Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games gold medallist and President of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria, Tijani Babangida, was on Thursday involved in a car accident that claimed the life of his younger brother Ibrahim Babangida, The PUNCH has learnt.

Former teammate, Emmanuel Babayaro, the General Secretary, PFAN, announced the incident in a statement.

Though the details of the accident remained sketchy as of the time of filing this report, our correspondent learnt that the accident happened along the Kaduna-Zaria Road.

“Comrades! Let us be in prayers for our president, Tijani Babangida, who just had a ghastly motor accident along the Kaduna-Zaria Eoad.

“Ibrahim Babangida, his younger brother, died on the spot from the accident while Mr President (Babangida) and his family were taken to the hospital.

“May the soul of Ibrahim Babangida Rest In Peace with God, amen,” he announced.

When our correspondent reached out to Babayaro, he confirmed the incident.

"Yes, it is true. The accident happened while they were on their way to Zaria from Kaduna,” he said.

“His brother Babangida died on the spot from the accident. The accident happened today (Thursday) this afternoon and his wife was also involved in the accident.

"He is currently admitted at Shika Hospital in Zaria, where he is receiving treatment and to the glory of God he is conscious,” he added.

The late Ibrahim, 47, a retired footballer himself, was a member of the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning Golden Eagles squad in Japan.

He featured for local sides Bank of The North, Stationery Stores and Katsina United on the domestic scene before joining Dutch side Volendam in 1997.

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RIP to the departed. May God save and protect us all.

RIP to the departed

Ah!....may the soul of the departed rest in peace. What a end for Ibrahim Babaginda?

Omashe ooo! 😥

Wow

Ibrahim Babangida, his younger brother, died on the spot from the accident while Mr President (Babangida) and his family were taken to the hospital.

What a sad incident.
May the soul of Ibrahim Babangida Rest In Peace with God,
Amen. 🙏 🤲


To know more about Tijani Babangida and how good he was in his playing days,
Scroll to the last comment on this page.

INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAYHI RAJIOON

إِنَّا ِلِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ,

....,..,.....

Very sad and tragic news. May God continue to protect our going out and coming in, Amen.

One of the good thing about Muslims is this quick burial. It saves a lot of money.

Na wa oh

Sad news, RIP

May his souls RIP. Indomie generations will not know before the likes of CR7 and Messi, there was a Tijani Babangida the speedstar

God have Mercy...Indeed this world is not our home, we are just passersby

Welcome home... See how the angels welcome you.... Ibrahim may God accept you in Hannah.
Amin

Sad

Death must surely meet every soul

Jesus !!

Fear nothing but Allah, for every being must taste death.
Question; if you were opportune to live forever in your youth, will you call it a blessing or a curse??

😢

May his soul find eternal rest, quick recovery to the injured

ForValour:
.

FTC press ur neck dia🤣🤣🤣🤣

This is so sad.

I remember his name growing up. What a terrible loss

Terrible news

Eyah

Obi must react to this news

Sad!

He made it to Ajax but did not gain much prominence lafter that like his older brother.

Remember him for his roundabout dribbles.

May his soul rest in peace.

I wish the surviving parties a quick recovery.

Wahala

Death everywhere

God abeg ooooo

Nmoney must be e

So sad. TIP to the departed. Over to you Bitter Obi.

Inna lilahi waillahi rajihun

Mikelarteta:
May his souls RIP. Indomie generations will not know before the likes of CR7 and Messi, there was a Tijani Babangida the speedstar

True that......
Let's give them some story about him.....
Make we carry dem go there...
Gbe won debe dem MANNA.....


Tijani Babangida: The story of a Pro Evo legend & ‘fastest footballer alive’


For a certain generation of football video gamers, the mere mention of the name Tijani Babangida is enough to bring happy memories flooding back.

Babangida was the first true icon of Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer franchise, at a time when its games outstripped FIFA on almost every conceivable level, save for a few official licences.

Those early incarnations of PES on the PS2 may have featured the likes of Roberto Carlos and Ryan Giggs – or Roberto Larcos and Ryan Greggs as th

Out of 100, Babangida scored 94 for top speed, 96 for agility, 97 for dribble speed and a blistering 99 for acceleration.

As such, he was the perfect player to get the best out of the rest of PES Master League’s default XI, scoring goals and setting up chances for stalwarts like Castolo and Huylens.

Despite his relatively unknown status outside of Holland and Nigeria, the winger emerged as one of the game’s worst kept secrets in much the same way players like Kennedy Bakircioglu and Chernoey were known on the game – but it was Babangida who was the first player you signed on Master League.

Available on the cheap from Ajax, or Rijnkanaal to give them their PES name, Babangida was like the footballing love child of Lionel Messi and Usain Bolt.

Babangida was a cult hero among PES gamers. Legend has it one fan even ended up dumping his girlfriend after she tried to suggest the Nigerian wasn’t a real footballer.

Unfortunately, much like Bakircioglu and Samba, the career of the Babangida found in the games played out a little differently to the one witnessed in real life.

