By Charles Mgbolu
Many Nigerian entertainers have condemned the cyberbullying faced by Super Eagles' player Alex Iwobi after Nigeria was defeated at the 2023 AFCON finals on Sunday by host Côte d'Ivoire.
Singer Falz, comedian AY Makun, and radio personality Dotun are some of the celebrities who have taken to their social media handles to defend the Super Eagles star after he was heavily criticised for his performance at the AFCON tournament.
"Every single player that puts on the green, white, green (jersey) to represent us is making an immense sacrifice and does not deserve to be treated with such disdain. We speak a lot about cyberbullying, but we are so quick to turn against our own. @alexanderiwobi Love you bro! Thank you," wrote Falz on Instagram.
Falz accompanied the post with a picture of the football star, which he captioned "We win together, we lose together," captioning the photograph.
AY Makun, in his post, condemned cyberbullying on social media and called on fans to promote a culture of care.
"It is so sad to see how you all have exhibited various forms of cyberbullying on a young man whose only crime was to come and represent his fatherland. Tomorrow, you all will still be wondering why the likes of Saka and others are never going to play for Nigeria.
''It's time to think beyond your personal interests and look at the negative effects of your evil actions. Let's help promote a culture of care and respect on the Internet and prevent cyberbullying. Kindly share a ❤️ for @alexanderiwobi on this post," Makun said in his post.
Radio personality Dotun took his post a step further by not only condemning cyberbullying but also apologising to Iwobi.
‘’I might have been heartbroken about our loss. Yes, but I am not angry because the team did their best. @alexiwobi being picked out is not a very good thing, and I also feel we need to learn to accept losses without damaging people in the process. If we made you feel so bad, we are so sorry,’’ wrote Dotun.
Since the harsh criticism started online barely hours after the final match ended, Iwobi has gone off social media, deleting all but one of his posts on Instagram.
His co-players at the tournament, as well as many football fans, have continued to show solidarity with the player.
‘’We will drown out the hate. We will turn this cyberbullying trend into overwhelming love for Iwobi,’’ wrote a fan, Sophie, on X.
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