Kanu Nwankwo was an emerging legend. As a village football fanatic listening on radio during the golden days of Rangers, El Kanemi Warriors, Stationery Stores, IICC, Sharks, etc in a very dynamic Nigerian football league, one thing I did when I came from the village to Owerri to attend FUTO was to visit the stadium to watch them live.
Kanu was still playing for Iwuanyanwu Nationale but he did not play that day. But I was lucky: Papilo came to the stadium and I saw him. Like Philip Osondu, boys have made songs after them: Zanza bu onye isi game, buru ba nye (Zanza is the leader of the game, he dribbles and scores).
Why this? The fact is this: for all that Kanu accomplished in football, he is becoming one of the most pioneering heart intervention entrepreneurs in Africa. He had a challenging experience as he moved from Ajax to Inter Milan. They fixed the issue – and he has made helping on heart disease a personal call.
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He scored goals – and inspired many. But the goals he is scoring in operating rooms now are indeed higher goals. I want to wish Papilo and his partners a great future on this mission: healthcare goals are the most critical because they build nations. Congrats Team Papilo for the new Cathlab in Port Harcourt.
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