Kingsley Obiekwu , the ex-Super Eagles defender who is
now a commercial driver in Nigeria, said some of his
former teammates pretend they do not know him
because of his poor living condition.
Mr Obiekwu was part of the Nigerian Dream Team,
with the likes of Nwankwo Kanu, Sunday Oliseh,
Augustine Okocha and Emmanuel Amunike, which
recorded the country’s historic first soccer gold
medal win at the 1996 Olympics.
His football career suffered a devastating setback
when he was diagnosed with “enlargement of heart”
after signing a contract with a Dutch football club,
Go Ahead Eagles FC.
That was his first taste of international football at a
club level.
Because of this, he could not go further in football
within and outside Nigeria. And when life became
tough for him, he had to resort to commercial driving
in Enugu State, Nigeria’s South-east, in 2019 in order
to earn a living. This was 23 years after the heroic
achievement in the Atlanta Olympics.
He combines the transport business with a coaching
job at FC Ingas, a lower division club in Enugu.
“Most of the time when I come across my former
teammates, they will pretend they don’t know me or
I didn’t even play with them,” Mr Obiekwu said, with
a bewildered expression, in his Enugu residence.
Mr Obiekwu, 47, said apart from Nwankwo Kanu,
other teammates were unconcerned about his plight.
The ex-defender recalled with sadness how a former
teammate, who was staying in Port Harcourt,
rebuffed his request to spend a night in his house
when he was stranded in the city in 2000, despite the
fact that both of them played in a match against
Ghana the previous year.
As a commercial driver, Mr Obiekwu usually meets
police officers manning checkpoints on the road. He
initially thought the officers would accord him some
respect as holder of national honour, Order of Niger.
He was wrong!
“They (officers) mocked me, they said I should go
and sit down because it is none of their business,”
Mr Obiekwu said while recalling an encounter he
had with some police officers.
Mr Obiekwu talked about how the heart condition
affected him.
“That enlargement of heart causes what they called
palpitation of the heart. They told me the problem
with the condition was that I would be getting tired
before other players. (And) that’s what I am
experiencing,” he said.
Mr Obiekwu experienced limited playing time at the
Dutch club because of the heart condition until he
left the club in 1998 when his contract expired.
His heart condition, including his recurring knee
injury, forced him to retire from football at the age of
30, unable to reach the pinnacle of his career.
‘Not proud of being a taxi driver’
“The story about me driving a Sienna and loading a
bus in Abakpa Park is true. There is nothing to hide.
That’s what I do,” Mr Obiekwu said.
“I have a Sienna and I have to use it to sustain
myself and my family while I wait for the (Nigerian)
premier league club to coach.”
Taking to commercial driving was a difficult decision
for the former defender, he said.
But his wife’s support and prayers, according to him,
provided the needed push into the business that
many Nigerians may likely consider as unfitting for a
man who was once celebrated as a football hero by
the government and people of Nigeria.
“I am not proud of it, but my wife supported me. She
took away the shame and encouraged me to do
whatever thing, as long as it is not illegal, to help the
family. I had to also throw the shame away,” he said.
Mr Obiekwu’s 2000 model Toyota Sienna carries a
maximum of seven passengers. He makes N7,000
(about $16) per trip.
Okoh Onyeka, a 400 level student of Mass
Communication, Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu,
said he cried when he hugged Mr Obiekwu while the
former footballer was loading passengers in buses at
Nsukka Park.
“Life can be cruel. We can help lift him again if he is
willing. That environment is not for him,” Mr Onyeka
said in a Facebook post.
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Mr Obiekwu had struggled in vain to land a coaching
job in any of the clubs in the Nigeria premier league.
He has a pro-licence certificate from the United
Kingdom where he stayed for a four-year coaching
course after retirement, but the Nigerian clubs would
always ask him to produce a CAF Grade A or Grade B
certificate to be considered.
And he has none, he said.
After staying without a job for years, following his
return to Nigeria, life became difficult for him and
his family.
He said he has, at several times, put up his house – a
three-bedroom bungalow – for sale to raise money
that could enable him to start a business but it was
difficult to get a buyer.
He built the house during his glory days in football.
Mr Obiekwu said he is owed close to N6 million by
some clubs he coached previously in Nigeria, Egypt
and the Republic of Benin.
‘What government should do’
The former footballer is married and has five
children, four boys and one girl. Two of the boys are
400-level students at the Enugu State University of
Science and Technology.
Mr Obiekwu said the Nigerian government has
turned its back against him and other footballers
who have brought glory and honour to the country.
“Most of us that played for Nigeria in the past have
been neglected,” he said.
“What I would have wanted the federal government
to do is that most of us that played and are given the
honour, the honour needs to come with ‘something’
at the end of every month, at least to encourage and
appreciate us.”
He said the promises made to him and his teammates
by the federal and state governments were yet to be
fulfilled, and that includes a promise by the Delta
State Government to give plots of land to the
members of the Dream Team.
Obiekwu is a fantastic guy, says ex-
teammate, Garba Lawal
PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mr Obiekwu’s former
teammate, Garba Lawal.
“I played with him. He was a fantastic guy, no doubt
about that,” Mr Lawal said of Mr Obiekwu.
He said he had not been in constant touch with Mr
Obiekwu.
Mr Lawal, however, declined comment on the
allegation that the teammates have abandoned Mr
Obiekwu.
Mr Lawal, 47, who played as a left-winger for the
Super Eagles, currently serves as the General
Manager of Kaduna United FC.
After Mr Obiekwu’s story went public, Ahmed Musa,
the Super Eagles captain, sent a donation of N2 million
to him.
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/sports/football/512296-how-former-teammates-snub-me-ex-super-eagle-player-whos-now-a-commercial-driver.html
mynd44 lalasticla oam4j Seun

