Vastly itinerant and highly respected Germany-based sports content provider, Oma Akatugba has opted for a midway point between supporting and opposing a hint by former Super Eagles’ defender, Furo Iyenemi that his son, Kaye, may not play for Nigeria, sports247.ng reports.
The youngster, who is officially registered at Club Brugge of Belgium as Kaye Furo Tamuno Iyowuna and will clock 18 on February 6th, has already played for the country of his birth at youth international level.
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However, as the time approaches for Kaye to take a decision between Belgium and Nigeria on his future at full international level, his dad stressed that the choice is up to the youngster, but added that his son must not be ‘a fool’ as he was.
Sports247.ng reports further that Iyenemi’s comment became the topic of an interesting debate on social media, as Akatugba analysed the issue with a guest, who was also non-committal; as he only narrated the former defender’s ambivalent words.
Akatugba’s guest stated at length during the video for Eagles Tracker on Naija FC, “He wants his son to be wise and told him, ‘Don’t make a mistake like me. Don’t be mumu like me.’ It’s like he’s telling his son about the mistake he made playing for Nigeria, and his son should avoid also making.
“I won’t blame Furo for that because he served Nigeria, although he got criticised. He did well and tried his best for Nigeria. But, during his tenure, when you get injured on national duty, they will just send you back to your club.”
At that point, Akatugba interjected with what initially appeared as his verdict on the matter; only to end up raising points on the two sides of opposition and support, then left the issue hanging at the end.
The youthful broadcaster, blogger and writer, while using the case of Switzerland’s Noah Okafor as an example, pointed out that a player’s father may say lots of possibilities about his son, but the ultimate choice is up to the lad himself.
Akatugba reasoned, “His son’s path may not be as rocky as his was. So, he should let his son make his choice. See how Okafor’s dad told everyone that his son would play for Nigeria, but we see how that ends up.
“His son’s path may not be the same; but you cannot blame people for saying they don’t want another person to face what they’ve experienced. They say experience is the best teacher. Wise ones learn from other people’s experiences, but fools learn from their own experience. So, he doesn’t want his son to be a fool. That’s it.”
Incidentally, Furo had also left the issue hanging in the original interview he had with Akatugba, as he gave the final decision on the matter up to Kaye, though he kept on chipping in inferences about not wanting to see his son follow the path of suffering like those that went ahead of him.
Iyenemi, who starred for Nigeria at the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations they co-hosted with Ghana, but lost the final to Cameroon in Lagos, recounted his woes, yet stopped short of categorically telling Kaye to snub the Eagles.
“When the time comes for him, he has to take the decision. But there’s a saying that you in the oven can’t allow your child to enter the frying pot. You can’t take meat from the boiling pot and put it into the fire. This means that it is not good that I suffered, and my child will also suffer.
“The way I was not treated well, will you go ahead and let your child be treated badly? That’s not good. (We need to do good things), so that the kids that are coming can tell a good story. That way, we can then say, ‘Come and play for our country.’ That way, your child will listen to you.
“But, you have to say please; because your father had waist pain, they could not treat him, they did not call him one day, but you managed yourself in Europe. Then, when they call you to come and play, will you play? Let’s be realistic now.
“We all have our stories but, when it comes to the kids, let them decide for themselves when the time comes. Just tell them, ‘Be careful, don’t follow my footsteps. Be wise,” said Okrika-born Iyenemi, who also played for Nigeria’s under-23 team at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
