| IBB, Kanu in secret
Talk
By MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN and ERNEST EKPENYONG j
Sunday, June 13, 2004
|
| •General Ibrahim
Babangida |
- Photo:
The Sun News Publishing
|
|
While Nigerians eagerly awaited the Eagles/Rwanda match penultimate
Saturday, General Ibrahim Babangida held court with Arsenal
star, Nwankwo Kanu, in Minna, it has emerged.
Kanu and his entourage, which included his younger brother,
Ogbonna spent more than two hours with the General who is
widely perceived to be nursing a presidential ambition.
Spotting a wine-coloured caftan (popularly called Senegalese),
it was a historic and triumphant visit for the former Dream
Team captain as he was hosted by the former military president
at the Hilltop mansion which in recent times has become a
Mecca of sort for politicians.
Apparently to ward off media curiosity, Kanu’s visit
to Minna was packaged through the Minna 2004 Annual Polo Tournament
to which he was supposed to be a special guest. The Babangida
family dominate polo circle in Minna with the scion of the
family, Mohammed, widely regarded as the biggest player in
town. The polo tourney ended last Sunday.
While the lanky and gifted striker’s visit gave him
an opportunity to canvass help for Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF),
inside sources told Sunday Sun it also afforded the gap-toothed
General an opportunity to sell his candidacy in the 2007 elections
during which the visitors were reportedly treated to a sumptuous
lunch by the former No 1 family.
While the talk went on, Kanu reportedly sought the support
of the General for KHF, an organisation he set up six years
ago to save the lives of unfortunate Nigerian children with
heart problems. Kanu had survived a heart surgery shortly
after leading the Dream Team to an Olympic Gold in Atlanta,
in 1996.
Besides, the ace footballer was said to have used the occasion
to invite the General to his wedding coming up in a fortnight.
The traditional wedding takes place on June 26 while the white
wedding comes up on July 3 in Owerri, Imo State.
Though details of what transpired behind the closed-doors
were sketchy, it was reliably gathered that the General, a
soccer enthusiast himself, is favourably disposed to involving
sports celebrities in his campaign when the time comes.
The style was popularised by the current Brazilian and Argentine
presidents, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Eduardo Duhalde
respectively who enlisted the support of Ronaldo De Lima and
Diego Maradona, who are household names in their respective
countries.
IBB, as the former military president is fondly called, was
recently quoted as saying that he was interested in the 2007
elections but would only throw his hat into the ring after
wide consultations with all sections of the country.
A close confidant of the Arsenal star told the Sunday Sun
that Kanu’s visit to the former first family had nothing
to do with IBB’ s 2007 Project, insisting that Kanu
was only there to solicit support for his foundation.
“ There is nothing wrong with Kanu’s visit to
IBB,” said the player’s friend who pleaded anonymity.
“If you say he was there for Kanu Heart Foundation,
then you are right. Kanu has spent so much in alleviating
the suffering of kids with heart problems and no amount of
support would be too small from any Nigerian.”
As part of the build up to the full consolidation of what
our source described as a mutual romance, IBB is expected
to grace the player’s wedding which promises to be one
of the biggest nuptials of the year.
After the parley on the hilltop, Kanu and his entourage moved
to the Minna Polo complex for the game.
Accompanied by Mohammed, Kanu arrived the IBB Sports Complex,
venue of the prestigious polo event amid cheers from teeming
polo enthusiasts who thronged the Niger State capital for
the fiesta, which attracted the ‘crème de la
crème’ of the Nigeria’s polo fraternity.
Kanu did not wait till the end of the game. He sneaked out
of the complex after being introduced by the Master of Ceremony
and headed straight for Abuja where he watched the Super Eagles
maul Rwanda in a World Cup
qualifier.
Defending Kanu’s invitation to the tourney, Mohammed
explained that his committee invited the former two-time African
Footballer of the Year for the closing ceremonies of the tournament
because of his love for the game.
|
