The family crisis tearing apart Emmanuel
Adebayor’s family has turned out to be a source of sadness for the
Tottenham Hotspur
player’s relations and kinsmen in Igbaye, Odo Otin
Local Government Area of Osun State. The kinsmen in Adebayor’s hometown
spoke to our correspondent on the burning issue.
A visit to the sleepy town by our
correspondent revealed that the youths and some elderly persons, who are
football fans in the town, are not oblivious of the quarrel tearing the
family apart.
The footballer’s late father, Shadrach Adebayo Adeyi, hailed from Eesa compound, one of the largest families in Igbaye.
Residents of the town said they were up to date with the family’s misunderstanding on Facebook, expressing dismay at the manner in which it had gone public.
Pa Okunlola |
The famous footballer had reportedly accused his mother of witchcraft and claimed his siblings had wanted his downfall on Facebook
despite helping them. His brothers and sister had also fired back
through various media, slamming him for selfishness and neglect.
Relations said Emmanuel and his siblings
were born and raised in Togo after their father left Ghana, when former
Ghana President Jerry Rawlings drove illegal Nigerian immigrants out of
the country. They said Shadrach chose to settle in Togo rather than
return to Nigeria.
Shadrach, according to them, married a young lady from Ekusa, a community not far from Igbaye.
The couple raised their family in Togo
and Emmanuel rose to stardom, but they said the recent daily postings on
Facebook by the Tottenham player had become an issue of concern to
them.
The head of the Eesa family, Pa Nathaniel
Okunlola, told our correspondent that he and other members of the
family wanted the siblings to reunite and move on with their lives.
Okunlola, who estimated his age to be
around 103, said the player’s father died some years back and was buried
in Togo. He said the family had cut their ties with their kinsmen in
Igbaye but added that he would love to see them re-unite and return
home.
The house built by Adebayor’s father in Igbaye, Osun State. |
Another elderly person in the family, Pa
Ahmed Oyetayo, who is second in rank to the monarch of the town, said he
was disturbed by the news of quarrels which had turned the family
members to sworn enemies.
He said, “We are not happy about the
development and we are appealing to them to stop the show of shame. I am
sure their father, Shadrach, will not be happy in his grave. It is
disturbing when siblings engage in this kind of dirty fight.
“There is no family where there are no
issues but such issues are not made public. I believe it is the
handiwork of the devil. The devil will always want to cause division
where there is unity and they just have to realise this and forgive one
another. They can still come together and forget the past.
“We do not know how their quarrel started
and we won’t apportion blames but we are using this medium to reach out
to them to stop this fight.
“Our family here in Igbaye wants them to
come home and do something (to re-establish their father’s legacy). They
can rebuild their father’s house. Their father, Shadrach, built a house
here when he was living in Ghana. They can rebuild it or build their
own. We are proud of them and even if they will not come, they should
stop the fight. We are begging them in the name of God.”
Oyetayo, who retired as a Chief Nursing
Officer at General Hospital, Osogbo, Osun State, said Adebayor’s kinsmen
did not have the player’s contact because their father, who used to
visit Igbaye before his death, never brought home his children.
While conducting our correspondent round
the bungalow built by Shadrach, Oyetayo said the man built the house
when he was in Ghana but his children buried him in Togo.
One of Adebayor’s cousins, John Odesola,
who is now residing at Igbaye, said he was not happy with the
development among his cousins and their mother. He attributed the rift
to the devil, who he said would always want to cause disaffection in any
peaceful relationship. But he added that the crisis was not beyond what
they could settle amicably.
Odesola said, “The crisis among the
siblings is disturbing. If I could, I would visit them to see how the
crisis could be solved. I will like to advise them to stop the fight,
and I want to beg them to put an end to the daily accusations which is
just like washing their dirty linen in the public.
“There is bound to be misunderstanding
even between husband and wife but making it public is not a solution to
such. My brothers should think twice and discontinue their quarrel.”
Some residents concurred with Adebayor’s
relations, calling on the warring siblings to end their quarrels and
live peacefully together again.
Some of the residents, who said they had
been following the ‘Internet war’, also blamed the devil for the crisis.
But they said the mother should intensify her prayers to regain the
trust of her son, who labelled her a witch.
However, some of the residents differed
on the personality of Adebayor’s mother. While some said the mother
might have caused the crisis by supporting one of the children against
another, those who claimed that the mother was the cause of the crisis
failed to provide any proof to sustain their claim.
However, a resident, who identified
himself as Kunle, said he believed the story as it was told by Adebayor.
But he would want the family members to end the rift.
Kunle said he believed that the family
problem contributed to the loss in form, which the player struggled to
cope with in the just ended season.
He said, “I think their mum knows
something about the family crisis. They said she is a witch but it may
be so or she may be doing something to make them believe that she is
fetish. But Adebayor should beg her because the woman is his mother. No
matter what has happened, he should beg her and I think his career will
pick up again.”
Source:Punch Newspaper.
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