Never blame anyone in life for ur failure, and if pple dunt help u never
means they are bad pple maybe they are helping other pple out there
or their own family responsibility is much for them.
As e hard you, na so e hard others too. Just that not everyone talks
about their problems. We should be grateful to God for those who
helped us and even for those who didn't help us. No body dey owe
you shishi.
God bless Musa for his kind gesture to you

Bird's of the same feather except

Musa

football is something that u need to invest,what most footballers forget is that you hardly pass 40years playing it. And their is a saying " life begins at 40". They keep buying latest cars and forget to invest,thats why most of them end of like this..good gesture from Ahmad Musa

The issue of ex internationals that fail to meet up expected life desire should not be bordering this nation .....these are people that didn't take this playing for Nigeria as a carrier or a permanent job.....they are been payed there allowance, for matches, transportation feeding and accommodation is taken care of......so if after there careers they couldn't meet up with life expectance its there faith...there is little or nothing any one can do about it......u don't expect his other colleagues to take up his responsibility........ Others have their individual problems too. Why is it that we don't talk about our teachers who thought us in primary, secondary and at the university levels .....why? How about our security agents who put there lives on the line for us to be safe.....who is talking about the once who sustained different degrees of injury and deformities such that they are not able to provide for there families..... Here we are talking about someone that owns a Toyota seana to himself, don't need to make returns to any body and making 7k per trip.

So does it mean the federal government didn't give them anything substantial after winning the 1996 Olympic gold medal in football?

I never heard his name throughout Atlanta ‘96, but I can see he is doing fine. He has got two kids in their final year in the university, he owns his house, he is also a small business owner. He’s neither crippled nor incapacitated so I don’t know the intention of this post beyond decent bárá. This Nigerian mentality of solu ibé, (make my mate no pass me) is not so different from oju kokoro.

So you’re not zipping about on private jets like some but at least ure not begging on the streets or fighting on the hospital bed for ur life!


All diz talk na just format for begging, which is all a bit shameful if he had any shred of decency, IMO. Maybe that’s why his teammates avoid him.

This might sound harsh, but no one wants to hear about ur problems when they’re gathered for a hangout.

Everyone has issues so just grin and bear ur own by yasef till it’s over or E over you!

