Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Dr Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has extolled the Super Eagles for making the country proud with their impressive performance at AFCON 2023.
Dabiri-Erewa gave the commendation during the reception and conferment of National Diaspora Merit Award on the Team Captain, Ahmed Musa, on Thursday in Abuja.
According to her, Musa is the winner of the inaugural merit award in the Sports and Youth Development category.
Dabiri-Erewa said: Super Eagles, you did very well and we are very proud of you. For those who went online to bully anyone of you, I say shame on them.
“That is not who we are as Nigerians. I like the spirit of unity and support for one another.
“We are letting them know that we win together, we lose together and we did not lose,we came second to the host nation.
“We are proud of you and we thank you for doing us very proud. Ahmed Musa is one of the greatest philanthropists in the world.
“Musa has built sport academies in Jos, Kano, Kaduna and Lagos. So this young man has fulfilled what we have been preaching.”
The NIDCOM boss reiterated the need for mentorship of young people to enable them grow and the need to promote role models in the society.
Dabiri-Erewa said Musa’s academies had impacted the less privileged across Nigeria.
Speaking, Musa thanked NIDCOM for the award.
“I was nobody, I started from the street, today I am somebody and that is why I always think of giving back to the society.
“I remember when crisis in Sudan started, I called on the NIDCOM boss to assist some Nigerian students who needed intervention and she came through for them.I commend her.
“For the award conferred on me, I really appreciate it,” Musa said.
The Super Eagles skipper urged fans to halt the cyber-bullying of Alex Iwobi, adding cyber bullying was not only indecent ,but also a serious crime.
Musa, who was accompanied by another Super Eagles player, Abdullahi Shehu, and his manager, promised to do more to support the less privileged in the country.