To understand the intrigues of Segun Odegbami‘s life, you must first understand the absolute tyranny of his youth. When he was 17, he possessed the sensitive hands of an artist, destined for poetry, illustration, and the scenic flurry of a canvas. Then came football, swallowing him whole and turning him into a household name across Africa; a celebrity so colossal that a simple factory visit could shut down an entire corporate plant for a day.
Today, at 74, the stadium roars have faded into the quiet of a solitary existence.
Odegbami rarely replays old matches in his head, nor does he long for the multi-million-dollar European salaries of contemporary football. Instead, as his body ages, reminding him of his mortality, Odegbami looks forward with a striking, urgent clarity to a more fruitful, selfless twilight. From the profound lessons of unconditional fatherhood to his enduring, post-romance alliance with Oyindamola Adeyemi, Nigeria’s ultimate Number 7, aka ‘Mathematical Odegbami’ proves that his greatest victory isn’t a silver trophy, but his unshakeable grip on his own integrity.
You recently turned 74. When you look in the mirror today, who do you see, the footballer millions of Nigerians remember, or a completely different Segun Odegbami?
People remind me constantly about my relationship with football on a daily basis to the extent that I look at most of life through the prism of football. Even in maturing to the person that I am Today, football (as a part of sport) has been at the core of my life’s journey – my…
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Read Full Article by Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha at businessday.ng
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