It was haul of insults on Odion Ighalo and his family members after Nigeria crashed in Russia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup from some overzealous football fans.
The fans have however been told to withdraw the rain of insults on the Super Eagles striker who is has been on a national assignment with the team at the ongoing Africa Nations Cup in Egypt.
Foremost Nigerian singer, rapper, actor and politician – Olubankole Wellington, popularly known by his stage name (Banky W) on Saturday made the appeal and urged the fans to delete every tweets sent to the striker for his missed chances in the crucial game against Argentina at the tournament.
“Ighalo had a MASSIVE game today(Saturday) MY GOODNESS!!!! All the people that were insulting him and his family after the world cup, please go and delete your tweets… the man is a KING!!!!! Nigeria we move!,” he wrote @Banky W.
Ighalo has been adjudged one of the stellar performers for Nigeria at the ongoing tournament with three goals in his kitty and a Man of the Match award in the Nigeria/Cameroon encounter.
His resurgence has so far renewed Nigerians fancy for the striker whose wife unfortunately would not want to remember how she was insulted on Instagram after Nigeria crashed out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Recall that Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the game but Victor Moses equalised from the penalty spot, before a Marcus Rojo strike in the 85th minute sent the Super Eagles out of the World Cup.
Before the late goal by Argentina, many Nigerians faulted striker Odion Ighalo for missing two clear chances to put the Super Eagles ahead. Ighalo takes responsibility for the defeat and apologised as reported in the media after the game.
He said, ”I apologise to Nigeria. I apologise to my team mates. I take responsibility for this game because I had taken those chances I had that would have made it a different ball game now. But that is football and life has to continue.
“It’s a sad day for me, the boys and the country because we went out in a bad manner and we deserved more in the game.
“We had a penalty in the game and another one which the referee did not give. I missed a couple of chances that would have finished the game but that’s football because sometimes you win and sometimes to lose.”
Meanwhile, a sport journalist who would not want to be named has advised that Nigerians should not excessively heap praises on the Super Eagles as their tougher tasks ahead if Nigeria would lift its fourth Nations Cup this year.
“Life is about ups and downs.When you do well people will praise you and when you do not live up to expectation people will bash you. And that is the game of football, and Ighalo has experienced the two sides.
I will advised that the team should not be distracted as South Africa on Wednesday at the quarter-final stage of Nations Cup going on in Egypt is a crunch tie,” he said.
