Mikel John Obi, the renowned Nigerian footballer, has become a focal point on social media following his candid remarks about dealing with entitled family members making demands on him.
In a recent interview with fellow footballer Rio Ferdinand, the former Super Eagles captain expressed his frustration with the prevalent expectation that individuals in Africa are obligated to financially support extended family members when they achieve success.
Mikel Obi highlighted the challenges he faces as relatives, cousins, and even sisters marry individuals who believe they are entitled to a share of Mikel John Obi's success. He discussed the burden of caring for numerous children born into these relationships and the pressure to prioritize their needs over his own.
He shared the following insights into the situation:
“When you come from Africa, when you make money, it’s not your money. You have all these relatives, cousins, and your sisters go off and get married to some guy who just wants to get married into Mikel John Obi’s family because his life is sorted, and then you start looking after this guy, and before you know it, they keep having so many kids and you look at it like, ‘Okay, you’re having this many kids, who are going to look after them?’ It’s you! It’s the culture because, for them, you owe them that, so sometimes you have to be strong and say, ‘You know what, guys, enough is enough; I don’t care.’ They give you this thing whereby ‘if you don’t do it, we’re going to go to the press.’ After all, what have I done for you guys? But this happens a lot in Africa. Not everybody comes out and speaks about it.”