A car crash, 33 years ago, has kept one of the heroes of the 1980 African Cup of Nations-winning Green Eagles team down with illness, and he now solicits for help from governments and well-meaning Nigerians.
Charles Bassey, according to some of his friends and family sources had been going through tough times since a car crash in 1986 did damage to his spine.
Bassey, who last coached at Mobil Pegasus of Eket, Akwa Ibom in 2007, when he was the Technical Director of the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Sports, said the ailment had left him unable to walk for some time now.
“The illness started in 1986, when I was the coach of BCC Lions FC of Gboko, where I did so well to prevent the team from going on relegation and brought the team back.
“I was sent on a coaching training in Brazil and shortly after returning from Brazil, I had a car accident, which did some damage to my back,’’ he said.
Bassey, who has the national honour of Member of the Order of the Niger (MON), which was bestowed on him by the then President Shehu Shagari in 1980 for helping Nigeria to win its first continental football title at the national level, said the accident caused him to have “Nerve Root Compression’’.