Okocha, Falz, Osimhen, Sports Minister, Other Nigerian Celebrities ‘Fight’ For Alex Iwobi

Alex Iwobi has received a series of support from Nigerian celebrities and other well-meaning Nigerians since he became a target for cyberbullying after the 2023 AFCON.

Alex Iwobi was one of the prominent players in the Super Eagles’ 2023 AFCON squad, and most Nigerian football fans believe that he didn’t do enough for the team, especially in the final against Ivory Coast.

Hence, since the Super Eagles lost 2-1 to the hosts of the tournament on Sunday, February 11, he has been targeted for cyberbullying to the extent he had to delete almost all his content on Instagram.

As a show of support, his cousin and former Nigerian player, Jay Jay Okocha, took to his Instagram page to write: “I pray for my country Nigeria and the people that can only hate and see nothing good in others, when effort counts for nothing, treat people the way you want them to treat you, all we have is this life is each other, we love you @alexanderiwobi and we keep going no matter what they say, the lord is good all the time and we trust that his will be done in our lives amen less.”

Nigerian rapper, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, showed his support for Alex Iwobi by writing on Instagram: “We win together, we lose together.

“Every single player that puts on the green white green to represent us, is making an immense sacrifice and does not deserve to be treated with this much disdain.

“We speak a lot about cyberbullying but we are so quick to turn against our own.

“@alexanderiwobi Love you, bro! Thank you 💚🦅”

A video circulating online showed Alex Iwobi and Nigeria’s Sports Minister, John Owan Enoh, discussing after the 2023 AFCON.

During the conversation, the sports minister told Iwobi: “You did your best for your country.. Those who are not are in the far minority and do not speak for the rest of our country”.

The Super Eagles’ talismanic striker, Victor Osimhen, also wrote to X: “Dear fans, I want to please urge you to halt the cyber-bullying directed towards Alex Iwobi.

“Losing a game is undoubtedly tough, but targeting a single player for the team’s shortcomings is Heat & unfair. We win as a team & lose as a team. Alex gave his all on the field”.

Also, Wilfred Ndidi, who had to withdraw from Super Eagles’ 2023 AFCON squad due to fitness issues, took to his X page to write: “It’s Very sad the way we troll…

“The difference between our jobs is that our mistakes are televised; we all make mistakes, but only a few people see your bad days at work…

“Some troll for Vibes, Social Media Engagements, an increase of followers, and so on, not even minding the mental state of the victim; but when something happens to the victim, we come back to social media to ask hypocritically why the victim didn’t speak up.”

Nigerian activist, Aisha Yesufu, wasn’t also left out as she took to her X page to write: “Dear Nigerians doing this, direct your anger to what is your problem and stop making Alex Iwobi your scapegoat”.