ManirBK:
The issue of ex internationals that fail to meet up expected life desire
should not be bordering this nation .....these are people that didn't
take this playing for Nigeria as a carrier or a permanent job.....they are
been payed there allowance, for matches, transportation feeding and
accommodation is taken care of......so if after there careers they
couldn't meet up with life expectance its there faith...there is little or
nothing any one can do about it......u don't expect his other
colleagues to take up his responsibility........ Others have their
individual problems too. Why is it that we don't talk about our
teachers who thought us in primary, secondary and at the university
levels .....why? How about our security agents who put there lives on
the line for us to be safe.....who is talking about the once who
sustained different degrees of injury and deformities such that they
are not able to provide for there families..... Here we are talking about
someone that owns a Toyota seana to himself, don't need to make
returns to any body and making 7k per trip.

So u didn't even read where it was clearly stated that he retired early at the age of 30 due to heart enlargement? He didn't even have that luxury of playing international club football like his fellow teammates that won the 1996 Olympic gold medal.

Anieke77:
Bird's of the same feather except
Musa

African men are always proud, intimidating and underrate poor friends when they (the rich friends) become rich. What an hopeless mentality! His rich friends "snub him". But God didn't. God sent Ahmed Musa, a non Igbo footballer to him. Where are the likes of Kanu, Okocha and the likes?

He was simply rejected because he did not make it. But I don't want to blame anyone for that.
may GOD bless our hustle and make it fruitful
..that's all I can say

Hisbah21:
football is something that u need to invest,what most footballers forget is that you hardly pass 40years playing it. And their is a saying " life begins at 40". They keep buying latest cars and forget to invest,thats why most of them end of like this..good gesture from Ahmad Musa

Enough of this invest talk abeg ..did you read how his career was cut short?

SarkinYarki:


Enough of this invest talk abeg ..did you read how his career was cut short?

People underrate the role good fortune or bad fortune plays in a mans life ,Kanu Nwankwo could have easily ended up like this guy if he didn't get help for his heart issues

Hmmmm

But considering nigeria context, is he really suffering.

Thanks to Ahmed Musa for his benevolence

Typical Nigerians.
He should do away with his sense of entitlement and appreciate what he has already.
Life is tough and challenging.
People are going through worse.
Nobody owe anybody anything.
Appreciate the little helps you get.

fabiano09:

People underrate the role good fortune or bad fortune plays in a mans life ,Kanu Nwankwo could have easily ended up like this guy if he didn't get help for his heart issues

Exactly

Everyone wants to be associated with success not failure. It is natural instinct.
But the fact that u have succeeded doesn't mean you should not give a helping hand to a colleague.
You are up today don't mean you will stay up forever.
The people you met and left on your way UP will be waiting to tell welcome on your way DOWN.

Are the other people who are running transportation business less human?

SarkinYarki:


Enough of this invest talk abeg ..did you read how his career was cut short?

And so what?

Golan007:


And so what?

Pity the guy small, na bad streak catch am , he no kill person

SarkinYarki:


Pity the guy small, na bad streak catch am , he no kill person

No doubt.

I'm all for helping when one can but on the real, this guy's problems pale in comparison to many others in our society.

Golan007:


No doubt.

I'm all for helping when one can but on the real, this guy's problems pale in comparison to many others in our society.

True , at least he has a working Siena that makes 7k per trip

Life can be cruel

What a nonsense entitlement mentality! Oga go on with your life! Nobody owes you anything.
Your current condition is not about the enlightenment of heart. There were bad decisions you made while abroad that you don't want to tell us about.

In this life if you don't take the bull by the horns your mates go use you gossip.

JOemmy:


So u didn't even read where it was clearly stated that he retired early at the age of 30 due to heart enlargement? He didn't even have that luxury of playing international club football like his fellow teammates that won the 1996 Olympic gold medal.

There were other opportunities for him abroad.

Nigeria govt go pay u monthly

Even active teachers and Pensioners

Never receive monthly pay from this govt sef