BROTHER OF FOOTBALL STAR EMMANUEL ABEBAYOR REPLIES HIM OVER FAMILY ISSUE CLAIMS

Following the recent posts published on Facebook
by Tottenham Hotspur’s striker, Emmanuel Seyi
Adebayor against his mother and siblings, Ikenna
Okafor caught up with the former Manchester
City’s star younger brother, Rotimi Adebayor in
Lome, Togo to hear the family side of the story.
Although Sunday Sun met with Hajia Adebayor,
the mother of Togo’s most famous football
player, she revealed that she is under instruction
not to talk about the issue while Iyabo, the elder
sister of Emmanuel Adebayor was in Ghana,
where she currently resides. Emmanuel Adebayor
was said to have left his house in Didjole for
Accra, Ghana.
Some people here in Togo said that you are
always willing to give out to the needy.




 How are
you able to meet their demands now that your
elder brother, Emmanuel has withdrawn his proper­
ties from your care?
It’s really tough now. The situation is no longer
the way it used to be. I hardly go out because I
have my own business to mind. As you can see
that I run a bar very close to where I live.



What about your numerous fans in Lome…those
who used to hang out with you?
I used to have many friends because of my
brother’s popularity but today; they are nowhere
to be found. They have all left me to face my
travail. ‘Owo epo laiye n ba ni la won ki n ba ni la
ti eje’ (People are willing to dine with you when
the situation is perfect but you’ll never see them
in difficult times). These are the people I used to
dash out 5000CFA, 10,000CFA, even 20,000CFA
without blinking but now things are not the
same. I have accepted to carry the cross alone.
Now I have learnt a big lesson. I don’t have any
friend again.




Where is your mum now?
We have moved out of my brother’s house in
Didjole. Now she stays a stone throw away from
my place, I mean the same neighbourhood. It’s a
rented apartment.



How do you combine your bar business with your
football career?
I have people that work with me in the bar. They
are nice guys. They give sales report anytime I
am in Benin Republic but I am around now
because the season has just ended.




Tell us about your performance last season in the
Republic of Benin?
I didn’t start the season with Royale FC. I
joined the team in mid season and I scored 9
goals in 15 matches. I believe that’s a huge re­
turn in terms of goals conversion rate.




Why didn’t you or your brother represent
Nigeria?
We were born and brought up here in Togo. This
is the culture we understand and for me, I never
thought about representing Nigeria. It never
came across my mind.




You speak Yoruba fluently but have you been to
your village in Nigeria.
We are from Osun State. Our dad is from Igbaye
while our mum is from a neighbouring town called
Ekusa. They are both in Odo-Otin Local
Government Area. Yoruba is our first language
then we are also fluent in Ewe and French. I do
come to Lagos to see my friends and club mates
but not Osun State.




Scouts may not be able to fish you out in Benin
Republic. Why don’t you try a move to Europe?
I have received offers and I wanted my brother
to help but he failed to do so because of the
current family issues. I believe I can make it
over there because I played some pre-season
friendlies with Valladolid in Spain some years
back but failed to sign for them.
I also received an offer from a club in Belgium
but my brother isn’t willing to assist me again.




You don’t need your brother’s influence or
financial support if you are good enough?
Things are really hard for me right now as I hope
my brother would accept my apology. He knows I
am a good striker as well.
You seem to be confident of your football skills.



Why haven’t you been invited to the national
team of Togo?
I was in the national team when Stephen Keshi
was in charge. He invited me and was happy with
my performance in training. During a particular
session he called my brother, Emmanuel and I
aside. He looked straight into my brother’s eye
and said that, ‘Watch out, this boy would be
better than you soon’



And what was your brother’s reaction?
He didn’t say anything.



Did you feature in the next match after the
training?
No, I cannot explain what happened thereafter. I
was not invited again and then Keshi left the
national team a few months later.




Did Keshi resign because he had a problem with
your brother just before the World Cup?
Yes there were some issues but I cannot recall
what happened then because I was very young
and unwilling to interfere in such issues.


Now your brother has a problem with you, which
you can remember?
Ah! the Facebook rants. Everyone knows what
happened because he decided to make a mountain
out of a molehill. ‘Oro ase ni gbogbo e’ (They are
words spoken out of context)



Are the allegations levelled against you untrue?
I have my own story as well but ‘Omo ti owo e o
ti te eeku ida ko gbodo bere iku ti o pa baba
re’ (A child who is yet to take control of the
sword should not seek reasons for his father’s
death)




But you have apologized to him; did he accept
your plea?
No response from him yet. I apologised because
he is my elder brother and we have resolved so
settle issues amicably. My elder sister advised us
to bury the hatchet.




You met him at a training pitch yesterday
(Thursday, May 21)…
Yes, we met and he said, ‘Omo Iya ba wo ni’ (My
brother how are you). However, I didn’t play
with them because I wasn’t in the mood.


And you didn’t wait for him after the training.
No, I was there till he left but he didn’t greet me
as he drove off.



He is a superstar indeed?
I agree, yes he is



And you annoyed him so much that he made such
revelations about you?
Hmh! I can’t explain what happened


But you know what happened to the missing 21
phones including play station games from 27
players?
(Smiles) No, 26 players excluding me. ‘Mi o kin se
ole’ (I am not a thief)
Is it because you cannot steal your own phone?
‘Mi o ji mobile phone, Mo ri he ni’ (I didn’t steal
any mobile phone. I fortuitously found them and
picked)



How did it happen and when?
It was at the FC Metz football Academy in France
and I was 14 years old then. My mates were
already at the training pitch on that day, so I
was running to meet up with them when I found
the mobile phone on the aisle within the training
complex.



