11th July, 2012
The second son of the late Samuel Ojebode from his second wife, Abimbola Ojebode, 35, also spoke with GBENRO ADESINA about how he is going to miss his loving father
What’s the relationship between you and your father like?
I think I’m the proverbial black sheep of the family because I was very stubborn. I disagree with my father on a number of issues while he was alive. I was doing things that he did not like. For example, I play football, which was against his will.
Why would he discourage you from the profession he loved so much?
He did not want all his children to take football as a career. He wanted me to go into another profession like volleyball and basketball, but football is my choice. When I had the first invitation to the camp, he was surprised to see me in the camp because despite the fact that he was an assistant director for Sports in 1997, he knew nothing about how I got the invitation. The coach then knew me as a good footballer. As a student of The Polytechnic in Ibadan, I was invited to the camp and when my father saw me on the field playing very well, he was surprised and said: ‘so you can play football and who invited you to the camp.’ I captained the Oyo State team to the Imo 1998 Nigeria Sports Festival.
How were you selected?
There was a standing team then, as we were in the camp and playing tune up competitions in Oyo State. That was where we were shortlisted, I was among the 23 players shortlisted from the 100 invited for camping.
How did you feel when you were shortlisted?
It was a natural thing to be glad ofcourse, because I had all the qualities. I know that I can play well, and it will be difficult for anyone to brush me aside just like that.
How would you describe your late father?
He was a superb father. If I had a chance to come to this world again, I will like to be his son. I have no regrets being his son and him being my father. The happiest thing for me is that I received his blessing before he died. He was a friend and very caring. As a person, nobody can say anything negative about him. He was near perfection. And, as an ex-footballer, I was young when he was playing but with the clips I watched about his career, I concluded that he was a very good footballer. I read it in one of the newspapers that he was nicknamed ‘Ekinla’. He was a rare breed, a kind that comes once in a generation.
What will you miss about him?
I will miss almost everything. I will miss his fatherly advice and love. He was an amiable and lively person, who does not talk so much but if he talks you will laugh. He loves children and does not beat his children. He does not believe in corporal punishment.
Having said that, it’s a pity that dad will not be around when I am getting married soon. I have to rely on a surrogate father now. Although, I have a child out of wedlock, but I was not married before he died. I wish he is still around to witness my special day.