The Babangidas
One of nine siblings, it was Tijani’s brother Haruna Babangida who looked to be the breakout star of the family after becoming the youngest player in Spanish football history to have a buy-out clause inserted into his contract.

Tijani Babangida enjoyed a far steadier ascent.

“I developed a lot of interest in football when I saw most of my idols play,” he later reflected.

“I made up my mind that I wanted to become a professional football player. Even when we were playing as children, watching the big players and the great Pele of Brazil on videos, it encouraged me more to go into football.”

Babangida honed his skills playing in the backstreets of the city of Kaduna alongside fellow future Nigeria internationals Garba Lawal and Daniel Amokachi – he would go on to marry and eventually divorce Amokachi’s sister.

It didn’t take long for the short but stocky midfielder to catch the eye, thanks in no small part to his incredible pace.

“My speed is natural,” he told one interviewer. “It cannot be explained.”

Dutch dream
Babangida certainly appeared to be a natural at the 1991 All Africa Games in Cairo, impressing enough aged just 17 to earn a move to Roda JC in Holland.

Immediately loaned out to local rivals VVV-Venlo, Babangida hit the ground running, literally and metaphorically, with three goals in his first six Eredivisie appearances.

That was not enough to prevent the club from going down but Babangida went on to play a key role as VVV-Venlo earned promotion at the first time of asking, bagging 16 goals in 28 games.

He returned to Roda the following summer brimming with confidence and quickly established himself as a fan favourite with 11 league goals as the club came sixth, within a point of qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

That kicked off a golden period for the Dutch underdogs, who finished the 1994-95 campaign as runners up, second only to Louis van Gaal’s all-conquering Ajax team who went the entire season unbeaten and went on to win the Champions League.

Fergie calling
Many footballers can look back on a particular moment in their career and think “what if?”

For Babangida, it came in the summer of 1995 when Manchester United began to show an interest in signing him as a replacement for Andrei Kanchelskis.

They wanted a winger and Alex Ferguson was at the club like three times because then they normally informed us when interest comes from a big club,” Babangida said. “But somehow along the line I really don’t know what happened as the deal failed to materialize.”

Though the emergence of a certain David Beckham played a part, Babangida didn’t let the missed opportunity affect him on the pitch. He was Roda’s top scorer during the 1995-96 season and even found the net in the UEFA Cup.

His situation would change soon enough, but first he had the small matter of representing Nigeria at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Up until then, Babangida’s route into the Super Eagles starting eleven had been blocked by the presence of Finidi George. However, with the Ajax star absent from the squad for the Olympics, Babangida was left to stake a claim for a starting spot.

He went on to star as part of a Nigeria ‘Dream Team’ that etched its name into football history as the first African team to win Olympic gold in football, claiming memorable comeback wins against pre-tournament favourites Brazil and Argentina in the semis and final.

The success sparked a transfer frenzy. Nwankwo Kanu and Taribo West headed to Inter Milan, Jay-Jay Okocha joined Fenerbahce and Babangida signed for Ajax.

Purchased for €5million, Babangida was brought in as a direct replacement for Finidi, who moved to Real Betis that summer.

Van Gaal
Despite the weight of expectation surrounding the deal, Babangida flourished under Van Gaal.

“He is one of the toughest coaches in the world,” Babangida said. “He would look into your eyes and tell you what he thinks about you without pretence.”

Though Ajax endured a trophyless 1996/97 campaign, on a personal level Babangida’s debut season in Amsterdam was a roaring success with the winger making an impressive contribution to Ajax’s Champions League campaign that included goals against Auxerre and Atletico Madrid.

His goal against Atletico in their quarter-final second leg is still fondly remembered by Ajax fans.

With the game tied at 2-2 deep in extra time at the Vicente Calderon, Babangida collected a deflected pass on the right-hand side of the penalty area and, with the Atleti goalkeeper bearing down on him, gently lifted the ball over the onrushing shot-stopper and into the empty net.

The goal sparked pandemonium, with Babangida dashing to the touchline to share the moment in a warm embrace with Van Gaal.

A disastrous loan move to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia followed, with Babangida lasting all of two months before being sacked, along with Brazilian World Cup-winning team-mate Bebeto, after a winless start to the season in which both players faced criticism over a perceived lack of professionalism.

But while a 38-year-old Bebeto could be forgiven, Babangida had yet to even turn 30 and was supposed to be at the peak of his powers.

He returned home to Ajax where, finally, his contract was terminated. Though Babangida continued to play in China for a few more years and even earned a brief recall for Nigeria he never reached the same heights again and retired in 2004, aged just 31.

“I think back to my career from time to time,” he said recently. “If I had to find a regret I would say that my dream was to move to a stronger club than Ajax, to take one more step in my career. However… I am very happy to have achieved what I have done with them.”

While moves to Manchester United, Auxerre and Charlton Athletic may not have happened, Babangida will always be an Olympic Gold medallist, always be an Ajax hero and always be the fastest man alive on Pro Evolution Soccer.

Courtesy : Jack Berekford.
(Planet Football)




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