Kingsley Obiekwu, a former Super Eagles Defender that won gold medal at the 1996 Olympics said the Member of The Niger award, MON, the Nigeria Government honors hers sports men and women who win medals in tournaments is not regarded by Nigerians.
Obiekwu, who said he wanted to sell his Olympic gold medal said life challenges have made him to take odd jobs like becoming a bus driver.
“Honestly, I wanted to sell that gold medal at a point,” he stated. “That was in 2008, when I was in the United Kingdom. I wanted to sell it because I had financial challenges at that time and I thank God I didn’t sell the medal at the end of the day. Since nobody cared for you from your country, you had to fend for yourself.”
Surprisingly, even the Member of The Niger award that was given to us is not recognised. When you go to some offices and tell them that you are an MON, they won’t even look at you. They will ask you, “Is MON above the law?” Somebody has asked me that. It’s surprising. What is the need of giving me an MON award if I cannot enjoy the benefits and privileges that come with it?
