Eulogies trail Odegbami’s Me, Football and More Abuja launch

IT was all praises for former Green Eagles and IICC FC of Ibadan captain, Segun Odegbami, Tuesday as he unveiled his book, Me, Football and More, to the public in Abuja.

   The book, which dwells on the life and career of the former Nigerian international, also contains his activities after his glorious career as a football player.

   Speaking at the occasion, which was chaired by the Chairman of Daar Communications Limited, Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bolaji Abdulahi revealed how as a growing child, he used to follow the activities of Segun Odegbami and his Green Eagles team mates, stressing that seeing how the former international rose to fame is a big feat that is worthy of emulation by other Nigerian athletes and players.

    The minister urged Nigerian players and athletes to begin to plan for life after retirement, stressing that it is obvious that they cannot remain in their chosen sports forever.


    He warned that athletes and players should stop relying much on government, especially after retirement, as according to him, they receive enough money that could give them comfortable life at retirement, if they planned their lives well.

   “In Segun Odegbami, we see a great footballer, who never relied solely on the gift of being a natural footballer, but digressed in so many ways to make himself relevant to the Nigerian society after his football career.

   “The way our former footballers and athletes parade themselves after their career has not been very encouraging. Some of them, when they retire, cannot even pay their bills when they are sick, some are rooming about with nothing to do. Each time I read people say oh, government has abandoned these footballers or athletes; my argument has always been that these footballers or athletes abandoned themselves long ago.

   “Some of these footballers, the kind of money they earn today, are very alarming, but it baffles me when they retire and start to complain of being abandoned. That a player or athlete got injured in the cause of his profession or sport does not mean he is finished, that is why we have the likes of Segun Odegbami, Victor Ikpeba etc doing well today after playing football.

 “They are not the only ones that served their fatherland. Some one, who works in a government establishment or civil service also served Nigeria. So when he retires, would he turn to say that government has abandoned him? Please, when we are still active, we should try to think for our future and plan for life after retirement. This is a big lesson that we have to learn from Segun Odegbami and the others.

   “If Segun Odegbami can survive after football, I think it is a challenge to every sports man and woman to take the responsibility of thinking about his life outside sports.

    “Certainly it a point that these players owe the country more for giving them the platform to excel in their various sports. When an athlete is playing and collecting salaries and allowances and is even protesting to get his allowance doubled, and everybody is running up and down to serve the athlete, then suddenly he has an injury and can no longer play, he will come out to say Nigeria has abandoned him, I think it is not fair because everybody is working so hard for the same country,” the minister noted.