In this nerve-wracking tale, Chika Mefor-Nwachukwu narrates the story of Femi Adejobi, a generator repairer who despite being duped twice by Football agents, insists he must play professional soccer abroad.
“I was duped twice by Football agents, but I am not losing hope of playing for a club outside the country, one day,” were the affirmative words of Femi Adejobi, a generator repairer in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria.
A highly-motivated Adejobi never missed his evening training. Four days a week, he trained relentlessly. On his training days, he left everything he was doing to participate in the exercise, and he always took care to kit himself well and ready for the training. All his customers knew his schedule and somehow adjusted to it.
“I rest on Mondays. I train on Tuesdays, and on Thursdays, we do fitness. Saturdays, we play among ourselves, and on Sundays, we play with other teams,” he explained as he made a counting gesture with his fingers.
A native of Abeokuta, Ogun State, Adejobi’s love for football began to manifest when he was only 10 years old. Although he loved other sports, he was really addicted to football.
“My primary school, back in the day, didn’t want me to graduate because I was really good in sports and won many medals,” he beamed smiles as he narrated his exploits in sports.
Adejobi revealed that following his father’s insistence, he was allowed to graduate and proceed to the Anglican Secondary School in his area. His escapades in the game of football got him a position at the Pepsi Academy.
“I was 15 years when my teacher took me there. I did trials in many places. In trials, we played and were screened, and some scouters would be there to pick players. They picked about five of us then. I was the youngest player, but nothing came out of it; I mean no club took me,” he said sadly.
Adejobi stated that his dream of playing outside the country was first shattered when he and his other team mates were sent away from the academy after just one year.
“The team manager said they couldn’t take care of us again since nobody picked us. They just gave us our jersey, and we were asked to disperse,” he narrated.
His obsession with football was okay with his father, but his mother wasn’t thrilled at all.
“She said I had been playing but that no one had picked me. She asked why I kept playing. I told her that it was my career in life, and that it was what gave me joy. My dad was supportive,” he stated.
Sadly, Adejobi’s parents died shortly after, and he was forced to abandon school and learn a handwork. He took to generator repair as trade, but never abandoned football.
In 2002, after learning the job for 10 years, Adejobi decided he had had enough of the learning and opted to come to Abuja to try his luck on the game he loved so much. Through his brother who was in Abuja, he heard about a screening exercise for footballers at the National Stadium and quickly went there.
“It was around that time when they were trying to pick the Under 17 Super Eagles’ players. My brother heard it over the radio, and informed me about it, and then I went to the National Stadium and joined. Many people came for the trial. We were over 200. I was happy that after playing, they picked me. I was playing Number 9, a striker. Five of us were picked. They dismissed other people.
“They brought in more people and we were about 15 in number. We played matches with other young clubs and we beat them hands down. We were camped at the Gold Project, in the Super Eagle’s pitch,” he said.
With the way things went on, Adejobi continued to believe that his luck would soon shine, until the football managers began to enquire from the them who and who had brought them to the trial.
“They were looking for people with connection. I told them I had no one except God. Many of the boys brought their people who paid money. I didn’t bring any money, so I was asked to stay back until they had attended to the people who brought money. Till now, I haven’t seen those boys I played with, and I believe they are abroad. With the way I have played matches with various clubs back to back here in Abuja, I would have expected to meet them somewhere, somehow,” he said.
Overly disappointed, he fell back to his handwork but continued with his training, and that was how he met Collins, the first fake football agent that duped him.
“I met Collins at the LEA Primary School, Kubwa where I was then training. He told me he was a football agent and asked me to bring my international passport. He said I should give him N300, 000. I hustled and gave him the money. He said he will do the visa for me and told me to arrange money for travel. After a while, I didn’t hear from him again. He disappeared. The money he took from me was over N500, 000,” he said.
When it seemed like Adejobi had recovered from Collins’s scam, a worse scam happened, this time with a fake agent called Edward. He showed Adejobi pictures he took with footballers and ‘Oyibo’ people abroad – a gesture that convinced Adejobi to play along and believe that his saviour had finally come.
