Friday, July 24, 2026

I started my heart foundation with money I got from Tinubu: Kanu

“Without that money, there wouldn’t have been Kanu Foundation to perform the heart surgeries that have saved many lives.”

• March 21, 2022
Kanu Nwankwo and Bola Tinubu
Kanu Nwankwo and Bola Tinubu [Photo credit: Twitter]

Former Super Eagles captain, Kanu Nwankwo, says his NGO, Kanu Heart Foundation, would not have been if not for the generosity of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Kanu made this revelation on Saturday, when he and other former Super Eagles players visited the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and presidential aspirant in celebration of his 70th birthday on March 29.

In an official statement released by spokesperson to Mr Tinubu, Tunde Rahman, the football legend said the then Lagos state governor was the first to donate to the foundation.

“Without that money, there wouldn’t have been Kanu Foundation to perform the heart surgeries that have saved many lives,” the statement quoted Kanu. 

The former Arsenal player said the Kanu Heart Foundation has sponsored 538 open-heart surgeries for Nigerians since its inception in 2000.

Kanu, who also played for Ajax Amsterdam and West Bromwich Albion, was diagnosed with congenital heart disease while playing for Inter Milan in 1996.

This condition almost ended his career but he underwent surgery and made a full recovery.

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