New Super Eagles Invitee, Benjamin Tanimu Reveals His Reaction After First Call-up

New Super Eagles invitee, Benjamin Tanimu, has revealed that he couldn’t sleep on the first day he received the news that he had been invited to the senior national team.

Benjamin Tanimu started his professional football career at Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) club, Bendel Insurance, until February 12, 2024.

He helped the club gain promotion to the NPFL and also played a vital role in helping the team record a 21-game unbeaten run in the league.

Benjamin Tanimu was also part of the Bendel Insurance squad that won the 2023 Federation Cup for the first time in 43 years.

The performance of the 21-year-old defender earned him a call-up to Nigeria’s under-23 squad in 2023 and then a transfer to Tanzanian club, Ihefu, where he has made 6 appearances so far this season.

Though he couldn’t help the Flying Eagles to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, he was singled out of the team and was given an invite to the senior national team for the friendly games against Ghana later today, and against Mali on March 26.

“That particular day I couldn’t sleep until 1 am, but since then I haven’t been thinking too much about it because I have league games to attend to and things must be taken one at a time”, Tanimu told Punch.

Reports claimed that Benjamin Tanimu was called up to the national team because he was playing abroad, but the youngster told the Punch that his performance in the NPFL earned him the call-up.

“No. Six games in Tanzania aren’t enough to earn me a national team call-up. The technical department must have been watching me from the NPFL and also the time I was in the U-23 — it all started from the NPFL”, he said.

The Kaduna state-born defender added, “Playing in the NPFL is no joke as it is highly tasking and requires you to be on top of your mental game at all times. At Bendel Insurance, our first season in the NPFL after gaining promotion definitely brought a lot of attention to many of us, and being consistent playing in the league opened the way. We set an unbeaten record of 21 games in the league and everyone had their eyes on us. The league is without a doubt one of the best in Africa and I thank the NPFL board and the NFF for improving the league and giving me the opportunity for the world to see what NPFL players are made of.”

During his spell in the under-23 team, Benjamin Tanimu took pictures with some Super Eagles players with little or no knowledge that he would be training with them within the space of one year.

He said, “Honestly, I didn’t think my invitation to the Super Eagles was going to be this soon. When I met the likes of (Victor) Osimhen, (Alex) Iwobi, and others in Abuja last year, I was just wishing I would be in the national team like them one day. I didn’t imagine we would be training together this soon. It was cool being around those great guys. That feeling makes me feel more excited and at the same time it keeps me cool and focused on my game.”