To achieve this dream of travelling out, Adejobi involved his family. He felt that if after all, he eventually ‘blows,’ they will enjoy with him. His family members contributed the ‘required’ sum of money and handed it over to Edward.
“He took about N700,000 from me. We went to look for him at his house but like Collins, he had disappeared. I heard that he ran back abroad after duping other people,” he said.
Adejobi resigned to fate after the second incident. The two times he encountered the fake agents, his International Passport was taken from him and was never returned. He had to obtain another passport after the first fake agent left with the first one. The second passport was also made away with, a fact that made him swear never to redo it.
“Maybe it is not yet my time,” he said with a melancholic smile. “ Five guys who were staying with me then, and we were training together; all found their to travel out, and they are abroad now. I was feeding them because I was the only one working then. Only one of them who is in Spain, has kept in touch with me.”
Adejobi who is a father of two, is not giving up hope on his dreams. He is not even worried about his age because according to him, there is real age and there’s also football age and when he gets abroad, he will use his football age.
“My football age is only 19,” he says.
Even with all his travails, Adejobi who plays for a local club called “Living FC,” revealed that he will never leave the game.
“Football gives me strength, a strong body and mind. It gives me the vision to do wonderful things. My children will play football too,” he insisted, smiling from ear to ear.
He advised young Nigerians who are aspiring to play international soccer not to give on their dreams. “Football is good, it’s all about endurance. You have to be disciplined. If you aren’t disciplined, you can’t play football. Don’t look at my story because you don’t know where your luck will shine.”
Adejobi stated that the country is not helping to create a levelled-playing ground for players, and that that is the reason behind the mad rush for international clubs by Nigerians.
“You need connection to play in the national team. We have many talents, but many of them find their way and move abroad because of the way Nigeria is treating its people. Our country needs to help the youth. Your talent alone can’t work for you, unless you have connection. Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), I’m talking to you right now, ‘Don’t let our talents waste! Don’t underrate us!! People are losing hope even with the talents they have,’” he remonstrated.
Aside the dream of playing for an international club, Adejobi also hopes to set up a football training center someday, to coach and manage young footballers.
Many Nigerian footballers have been either robbed of their hard earned cash or even abandoned by these fake agents when they are taken abroad. While Adejobi was lucky that he had only parted with his money, another footballer, Emma was not so lucky.
His brother Bamidele who narrated the story stated that Emma who was playing for Airport Jet in the FCT, was taken to France by the agent after collecting over N1m from their father.
“He told us he has a club waiting and that my brother should come to France for the trial. My dad had to sell some of our property to ensure he travelled,” he stated.
Bamidele revealed that Emma was taken to a camp were he had trained with several young footballers and added that one day, the agent came up with a story about his money missing and accused him of being the culprit.
“That was how he was sent back to Nigeria,” Bamidele recounted sadly. “I believed he came up with that story to blackmail him and send him home. He had no plans of getting a club for him. I am happy he came back safe because I have heard stories of many who have been killed in the process”.
However, Emma experience has now dampened the dreams of Bamidele who desperately wants to play football professionally as no one is his family is ready to relive Emma’s ugly experience.
QuicknewsAfrica got in touch with Kola Daniel the Special Assistant to the Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare to get his little advice for young footballers, to help them identify real agents from fake ones.
Daniel stated that when genuine agents get a club for an aspiring professional player for trial, the cost for the visa, travel and all is handled by the club concerned.
Daniel who revealed that the FIFA has changed the title of an agent to intermediary, stated that when one approach a young footballer and start off by asking for money, it is a green light that the person is a scam.
In 2015, FIFA abolished the operation of Licensed Player’s Agent to give way to the new designation – Player’s Intermediary.
At first, agents were licensed directly by the world’s football governing body FIFA until 2001. After then, license were issued by the respective football association of an applicant’s country of nationality. But by 2015, the licensed player’s agent operation was finally abolished by FIFA due to many irregularities that needed to be sorted out.
