How I almost throw my son’s destiny away – Bright Osayi’s mother

By Jethro Ibileke

Mrs Oredola Samuel, mother of Super Eagles and Fenerbahce defender, Bright Osayi-Samuel, on Tuesday related how she almost threw away the destiny of her son.

The Okitipupa-born woman related this to journalists in Benin, shortly before the 3rd place match of tje 2nd edition of Bright Osayi U-13 Football Tournament.

She recounted how she poured water on her son on several occasions for staying late at football practice into the early hours of the morning.

She said: “When he was small, between the age of 10 and 13, he used to play football, although he did no go to a football academy.

“Mind you, I was not against his playing football, but his coming home late is what I did not like. That was my problem with him. So, I told him to stop coming home late, but, the more I threatened him, the more he did it.

“Several times I took a bucket of water and poured it on him and will throw away his football. But, he will still repeat it.

“One thing he has is energy to play football. So, on that very day, as usual, I took the football away from him and I threw it away. His response was, ‘Mummy, you just throw away my future’.

That night, I went to my bed, but I could not sleep, because this boy has never spoken to me that way, that I threw away his future.

Around 3 am, I went outside and take the ball to him inside the house and I said to him, ‘look, I’ve brought your future for you'”.

Mrs. Samuel said she was happy with the achievements of the Nigerian international and that she took the right step on that night by giving his future back to him.

“I am very happy with his achievements in football, he is making me proud. Where people think I am nobody, because of him, they now see me as somebody, all because I did not throw away his destiny that day.

“Imagine I left that ball, maybe probably I would not have been here today. I am now enjoying that future with him,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Super Eagles defender, Bright Osayi-Samuel has expressed optimism that Nigeria still stands a good chance to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite a shaky start to the qualifiers.

He stated this while speaking to journalists in Benin City during his visit for a youth football tournament.

He said the team remained confident and fully aligned with the vision of head coach, Eric Chelle.

“I still think we can qualify. The aim is just to win every single game. We believe in our team. Of course, it will be difficult, but for us and the team, I think we have a good chance,” he said.

While noting that the team currently face an uphill task in Group C, the dependable defender however insisted that the right mentality and collective belief could turn things around.

Osayi-Samuel who pointed to Super Eagle’s recent performance against a strong opponent as evidence of progress, described Chelle as a fantastic coach, whom he said was at home with his philosophy.

“For me, the coach is fantastic. The way he wants us to press and run; I think everyone in the team is aligned to his ideas,” the Super Eagles defender said.

“In our last game against Russia, we contained a team that hadn’t lost in six or seven matches. If we keep working together, we have a good chance,” he said.