Father
of one of the latest soccer stars in the country, Mr. Jonathan
Oboabona, has said that God has decided to reward his soccer talent
through his son, Godfrey. The young Oboabona featured for Nigeria in the
just concluded African Cup of Nations in South-Africa.
Oboabona
who shared his experience in an interview with our correspondent on
Wednesday said he relocated to Ondo town since 1966 from Ohodua in Esan
South East Local Government area of Edo State. He described himself as a
football addict.
He
said his love and passion for football made him to encourage all his
five male children including Godfrey who is the youngest of them all, in
to engage in sporting activities.
Apart
from Godfrey, Oboabona said two of his sons – David and Daniel – are
also deeply involved in sports and had represented Ondo in national
competitions. He described Daniel as a volleyball star while David is
good in badminton, javelin, and cricket among others.
He
said, “I congratulate my country, Ondo State, and my son, Godfrey who
is the youngest of my seven children because it was a surprise but
fulfilling to me that one of my sons is among the players, who brought
glory to our great country.
“Within
my I had always known that the boy was a star since he was born. I had
seen the soccer interest in him since he was a toddler and I encouraged
him. When he was in the primary school, he used to play football both in
the sun and in the rain and he would stay there whether he eats or not.
I didn’t stop or discourage him.
“All
his brothers are sports-loving people, even his elder brother, Daniel,
plays volley ball, another brother, David plays lawn tennis, badminton
and hockey for Adeyemi College of Education and he had featured in the
state competition in the past.
“Godfrey,
our baby of the house is very gentle, loving and respectful, even when
he was in Akure, he would call me every day to know how I was faring. We
spoke almost every day while he was abroad; he is a good son.
“We
assist him a lot in prayers. Everybody in the family watch him play all
the matches and we support him with prayers before and after each
match. I am a Catholic. The secret of our success is prayer to my God
for him and God has really answered our prayers concerning him.”
Oboabona
said Godfrey decided to buy a Toyota Camry car for him last year “when
he discovered that after retirement from Adeyemi College of Education in
2004 having worked for 31 years, I was still going about on Okada
(motorcycle).”
He said the dream of the family for him was for the new soccer star to secure an engagement with a club in Europe.
Godfrey’s
mother, Mrs Victoria Oboabona, a petty trader said she was very happy
for her son and specially commended Coach Stephen Keshi for exposing her
son to limelight.
She
said, “I thank God for him, he has been playing football since 2yrs of
age, he would not let me rest until I buy ball for him every time, from
his primary school days, and I supported him, despite the fact that he
always got injuries.
“At
a point I felt like stopping him from playing football; I always felt
like crying whenever he got injured. I would shout at him asking why he
was putting himself in trouble. And in all he would say ‘mama don’t
worry just leave me alone’.
“So
I would let him alone and pray for him. I used to pray and fast because
of him whenever they wanted to go for any football competition.”
And
going by the windfall from the African cup for Godfrey and the rest of
Eagles it was good that he was left alone to play his football.
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Mr and Mrs Jonathan Oboabona with the car Godfrey bought for them
TalkOfNaija
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