A close member of Stephen Keshi’s family, 81-year-old Chief
George Ofuokwu, the Odogwu of Illah told Daily Sunsports
yesterday about the life of the late Super Eagles Chief coach
and how he disobeyed his father to become a sport man.
See excerpt from the interview below:
How did late Stephen Keshi start his career in football?
Late Stephen Okechukwu Keshi’s career as a football player
was not by coincidence or sheer luck. It was an innate ability
and desire to succeed that drove him to such an enviable level
in football. As a kid he used to kick every object he came
across and that was how he developed strong interest in
football.
What about his father’s reaction to his interest in the game?
I knew Stephen since when he was a 2-year-old when his
family was living in Idi-oro, the area between Baba Olosha
and Moshalasi in Mushin, Lagos. His father, Pa Aniemeka
Keshi took me as a son and was instrumental to my coming
to Lagos many years ago. Stephen Keshi’s father was a strict
individual and the education of his children was of utmost
importance to him. I consider myself as a close member of the
family and I also helped to mediate anytime Keshi went
against his father’s decision.
How did his father react when he won the Principals’ Cup in
Lagos?
Before he won the Principals’ Cup, Stephen Keshi left home
because his father rejected the idea of a football career, but
he was adamant and followed his heart. Then, his father
stopped to pay his school fees. His mother called me to
intervene, which I did, but his father maintained his stance.
However, his mother would cook soup, wrap the ‘Eba’ (garri)
and hid it inside her headscarf to take to Stephen in his
friend’s house. Fortunately, Reverend Father Dennis Joseph
Slattery spotted his football talents and gave him scholarship
to St. Finabarr’s College. He grew to become a well-known
star after winning the Principals’ Cup. Later he was invited
into the national team and we started reading his stories in
the newspaper. At that point, his father soft-pedaled and
started praying for his success in football. Stephen Keshi
fought hard by disobeying his father because of a football
career that ended up making him the captain of the Nigerian
national football team.