Turkey Earthquake: Musa Onyekuru Babajide Safe
Super Eagles captain and Sivasspor winger, Ahmed Musa, says there is nothing for Nigerian fans to worry about regarding his safety amid the strong earthquake in that rocked south-eastern Turkey on Monday.
On Monday, a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey, toppling buildings and leaving a trail of disaster in seven Turkish provinces and northern Syria, with tremors felt as far as Cairo, Egypt.
The high-magnitude tremor struck at 4.17am local time on Monday in south Eastern Turkey near the Syrian border, according to the US Geological Survey.
The epicentre of the quake was near the city of Gaziantep at a depth of 17.9km, impacting around seven provinces in Turkey and a large area in northern Syria.
When asked about his safety in Turkey, 2013 African Cup of Nations winner Musa said “Thank you very much, I’m okay here in Turkey.”
Musa also posted on his Twitter handle, “Pray for Turkey.” The tweet was accompanied with a heartbroken emoji.
Musa has made 44 league appearances in the Turkish topflight division playing for Fatih Karagümrük and Sivasspor since he arrived Turkey in 2021.
Also, the wellbeing of his compatriots Henry Onyekurn and David Babajide, who ply their trade with Adana Dermispor in Adana one of the 10 cities affected by the initial quake, including Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir and Kilis was also confirmed through Babajide’s agent Abiodun Tella.
“I just spoke with Babajide now and he was in company with Henry Onyekuru; they are fine,” Tella said.
“captain Okechukwu Azubuike and Ibrahim Olawoyin, who both play for Rizespor in the second tier division in Turkey, also allayed fears of the disastrous earthquake, which has seen a combined death toll in Turkey and Syria rise to at least 2,300 as at Monday evening.
“We thank God that we are alive here, the earthquake didn’t get here and we pray it won’t,” Azubuike told reporters.
Also read: Nigeria commiserates with Turkey, Syria over Earthquake
Punch/Samuel Isaiah