•The former Green Eagles’ star’s condition is a window on health care in the country

The story of Christian Chukwu has drawn pathos and needless controversy. This is understandable. Chukwu is a fixture in Nigeria’s football history as the captain of the Nigerian national team, the Green Eagles, as it was then called. He earned the alias of “chairman,” from ace commentator and broadcaster Ernest Okonkwo, because of his charisma and magisterial play at the defence.

A man like him could not take ill and attract a cursory attention from the public. But what went wrong was the speculation, especially in the social media, that the man who as a youth brought laurels to his country and thrilled many a fellow citizen was abandoned by the government. He made it clear he was not, and that the government of Enugu State had taken care of him.

Promising Nigerians that he would recover from what is reportedly described as prostate cancer, he said “it, however, feels bad that people have created controversy over my health…I have not been abandoned.” He also referred to his friend Benson Ejindu, a patron of ex-Rangers International players, who rallied funds for him, and described him as “tremendous.” He said Ejindu’s efforts brought him to his hospital.

The state governor has also pitched in and provided, according to OgbuaguAnikwe, who is the state commissioner for education, up to N2.7 million for his treatment. The state, as Anikwe explained in a statement, has provided a job for Chukwu as part of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s efforts to engage national and state sports heroes. He is the director of sports in the Rangers Management Corporation.

The management of Ranger Management Corporation also deposited N200,000  for his treatment. The state worried why some persons are speculating that he needed oversea medical care and cost of that care.

However, a business man, Femi Otedola, recently donated $50,000 to Chukwu to facilitate his treatment abroad. The business man’s gesture is significant for a number of reasons, but we must note that it underscores the fact we cannot underestimate the importance of medical care and infrastructure in the country.

For all the controversy, it is clear that the sports hero suffers an affliction that necessitated his friend and the government to pitch, and we are happy that for what he has done for this country, he deserves such a care. It does not matter whether he can afford it or not. We do not also know whether he needs oversea care to heal or his expected trip abroad is a measure of making assurance doubly sure for a medial solution.

No matter the case, Chukwu is a celebrity, and his situation emblematises the state of healthcare in the country. If he were not a celebrity, who would have guaranteed him a job in the sports office of the Rangers International for which he is perhaps the most storied icon? There are many Nigerians who are his age and who have served the country well but without the public spotlight of a Chukwu. Many like him die unsung and avoidably.

The fact that Otedola invested in his health is an irony of a nation that will always look outside for health when an infrastructure of healthcare would have made philanthropy superfluous and the controversy far-fetched.

We commend Governor Ugwuanyi for his show of concern and Otedola for his philanthropy, but we expect the governments in the country, both in the centre and the states, to ensure that our medical system makes such controversies as this unnecessary.

Like all well-meaning Nigerians, we wish the sports superstar recovery and many more years on earth.