Pascal Atuma: I’m happy Ghana qualified… Eagles victory would’ve overshadowed Kaduna attack

Pascal Atuma, Nigerian actor and filmmaker, says he is delighted that Super Eagles lost the Qatar 2022 World Cup ticket to Ghana.

The movie producer said a victory for the Eagles would’ve overshadowed the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna rail, which claimed the lives of eight people.

On Monday, some bandits ambushed a train with over 300 passengers aboard in Kaduna. The number of casualties from the attack is still inconclusive as more bodies are still being recovered.

In the wake of the attack, the Black Stars of Ghana ended Nigeria’s dream of becoming the first African country to qualify for four consecutive World Cups.

The Ghanaians secured a 1-1 draw in Abuja on Tuesday to progress to the World Cup based on the away goals rule — after holding Nigeria to a goalless draw in Kumasi last Friday.

Reacting to the two events in a recent video, Atuma also slammed the national team for not observing a “one-minute silence” for the people who died in the Kaduna train attack.

“People moved on even though Nigeria played a World Cup qualification match in Abuja — few miles away from where this train was bombed,” he said.

“The worst part of it is that the national team did not observe one-minute silence for the people that died. If they did, I didn’t see it. They didn’t even wear black armbands or ribbons to show that people died.

“It’s so surprising that they moved on to play the match but thank God that they lost. I’m very happy that Nigeria lost the game because had it been we won, the news will be all over the place that Nigeria qualifies for the World Cup. Forgetting the eight Nigeria that died in the attack, and it will just be brushed under the carpet.”