A former Super Eagles player, Tijani Babangida, and President of the Professionals Football Association of Nigeria (PFAN), has lost his one-year-old son, Fadil, who died during surgery to correct the injury sustained during an auto crash along the Kaduna-Zaria highway, Kaduna State.
Aside from his son, the former winger’s wife also lost her eye during same car crash involving his family.
Before this, his younger brother, Ibrahim Babangida, who played for the 1993 Flying Eagles, and lifted the FIFA U-17 world cup alongside Kanu Nwankwo, Wilson Oruma, Celestine Babayaro, and others.
The chairman of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) Task Force, Harrison Jalla, who disclosed this to newsmen yesterday, stated that Babangida’s son also died due to severe injuries sustained in the accident.
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) on Sunday paid a courtesy visit to Babangida at the hospital. The delegation consoled the former Eagles player over deaths of his brother and son.
During the visit, the delegation also prayed for a quick recovery for Babangida and his wife, “who has undergone a successful facial surgery”.
Last Thursday, Babangida was travelling with his family — Maryam, his wife, their son, and Ibrahim, his brother — and his maid when the car accident occurred.
Ibrahim was said to have died on the spot while the other occupants in the vehicle were rushed to the hospital.
Babangida’s wife is also said to have lost an eye due to the severe injury to her face. She is said to be receiving treatment at the intensive care unit of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria. It is also reported that their maid suffered a fracture in her leg.
Babangida was a member of the Nigeria U-23 team that won the gold medal in football at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. A team that includes Joseph Disu, Teslim Fatusi, Mobil Oparaku, and others.
He had a decade with the Super Eagles, where he became famous for his speed down the right wings, competing for the position with Finidi George.
Babangida was also a member of the Eagles squad at the 1998 World Cup and 2000 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
