You Think We’re Owed? Udo-Obong Has a Message for Nigeria’s Stars.

By: Akinde Oluwaseun

So the ex-footballers are fired up. Understandably so. Guys like Taribo West and Austin Eguavoen were at a service for the late Peter Rufai, and they felt the government had just forgotten him. Left him behind. It’s a sad story.

But then, someone else chimed in. And it wasn’t just anyone.

Enefiok Udo-Obong. The Olympic legend. He basically went on Facebook and put a stop to all that talk. He called it insulting to compare an athlete’s life to a soldier’s. One lives a life of privilege, he argued. The other lays down their actual life. Big difference.

His point? The nation gave us the stage. The platform. We dont get a free ride for life just because we wore the green and white. In fact, maybe we owe the country for the chance. What we do deserve, he says, is respect. Recognition for the hard work. And that’s it. This is a guy who brought home gold and bronze from the Olympics, so he knows the grind. Now he’s running the athletics program for Saudi Arabia, a job he beat out a bunch of experts for. Maybe seeing things from the outside gives you a new perspective.