Nigerian football star Mikel John Obi has stirred up social media discussions with his candid critique of entitled family members who make unwarranted demands.
Speaking with fellow footballer Rio Ferdinand, the former Super Eagles captain shed light on the prevalent issue in Africa, where relatives often feel entitled to a person’s wealth.
Obi highlighted the challenges he faces when African individuals come into money, as many relatives and cousins start making demands. He shared instances where sisters marry men who believe they are destined to be part of Mikel John Obi’s affluent family.
According to Obi, these extended family members often have numerous children, expecting him to provide for them, forcing him to prioritize their needs over his own.
The football player revealed that these relatives perceive him as owing them money and resort to threats of going to the press if he refuses. This phenomenon, as per Obi, is widespread in Africa.
“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.
“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,” said Mikel Obi in the interview.
