Nigerian Gov’t Reacts To ‘Maltreatment’ of Victor Osimhen

Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, the minister of foreign affairs, has stated that Nigerian athletes in the diaspora must be treated with dignity in response to viral TitTok recordings from Napoli ridiculing Osimhen for missing a penalty kick in the club’s Serie A encounter against Bologna last week.

Tuggar stated that the matter fits under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 4Ds Strategy, commonly known as the Tinubu Doctrine, which mainstreams Democracy, Development, Diaspora, and Demography as part of its outward-looking aims.

Alkasim Abdulkadir, the minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, stated that the diaspora component of the strategy considers the life and dignity of every Nigerian abroad sacred and deserving of respect and dignity in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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“When we go about our duties, we should always remember Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

“They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

“By the foregoing, Napoli did not act in the spirit of brotherhood by the mocking of her star player Victor Osimhen who was instrumental to the team winning the Serie A Championship last season,” the statement read in parts.

The minister stated that the Nigerian government will continue to monitor events not only in Naples but across the world over how her athletes and other residents are handled and that the government will not hesitate to address such mistreatments.

Despite the negative reaction, Napoli has refused to apologize to Victor Osimnhen.

The club stated in a statement that if Victor perceived any offence towards him, that was not the club’s intention.

The club said: “Calcio Napoli, wishing to avoid any exploitation of the issue, point out that we never wanted to offend or mock Victor Osimhen, who is a treasure of this club.”

The club also stated that they had turned down many transfer proposals for the forward during the summer transfer window.

“As proof of that, during the summer training retreat, the Club firmly rebuffed every offer that was received for the striker’s transfer abroad.

“Social media, in particular, TikTok, has always used an expressive form of language with a light heart and creativity, without wanting to, as in the case with Osimhen as the protagonist, have any intention of insult or derision.

“In any case, if Victor perceived any offence towards him, this was not what the club intended.”