A GROUP of Nigerians based in Austria have condemned in strong terms a recent incident involving a heckler and players of the women’s national team, the Super Falcons.
In a widely circulated video earlier this week, a man claiming to be a Nigerian and a former player of Julius Berger launched an unprovoked tirade at the ladies on a train as they took a break from training to see the sights of Vienna, Austria.
The man, whose face did not appear in the six-minute video, accused the Nigerian ladies of representing a ‘terrorist government’ that was ‘killing their people’ and continuously hurled insults at the players, who remained remarkably calm in the face of provocation.
The Nigerians In Diaspora Organisation — Austria issued a statement, made available to Naija Times, in which they voiced their support for the Super Falcons and criticised the actions of the unknown agitator.
In the statement, the organisation made a list of their resolutions, which include unflinching support for the national team players and total condemnation of the action of the person harassing them.
“We the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation — Austria, after deliberation over the video of a fellow who boarded a train on which the Falcons players were travelling, to harass and embarrass them, wish to hereby state that we are happy to learn that the Falcons players chose Austria for their summer camp this year and we would have been too happy to welcome them if we had known they were coming to Austria,” the statement read in part.
NIDOE-Austria also resolved that “the Falcons players cannot be held responsible for the current predicaments of Nigeria, in fact our young athletes have remained amongst the last bastions of hope that hold us together and a remaining source of pride to a nation suffering from numerous anomalies.”
The concerned group also emphasised that the action of the heckler was misguided and infringed on the rights of the players to dignity, suggesting that the man broke Austrian laws.
They criticised the faceless man’s action, asserting that there were better ways to express his displeasure at the situation in Nigeria than harassing innocent individuals who did not contribute to the problems.
“Our deprived youths who have continued to make their contributions despite all hardships and deprivations should be encouraged and supported, and not maligned,” the group insisted, adding that there was nothing wrong with the Super Falcons taking public transportation in Austria.
“We are appalled over the actions of the fellow, no matter his motivations and do hereby dissociate ourselves from his misguided action and condemn it. This
action is not representative of the Nigeria community in Austria. We consider this
action disturbing and unacceptable and regret the incidence took place in our otherwise peaceful and progress loving community,” the organisation added.
They concluded their statement by wishing the Super Falcons well despite the ‘unfortunate incident’ and reiterated that they would always stand with the African champions, who are in Austria to prepare for upcoming events, including the invitational tournament, Aisha Buhari Cup, set for Lagos in September.
The NIDOE-Austria statement is signed by Subrinah Joy Dolischka and Deji Adeyemo and copied to the Nigerian Embassy in Vienna.
