back to after retirement from active football.
“Those of our deceased teammates and coaches ought to be remembered as well. I have lost hope in the FG whereby it’s promises are never fulfilled that was why I relocated my family to US because I did not want a repeat of what happened to us to happen to my children”, added Disu.