So you picked it and didn’t declare that you
found a mobile phone, which belongs to your
teammate.
That was the mistake I made and I regretted it
thereafter. Actually I kept it on the table in my
room and my roommate wanted to know who owns
the phone because he didn’t have any then. I told
him how I found it, and then he demanded to
make use of it.



What’s his name?
Kelvin. He is an American and the owner of the
phone is from Asia but from an ‘Arab country’
The ‘Arab’ boy saw the phone with Kelvin and
immediately reported the case to the management
of the academy.
They informed my brother about it. He called me
to hear my side of the story but I was later
informed to pack my things out of the academy.


Then you could have returned to complete your
secondary school in Togo
No I love the game so much that I left for France
just after my primary school



Where?
Amazing Grace Primary School in Aflao, the
border town between Togo and Ghana.
So you didn’t attend any secondary school?
No, I didn’t.



What about the remaining mobile phones you were
accused of stealing at the academy?
‘Mo ni mio ja ole se’ (I didn’t steal). I have just
explained what happened.
Your brother has released three posts on
Facebook to paint a bad picture of the family?



It’s really disheartening that such a thing is
happening to us right now. My wife was mocked
at the market after the first post Seyi
(Emmanuel Adebayor) published on Facebook. She
called me to inform me about what people are
saying. Immediately I logged in and read the
post. I felt very sad.



What did you do thereafter?
I called him and asked him why he had to do that
but he got angry with me. We had a heated
argument on phone, which led to unprintable
words being used freely. As a matter of fact, we
quarrelled over the phone for almost two hours.


You hurled insults on your elder brother who made
you and the Adebayor family famous?
Yes I did that because I felt very sad and em­
barrassed. Then he made a decision to inflict
more insinuations against me.



How?
He called my phone before he released the second
post on Facebook. He asked me to go and read the
second posts, which he wanted to release in 30
minutes.




And…
He did in exactly thirty minutes and before I
could log into my F acebook account, my friends
called me to quickly go and read the second part
of my ‘film’.



What film?
The post he released, the second rant against the
family. It’s sad because our mother, who poured
her blood on our heads, received the greatest
insult of her life. A woman who suffered so that
we can live a good life is now receiving such a
disgraceful accusation.


You mean the witchcraft allegation?
Yes and all those nonsense things he wrote
against me and our elder sister in Ghana. Well,
we have decided to leave it all in God’s hand. Our
mother is a not a witch neither does she practice
witchcraft. How can your mother wish you bad
luck? I play football as well and I know that
players do suffer loss of form. He shouldn’t put
the blame on anyone.



He said that he sent a huge amount of money to
save Peter’s life but alleged that the family
squandered the money?
To be honest, he did. Seyi sent the money but it
was judiciously spent to meet his (Peter’s) health
needs. He suffered before he died.




Some people in Togo are of the opinion that Peter
died as result of the hard substances he used to
inhale?
No, he wasn’t into such but he was hooked on
‘Igbo’ (Indian hemp), which affected him
mentally. He was such great person who also
helped financially to make Seyi achieve his
football dream.


And the family didn’t spend the money very well
for his rehabilitation?
No, we did but he died. We lost him in 2013. His
death and our father’s in 2005 are factors that
have affected the family in a big way but I
wouldn’t like to be drawn into such issues now.



What happened to Seyi’s home in Ghana?
He has over 50 houses in Lome and currently lives
in Didjole. He also has some others in Ghana. He
has taken custody of everything.



What about the house he alleged your elder sister
rented out?
‘Oro ase ni yen se’ (They are unrealistic words)
Opinions are divided among the citizens of Togo
concerning Emmanuel Adebayor’s biological
mother?
People can say whatever they like. He is my elder
brother and we know we have the same mother. I
am less bothered about the rumour going round
the city.



You blamed yourself for the lingering crisis in the
family. What did you do?
A lot of people do not understand the beginning
of this issue but I put the blame on myself
because of the boy I wanted to help. His name is
Masaudu. He’s from the Republic of Benin. I
brought him from the rough side of the border so
that he can help us with some domestic work. He
grew up with the family and betrayed us.
Masaudu cooked up stories for Seyi to believe and
he succeeded in destroying our family. He was
the one that was sent to inform our mother to
pack out of the house. But I believe that God’s
judgment will prevail. I will continue to appeal to
him (Emmanuel Adebayor) to be considerate in his
judgment. I want him to forgive and forget in
the memory of our late father and forget what
people are telling him. We have our children and
we shouldn’t let this issue degenerate into
generational fight.



Now you have suddenly become spiritual?
I am not far away from God.


Where do you worship?
We are members of the Baptist church


How often do you go to church?
Hmnn! Not always sha! but our mother hardly
misses church services. She’s always there every
Sunday. She’s already preparing for the
Pentecost Sunday tomorrow (Sunday May 24).
It’s a big day in Togo and the next day is a
public holiday.



Did you marry a Togolese woman?
No, She’s a Nigerian from Ife in Osun State. Her
name is Shantal and we are blessed with a two
and half years old boy- Kingsley.



You’re trying to bring up a good family but there
were allegations made against Kola, who is based
in Germany about his inability to cater for his
family.

He is my elder brother and I am not going to
make any comment about him. All I can say is
that he is a very nice person and contributed
immensely to the family needs in the past and at
present, he is doing well.



Your mum is back at where she sells polythene
bags, padlocks and other things at the border.

It’s really sad to see her return to a business
she left a long time ago. No one would be happy
to see her mum in this sort of situation. Well, I
leave it all in God’s hand. He will judge every
situation. ‘Ayanmo ni gbogbo nkan’ (Destiny will
always prevail).