African football legend raises N14m for Boko Haram victims

Former Barcelona and Chelsea star Samuel Eto’o has raised about $75,000 (N14m) for victims of Boko Haram in Nigeria and his home country Cameroon.

The insurgent group has wreaked havoc in the northern part of both countries, displacing thousands from their homes.

According to Oxfam, more than 1.5m have fled their homes in Nigeria and Cameroon amid a rise tide in Boko Haram attacks.

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The four-time African Player of the Year has set up a charity foundation called the Yellow Whistleblower FC foundation through which he has raised the money help these people.

Speaking to , the former Cameroon captain Eto'o blasted world leaders for ignoring the attacks.

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The 34-year-old made reference to the reactions the terror attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine offices in Paris in January and urged the world to react like that to Boko Haram attacks.

"It is important for us to talk about it -- if we don't do it, who will?" Eto’o said.

"We all tried to offer our support (after Charlie Hebdo). We saw African head of states coming to Paris to offer their support to France.

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"Why, when it comes to Africa -- when it comes to our continent -- don't we do anything? Maybe because the media are not doing what they should do.

"When it comes to Charlie Hebdo, we talk about it. The media were right: It was important to talk about that.

“However when it comes to Boko Haram, we need to wait for the most horrific things to happen for the media to say a word.

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"After that, everybody stops talking about it. It is like nothing ever happened.

The former Inter striker also suggests education as the main tool to fight the insurgency.

"We need to create schools and give the possibility to these children to learn and understand," to’o explained.

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"Some of these children affected by the situation are young and are easily manipulable, and they are manipulated. These children are used and join this terrorist organization."