We were living from hand to mouth - Mikel Obi's Brother Speaks Out
True confession of Ebele, Mikel Obi’s brother…
By EMMA NJOKU
All
over the world, the game of football has turned the fortunes of many
families around for good. In Nigeria, examples of families whose stories
have changed from grass to grace abound.
One
of them is that of Super Eagles and Chelsea of England midfielder, John
Mikel Obi. His elder brother and Heartland FC of Owerri’s goalkeeper,
Ebele Obi, made the confession in a no-holds-barred interview with TSW
in Owerri recently. The former Enugu Rangers captain also spoke on the
celebrated Kidnap episode of his father, his relationship with Mikel,
his love life and Mikel’s, his football career and many more.
Excerpts!
Football in my family
Actually
football runs in my family. It is something we inherited from my Dad
because he was a great player in his days as a youth. At the moment
three of us are into football; I, my immediate younger brother, Mikel,
and our last born.
Impact
The game of football has really impacted on my family.
From,
hitherto, a humble background, football has taken my family to such a
great height that we never imagined. Today, my family is popular both in
Nigeria and the world over, particularly, as a result of the fame of my
younger brother, Mikel.
Transformation
Before
now, ours was a family that fed from hand to mouth. We were living in
two-room apartment in Jos not because my Dad could really afford the
rent but because he was the care-taker of the compound. The truth is
that we had nothing to offer then. But today, the story is different;
thanks to football. Apart from Mikel that is playing big time
professional football in Europe, I’m also playing professional football
here in the Nigerian League and my other younger brother is also a
footballer. Football has really done us a lot of good. We now have
houses and cars of our own. So, I give God the glory. How we started our
football career When we were growing up, I was the first to start
playing football with a team called Greater Tomorrow before I joined the
Pepsi Football Academy. Not quite long, Mikel joined me at Pepsi
Academy. And that’s how we started our football career. Our younger
brother, the last born of my parents is also playing football.
Relationship with Mikel
Mikel
is my younger brother. I’m two years older than him and so he’ll
continue to be my younger brother. He respects me a lot as his elder
brother and I respect for him too even as my younger brother. We reason
together. If there’s something he has for the family he seeks my advice
and we discuss it and agree on what to do. And then I pass the
information to my Dad and Mum. We get along very well and I pray we
continue that way.
Encouragement from Mikel
I
must confess that Mikel has really encouraged me in my football career
and I’m grateful to him. I cannot deny the fact that he has done so much
for me and the family as a whole. Each time he’s coming home, he buys
me training kits. He brings me the kits of Chelsea’s goalkeeper (Peter
Czech). He also buys me clothes, shoes and many other things. He calls
me to wish me well whenever I have a match.
He has been doing a lot to encourage me in my football career.
Mum is a Chelsea fan
My
mum watches Mikel whenever Chelsea has a match. Even when she travels,
she would be rushing back home to watch Mikel play. She is a Chelsea
fan.
Father’s kidnap episode
The
incident happened when I was still with Enugu Rangers. The management
of Rangers did everything to encourage me during that trying period. I
was on top of my game then so the management couldn’t drop me from the
squad. I recall that we (Rangers) were playing in the continent then.
Both the management and my teammates kept encouraging me to continue to
play assuring me that my father would come back safe. It was really a
difficult period for me but I thank God that at the end of the day my
father was released without a ransom paid to the kidnappers.
Actually the kidnappers demanded for a huge sum of money because they heard that Mikel is paid in thousands of pounds.
Lessons from Dad’s kidnap
In
life, we learn from our experiences. Initially, we were very free with
visitors in our home. We used to welcome everybody into our house but
little did we know that some of the people we welcomed into the house
were planning evil against us. But since that kidnap episode, we have
tightened the security within and around the compound. Now before you
come into the family, we must ask who you are. Whenever my Dad goes out,
there are usually security details that keep watch over him.
The
same applies to my Mum and every other member of the family. You may
not see the security operatives but they are always there monitoring
every move around members of my family wherever we are. Even when we
move with our private cars, the security details will always follow.
