Nigerian Football Federation have confirmed that Nigerians playing in Turkey have been contacted and they were not affected by the earthquake in the country.
On Monday night, the football governing body expressed sadness over the incident and offered condolences to the victims, via a Twitter post.
“The Nigeria Football Federation is sad about the unfortunate earthquake in Kahramanmaras city of Turkey. NFF President, Alh. Ibrahim Gusau has reached out to Nigerian players based in Turkey and they have all confirmed that they are fine. We pray the souls of the departed rest in peace even as we commiserate with the people of Turkey at this time,” the NFF said.
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Gaziantep in southern Turkey earlier this month was felt as far away as Ghana, as a Ghanaian football player Christian Atsu was among those buried under the debris, according to an earlier report from FUTBALLNEWS.
The ex-Chelsea and Newcastle star signed with Hataysport in Turkey last summer.
Taner Savut, Hatayspor’s sporting director, is still unaccounted for. But Atsu was reportedly found alive late on Monday and he is currently responding to treatment.
The original earthquake was followed by several aftershocks, and then a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck in the afternoon, increasing the death toll to over 2,000 people and destroying dozens of buildings, according to Aljazeera.
Turkey’s disaster and emergency management agency reported that the earthquake, which has been called the nation’s biggest seismic event in years, occurred at 4:17 a.m. local time.
Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), President of Nigeria, expressed his country’s willingness to support Turkey and Syria “in any manner feasible” and expressed sympathy to the governments and people of both countries as well as to those who lost loved ones in the catastrophic earthquake.
Nigerian Players In Turkey
Here, we will talk about the Nigerian players that are currently plying their trade in the Turkish Süper Lig:
Henry Onyekuru
On loan from Olympiacos, Henry Chukwuemeka Onyekuru (born 5 June 1997) plays as a winger for Turkish Süper Lig side Adana Demirspor as well as the Nigerian national team.
After graduating from the Aspire Academy in 2015 and joining their partner club, K.A.S. Eupen, Onyekuru started his football career there in 2010.
On September 5, 2015, he made his Eupen debut in a 2-2 draw with K.F.C. Dessel Sport in the Belgian Second Division.
Bright Osayi-Samuel
Bright Osayi-Samuel, a professional footballer from Nigeria who plays as a wing-back or winger for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the Nigerian national team, was born on December 31, 1997.
Osayi-Samuel was born in Okija, Nigeria, and then traveled to Spain with his family. At the age of 10, he immigrated to England and settled in Woolwich, London.
Ahmed Musa
The Nigerian national team and Turkish Süper Lig club Sivasspor both use Ahmad Musa, a professional footballer from Nigeria, as a forward and left winger. He was born on October 14, 1992.
After scoring twice against Argentina at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Musa became the first Nigerian to score more than once in a game in the history of the tournament.
Lawrence Nicholas
Nigerian footballer Lawrence Anwan Nicholas, who was born on May 17, 2001, competes for Turkish team Fatih Karagümrük as a midfielder.
The Russian Premier League has Nicholas listed as his last name, and FC Tambov’s official website refer to him with his last name (Lawrence).
However, other sources identify “Anwan” or “Lawrence” as his last name (with the full name Nicholas Lawrence Anwan).
Leke James
Leke Samson James, a Nigerian-born professional footballer who plays forward for Sivasspor in the Süper Lig, was born on 1 November 1992.
He began his career playing for Bridge Boys in his native country.
Michael Ologo
Nigerian professional footballer Michael Ologo Inainfe was born on April 5, 2003. He now plays center back for Istanbulspor of the Super Lig.
Ologo, a youth product of the Nigerian organization Fresh Talents Football Academy since 2018, made a difficult transfer to the TFF First League team Istanbulspor in the summer of 2018.
He assisted the team in gaining promotion into the Süper Lig in his first season with the organization after they won the playoffs for promotion.
He extended his agreement with the team through 2026 on August 8th, 2022.
Jesse Sekidika
Jesse Tamunobaraboye Sekidika, a Nigerian football player on loan from Eyüpspor to Ümraniyespor, was born on July 14, 1996.
Sekidika was first noticed in England while playing as a winger at the exclusive boarding school Brooke House College in Leicestershire. Sekidika was born in the Nigerian metropolis of Port Harcourt.
He made an impression there, made his Stoke City trial during the 2013 Keele Cup, and Manchester United scouts were impressed enough to invite him to train at their Carrington facility.
Anthony Uzodimma
Nigerian footballer Anthony Chigaemezu Uzodimma (born 17 April 1999) is a midfielder for the Turkish team Kayserispor.
Uzodimma and Kayserispor agreed to a professional contract on August 23, 2019.
On January 21, 2020, Uzodimma made his professional debut for Kayserispor in a 2-0 Turkish Cup loss against Fenerbahçe.
Emeka Friday Eze
Emeka Friday Eze, a Nigerian football player on loan from Eyüpspor to Turkish side Istanbulspor, was born on September 26, 1996.
Eze, who had previously played for a tiny club in Nigeria, began his football career in Mbanga for a local football academy when he first arrived in Cameroon in 2013.
In 2014, he then joined Oxygène de Mfou, a regional team in the second tier in the Centre region.
Despite not playing the entire first season, he managed to score eleven goals and nearly thirty the next year, earning him the league’s best player and top scorer awards in turn.
