Barr. Allen onyema, Chairman CEO, Air Peace airline has honoured the 1976 Olympics Games team and 1980 National Football team with free domestic airline tickets for life and one international flight ticket to all routes flown by the airline once a year.
Other goodies is N1.5m each for the former athletes and footballers.
He announced this at a grand reception to honour the teams for their sacrifice, selfless service to fatherland, patriotism and nationalism and investiture of Air Peace Sports Diplomacy Ambassadors.
Before the reception, a huge monument constructed by Mr. Onyema was unveiled called the ‘Wall of Fame’ with the names of all team members written in Gold domiciled in the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, NIIA in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Some members of the teams still alive were present and those who could not come apparently due to ill-health or dead were represented by family members.
The evening at the main ball of the Eko Hotel and suites in Victoria Island, Lagos was electrified with Music from the ever-green and renowned music maestro Dr. Ebenezer Obey, the young and energetic Timi Dakolo with his beautiful voice.
There were dance performances and comedians dished out belly bursting jokes that put all in attendance in high spirits.
For those being honoured, it could be described as the best day of their lives, though looking frail, they took to the dance floor to show off their dance moves.
Allen Onyema in a brief remarks at the event said, Air peace Airlines has resurrected and rekindle the spirit of patriotism, of sacrifice, of love for country and the Black Race, by bringing together the forgotten heroes of 1976 and the victorious team of 1980 in a one-of-its-kind celebration, appreciating, recognizing, honouring, rewarding and immortalizing them.
According to him, ” Worthy as the cause may have been the price the athletes paid was high and the pain, everlasting. No governments or institutions since then, 47 years ago, have recognized, appreciated, honoured or even compensated the athletes….until now, on July 28th!”.

Explaining the sacrifices of these men and women he called Heroes, Onyema said,a day to the opening ceremony at the 1976 Olympics Games, their dreams went up in flames.
“They were summoned by the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa, SCSA, and informed of the decision by several African government’s to boycott the Games in protest. The International Olympic Committee, IOC, had failed to withdraw New Zealand from the Games for their Nigerians love their ‘romance’ with the Apartheid regime in South Africa. The IOC directed that all the contingents from the protesting countries should vacate the Games Village within one hour!”.
“That’s how the gates of the 1976 Olympics Games were shut in the faces of athletes from 27 African countries, Guyana and Iraq. It was a devastating blow to the athletes affected. Ambitions to become Olympians were sacrificed on the altar of global politics that was deployed to seek justice for oppressed fellow Africans in South Africa”.
For the 1980 AFCON National football team, he said, following the Nigerian Civil War that ended in 1970, the country needed every conceivable means to bury the hatchets of the war.
“The government introduced the National Youth Service Corp, NYSC, and the National Sports Festival, amongst other schemes, to bring the youths of the country together in the spirit of No Victor, No Vanquished”, the re-unification of the country being an imperative”.
“This pursuit went on for years thought schemes and programmes all designed to create platforms for socialization, re-integration, friendship and unity. It w hosting the African Cup of Nations in 1980, however, that the country found the perfect elixir”.
“Nigerians love their football with uncommon passion and its main actors, the players, reflected the homogeneity of the people from different tribes and tongues coming together united under a common umbrella”.
The Air Peace boss said, the Green Eagles played out their hearts, and for the first time since Independence in 1960, the people found in football the power that shuns differences and galvanizes the people to be one.