By Akeem Busari
The Nigeria football community has cried out to the government and kind-hearted Nigerians to come quickly to the aid of critically sick member of the 1985 U17 World Cup winning Golden Eaglets.
According to the touching appeal for help for the Bayelsa born ex-Nigeria international player, the Lagos Legends Club, a group of former footballers who plied the trade in Lagos, described Binaebi Numa, as a multitalented athlete, who served Nigeria meritoriously.
“Binaebi Carlos Numa stands as a towering testament to Nigerian excellence; a prodigious table tennis player who scaled the heights of African rankings, a professional footballer who graced both the Nigerian Premier Football League and the revered pitches of Borussia Neukirchen in Germany, and, most memorably, one of the Golden Eaglets who lifted Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA trophy at the 1985 U-16 World Cup, igniting a legacy of Golden Eaglets triumphs.
“Beyond the silverware, his visionary eye for talent altered the trajectory of African football forever. He is reputed to have discovered and shepherded a young Austin “JJ” Okocha to Germany, launching the career of a continental icon.
“Yet today, this distinguished son of Ezetu, South Ijaw, and Ayamasa Federated Communities in Bayelsa State languishes in the cruel grip of advanced Parkinson’s Disease, his once-commanding presence reduced to trembling immobility, his powerful voice silenced by impaired speech, and his independence surrendered to a condition that has overwhelmed the capacities of FMC Yenagoa and the Neurology Clinic at UPTH.
“The attending neurologists have delivered an unequivocal verdict, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery overseas represents his only lifeline, an advanced neurosurgical intervention regrettably unavailable within our shores.”
Lagos Legends Club led by former Super Eagles midfielder, Waidi Akanni, went ahead to issue an impassioned and urgent appeal to the National Sports Commission, the Nigerian Football Federation, the Bayelsa State Government, corporate philanthropists, and every compassionate Nigerian to rally behind this medical fund drive with the same fervour Binaebi, once brought to the service of our nation.
“The cost of surgery, implantation, international travel, and post-operative rehabilitation is substantial, yet it pales in comparison to the debt of gratitude we owe a man who invested his youth, strength, and prodigious talent in etching Nigeria’s name into global sporting annals.
“To abandon him now, in his darkest hour of need, would constitute not merely a personal tragedy, but a profound national failure and a tacit admission that we discard our heroes once their glory fades.
“We implore all stakeholders to act with dispatch to help facilitate immediate specialist neurology and neurosurgery consultations, underwrite comprehensive assessments to stabilise his deteriorating condition, and mobilise the requisite resources to secure his DBS procedure abroad.
“Let history record that when Binaebi Numa stood helpless, Nigeria stood up for him.
“For further information, assistance, or to make a donation, please contact his brother, Mr. Ebbyzymore Numa on +234 803 842 7195.
“Let history record that, when Binaebi Numa stood helpless, Nigeria stood up for him,” it added.
