A few days ago, I received an unexpected call from Felix, a childhood friend I hadn’t seen or heard from since we finished secondary school in Jos—he attended St. John’s College and I went to St. Murumba College. After exchanging pleasantries, he praised me for achieving national recognition despite our humble beginnings in Jos. Certainly, I understood his point. I’ve likely been the most celebrated and prominent retired athlete in Nigerian sports. Throughout my nearly fifty years involved in professional sports and my life after retirement, I have consistently been in the public spotlight due to my connections to the media in various ways. Additionally, see: Who will be the winner of AFCON 2025? Odegbami. Felix viewed me as a highly successful entrepreneur within the sports industry. He expressed this succinctly: during my time as a full-time football player and civil servant in Oyo State, I was quite apprehensive about the unpredictability of life after sports. As a result, I transitioned into business early on, engaging in the sale of sports equipment, beer, soft drinks, cement, and various media ventures, none of which I had received formal training for. I never believed I required any training. Based on my own observations, the post-sport lives of well-known athletes didn’t serve as positive examples. I thought that pursuing a business path, rather than working in Mechanical engineering which didn’t excite me, would be the key to securing a successful future after the excitement of a sports career. Therefore, I resonated with Felix’s perspective. Visually, the image I envision in public is that of a highly successful and likely affluent retired individual.