When I’m with my friends, I’m always conscious. In a nutshell, my Dad’s
kidnap episode has really opened our eyes to be security conscious at
all times. But in all, God has been our ultimate security; the author
and finisher of our faith.
Career dream
It’s
not been easy. Each time I have a good game or training session and
sleep and wake up the following day, I would tell myself that I’m not
supposed to be plying my trade here in the domestic league. I should be
playing in Europe. But I know that it is difficult for goalkeepers to
make it to Europe unlike the field players that easily secure contracts
with clubs abroad. But I know that my breakthrough shall soon come. I
keep praying to God and keep on talking to my brother and other
interested agents that would like to export me abroad. My brother is
working very hard for me to get a club in Europe.
I
know that I’m a good goalkeeper and I’m working very hard but I’m not
going to kill myself. I can only work hard and pray to God to help me
get a club abroad.
Invitation to national team
Everything
depends on God and I know that God’s time is the best. I’ve never been
invited to any national team before; be it U-17 or U-20 not to talk of
the senior national team. It’s not as if I don’t want to be there, I
would love to serve my country. I would love to make my family and
fatherland proud. But I believe it’s only a matter of time for me to get
my chance. Perhaps, that time would come under the present coach,
Stephen Keshi and it comes, I shall grab it with both hands.
Discipline
I
cannot talk about any other goalkeeper on the issue of discipline. I
can only talk about myself. I’m not undisciplined. But people tend to
misunderstand me sometimes. For instance, when I was the captain of
Enugu Rangers, whenever I made a case for the welfare of the players, it
would be interpreted as indiscipline. But I don’t know about other
goalkeepers regarding who is disciplined and who is not. In any case, I
wonder why goalkeepers are always made to look like scapegoats. We are
not different from the field players. It is wrong to paint the
goalkeepers black.
My assets/qualities as a goalkeeper
I
believe with God all things are possible. I do not claim to be the best
goalkeeper in the country. But I’m sure when the opportunity comes for
me to be in the national team, I would grab it with both hands. I’m only
praying for the call-up to come first. If it comes, I’d work very hard
to make sure that it does not slip off my hands. My strongest point as
goalkeeper is the ability to deal with pressure. I’m usually very calm
in goal no matter the amount of pressure. When you expect me to make
mistakes, I don’t because I’m not there to make mistakes. I’m very calm
and calculative. Above all, I’m very prayerful. I pray a lot before I go
into a match. And when I cannot pray, I have some pastors that
intercede for me so that I can have a good match.
Target with Heartland
I
left Enugu Rangers because I wanted to face fresh challenges and I
believe that Heartland FC offers me that challenge.So I’m not in
Heartland for a jamboree. I’m here to work.
Sex and romance
As
a footballer and as a popular figure, one must learn to cope with every
situation that comes his way. Concerning my social life, I’m currently
into a relationship and I don’t want to be distracted. I want to be
focused and keep on praying that everything works out fine so that I can
settle down with the same person I’m into a relation with. I’m not
carried away with my brother’s wealth. No doubt girls come around me but
I remain focused on my career. Mikel too is into a relationship at the
moment right there in the United Kingdom. When you stick to one person
at a time, I think it saves you a lot of trouble. But when you jump from
one today to another tomorrow, you create room for every other girl to
come in. We are not on that track at all.
Mikel won’t marry a white lady
No,
no, no! We cannot advise Mikel to marry a foreigner knowing full well
what it involves. We’ll make him realize that if he gets married to a
foreigner, whatever comes out of the marriage, he should be prepared to
take it. I wouldn’t want my brother to be a victim of a failed marriage.
Even
when I visited him in London, I warned him about white ladies. I told
him that even if he’s having a relationship with a white lady, it should
stop at that; he should not allow such relationship to end up in
marriage. I told him whenever he wants to settle down in marriage, he
should come down to Nigeria and pick a wife. If he’s thinking towards
the direction of getting married to a white lady, we are not in support
of that. My parents are not in support of him getting married to a
white. If he’s in a relationship, that’s just a relationship.
Source: Suns News Nigeria
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