AFCON 2023: Ahmed Musa Gets Higher Award as Tinubu Confers National Honours On Super Eagles

• President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, February 13, honoured Ahmed Musa with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) national award for securing the silver medal at the just-concluded AFCON 2023
• Tinubu decorated other Super Eagles team members with MON lapel pins at a reception in their honour at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja
• Legit.ng reports that the Nigerian leader also announced the donation of a flat and a plot of land to each of the Super Eagles

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering sports and football.

FCT, Abuja - Super Eagles of Nigeria captain, Ahmed Musa, was on Tuesday, February 13, honoured with an Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) award — according to Bashir Ahmad, former president Muhammadu Buhari's media aide.

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Musa, 31, was previously a Member of the Order of the Niger (MON).

Apart from Musa, Kenneth Omeruo also already has a MON award for winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title in 2013.

Legit.ng reports that the recognition for Musa and other Super Eagles players followed the team's final place finish at the just-concluded AFCON 2023 tournament held in Ivory Coast.

Musa was pleased with the new honour.

See his tweet below:

President Bola Tinubu bestowed the honour on the Super Eagles team at the Aso Villa in Abuja.

Each player in the national squad received the MON, as well as a flat and a piece of land at a yet-to-be-disclosed location in Abuja.

Minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, immediately distributed forms for the allocation of a plot of land to each of the players.

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William Troost-Ekong, the team’s vice-captain and most valuable player of AFCON 2023, expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for his support, expressing a desire to present a trophy rather than a silver medal.

His words:

“I wish we are here presenting Your Excellency with the trophy, but that is not the case despite giving our very best to the campaign. We have two people in this team who have gold medals, each sitting on either side of me (Ahmed Musa and Kenneth Omeruo). In 2019, we won bronze medals. This time, we won silver medals. I believe that at the next competition, we will strike gold.”

Also at the occasion were vice president Kashim Shettima; Tajudeen Abbas (Speaker of the house of representatives); George Akume (secretary to the government of the federation); Femi Gbajabiamila (chief of staff to the president); Jamila Bio Ibrahim (minister of youth development); board members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and other top government officials.

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AFCON 2023 final: Musa gets emotional

Legit.ng earlier reported that Musa said despite the twists and turns of football, "our team stood strong".

Musa, who was deployed in a fringe role at AFCON 2023, said his teammates displayed "resilience and determination that resonated with fans across the nation".

Source: Legit.ng