Nigerians support ailing Fregene following Odegbami’s alarm

The alarm raised by former Green Eagles Captain, Segun Odegbami, over the deteriorating health of the longest-serving national team goalkeeper, Peter Fregene, has started yielding dividends, although the man is still on life-support in Sapele, Delta State.

The Delta State All-Stars Football Association (DELSAFA), yesterday swung into action, with the chairman, Edwin Ofa, dispatching a delegation led by Eric Jenije to locate the ailing Fregene in the hospital.

“Eric Jenije and others should visit Papa Fregene this morning. There is nothing God cannot do,” Ofa, an ex-player of Piedmont FC of Ologbo said in a statement. Odegbami had raised the alarm over the deteriorating health of ex-goalkeeper, “Apo” Fregene in the early hours of Tuesday.

Fregene, a 1968 Olympian, and former goalkeeper who was in goal for the Green Eagles for about three decades- 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s- is lying critically ill at the Obule Medical Centre in Sapele, Delta State. Odegbami took to his WhatsApp platform to share the story of Fregene.

In a piece titled, Frustrating news – prayers for “Apo,” Odegbami shared his story of frustration and a photo of the man lying disconsolately on his hospital bed.Odegbami wrote: “I woke up frustrated this morning. The attached picture was taken yesterday afternoon at Obule Medical Centre in Sapele, Delta State. It is of Peter “Apo” Fregene, a 1968 Olympian, and a former goalkeeper who kept goal for Nigeria’s national football team across three decades, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

“By now, we must have exhausted any remnant of “goodwill” we have with Femi Otedola, Mike Adenuga, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Babatunde Fashola, Benson Ejindu, Allen Onyema, and a few other Nigerians that often came to the aid of a few lucky sports heroes several times in the past.”

Even if they have not complained, we are ashamed to go back to them again. Why don’t we have, or why can’t we set up, even on our own, a simple welfare scheme for active and retired athletes across all sports in the country, to take care of our declining health in old age, long after our sports careers?

“Doing so does not require knowledge of rocket science. What are needed are the will, hard work, and a few good and committed people of integrity. The danger now is that the number of retired aging sports heroes languishing in poverty, neglect, and ill health is legion already, and growing. Their stories are ugly and shameful. The evening of our lives is dark and dank (forget about the ‘packaging’ and ‘coded’ optics).
 
“I thank all those who responded in messages, particularly in prayers and in their desire to contribute to any funding. I am not involved in raising funds from the public on behalf of Fregene because I have no such authority. I would also not be involved in anything that can be abused if not handled properly. As important as funds are for his treatment, they are secondary considering the stage of Peter’s condition in the hospital.”