Kanu ‘devastated’ as his first name is declared legally dead

PORTSMOUTH’S FA cup winner Kanu was in mourning last night following the news that his first name has been declared legally dead after being missing for nine years.

Kanu’s first name Nwankwo was last seen in the early hours of May 17 1999 near the Clifton Suspension Bridge, looking gaunt and acting erratically.

Its disappearance followed a long battle against depression, thought to have been triggered by repeated confidence-destroying snubbing from commentators, after John Motson declared it “unfit for English ears”.

“It’s the news Kanu’s been dreading,” said teammate David James. “In the back of his mind I think he never quite gave up on Nwankwo. He’s always asked for the kit man to print ‘Kanu’ at the far right of his shirt, so Nwankwo would know that there would always be space for it, should it choose to return.”

Kanu emotionally dedicated his FA Cup triumph to Nwankwo (and God), at the weekend and said he had refused to give up hope after repeated sightings of the name in the Far East. Just last week a photo of ‘Nwankwo’ sporting a long beard and buying a pashmina in a Delhi marketplace was printed in a British tabloid. But Kanu’s hopes were dashed when it was revealed that the sighting was in fact of Aiyegbeni, a first name which disappeared from the Middlesbrough area in 2005.

In his short career Nwankwo had wowed crowds across the world with his use of ill-matched adjacent consonants and bawdy humour. However, it never learned to cope with its huge natural gifts and tragedy followed.

Kenny Lunt, who runs the Naming Chance clinic where Nwankwo often seeked help in its darkest times, said: “It was a beautiful name, but whether it was circumstance, depression or the word ‘wank’, it seems it was just never meant for this world.”

If you have any information on Nwankwo or any other missing first names please phone the missing first names hotline on 0800 12 12 12 and ask if Bryan is there.

Published July 27, 2008

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