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‘Fingers crossed until we have the house keys’ – Nigeria's Shorunmu reacts to approval of 1994 Afcon promise
The Nigerian government finally took steps in fulfilling a promise to the Super Eagles team that won the continental finals 27 years ago
Former Nigeria goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu said he is waiting for a call from the Nigerian government to fulfil the decade-long promise made after their triumph at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles won their second continental title in Tunisia that year, following a 2-1 win over Zambia in the final and their success prompted former Head of State, General Sani Abacha, to promise the players and the technical crew houses in the country.
On Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari made a move to actualise the 27-year-old promise by approving a memo sent by the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, to allocate three-bedroom houses to the former internationals and coaches (including the deceased) in their preferred state.
Shorunmu was part of Clemens Westerhof’s title-winning squad in Tunis and he expressed his gratitude to the present administration for remembering the team after previous leaders failed to hand over their gifts.
“No formal update yet, I have not received a call from the government but I've been hearing the news on TV and radio,” Shorunmu told Goal.
“We appreciate the government so much, but if we don't get the keys in our hands we can't say we have got the houses. This is because the promise has been there for 27 years ago.
“Over 10 years ago, we were promised again but nothing came up, so we are still waiting. The only confidence that we have now is that the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola is a sports-loving person.
“We still keep our fingers crossed until we get the keys in our hands but notwithstanding we appreciate the President and everyone that has brought the matter up to remember us. Thank God we are still alive to get our reward.”
Shorunmu established himself as the Super Eagles' first-choice goalkeeper in the early 2000s, following the retirement of Peter Rufai in 1998.
The former Besiktas shot-stopper made 36 appearances for the West African country, and he played two group matches at the 2002 Fifa World Cup hosted by South Korea and Japan - vs Argentina and Sweden.
