Standing a little over four feet, Ojay, as he is simply known in his Ikosi, Lagos, neighbourhood, is one of the most popular faces within this sprawling and densely populated suburb. A furniture maker and part-time commercial motorcyclist, the 33-year-old is not only known for his vocal stance on developmental issues within the community but also his love for football.

Journeying to Lagos in 2001 in search of a new life after an uneventful childhood and teenage years in his native Oyo State, Ojay craved for something special – something that would bring raw joy and give him a fresh sense of belonging. Two weeks after his arrival in the fast-paced city, he found a new fun spot. About 30 metres to the house of the relative he was putting up with at the time stood a viewing centre where live European football matches are beamed for a fee. Regular visits to the place at weekends soon fostered his love for one of England’s top clubs – Chelsea. By his second year in the neighbourhood, he had formed a formidable and seamless friendship with other Chelsea apologists in the area. Fourteen years since that period, Ojay has come a long way in his support for the English club.

“There is nowhere in Ikosi, Cele and Shangisha that you mention Ojay Chelsea that at least one person, especially football fans, won’t know me,” the young father of three said boastfully during an encounter with our correspondent earlier in the week. “Everybody knows that I am a true Chelsea fan and will go any length to support and defend the club. Since I started following them in 2002, I have never changed my mind or had any doubt about them no matter how terrible results can be at times. Chelsea is the reason I follow football, they are one of the things that give me true happiness in life,” he said as he walked into a bar in the neighbourhood where a match between England and Russia, one of the top fixtures of the ongoing 2016 European Championship was about to begin.

To prove his unflinching love for the English club, Ojay’s furniture shop is decorated with posters, flags and other souvenirs of Chelsea while his motorcycle which he uses for commercial transportation sometimes is also covered in the team’s colours. The Oyo native has lost count of the number of Chelsea jerseys, mufflers, socks, caps and other merchandise he had purchased since 2002 when he became hooked on them.

But despite such unrivalled passion for the game, Ojay has never bought, worn or held the jersey of a Nigerian clubside before.

“Apart from what I see on the pages of newspapers and on television, I have never physically seen the jersey of a Nigerian club before,” the 33-year-old confessed. “Though I wish to one day visit a league match venue in the country to see what it feels like to be out there, for now it is only on television that I sometimes watch the games. Here in Ikosi, the English Premiership and Spanish La Liga is what we mostly watch. For those of us supporting Chelsea, we see ourselves as one, we are like family. It is Chelsea or nothing else for me,” he said.

Interesting and curious as it sounds, Ojay’s stance merely highlights the growing nature of a trend that has become a known culture across Nigeria. Decked in various jerseys and other souvenirs of top European clubs at different times of the week especially weekends when major matches are played and beamed, Nigerians have taken their love and obsession for these teams to a new and bizarre level. Apart from decorating shops, motorcycles and vehicles in the emblems and flags of their desired European clubs, some now lay their beds in similar colours and also use towels and underwear soaked in the teams’ identities.
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