Following an exclusive report yesterday about the travails of Nigeria’s foremost ex-footballer, “Mathematical” Segun Odegbami MON, inside the traffic jam along Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, the former Nigeria Green Eagles (now Super Eagles) winger and goals merchant, has sent a thank you letter to The Frontier.
Below is the note he sent directly to the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, The Frontier, Mr Sunny Okim, this morning and hereby published unedited:
Thank You!
Good morning!
My report, yesterday, of my 7-hour ordeal on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, was not meant to elicit the quantum and depth of emotions that it did. I was just pretending to be a journalist.
I was shocked to be inundated with friendly calls and messages throughout the evening and at night from Nigerians, and even foreign friends, concerned more about me than about the state of a road under construction that has been traumatising Nigerians that ply that route for over two decades. The good news is that there may be reprieve in sight. Work appears to be nearing completion…at last.
I am totally humbled by the experience of the spontaneous, unearned shower of love and of the goodness of people’s heart.
I got home safely last night. I have rested well since then. My take-away from the experience is the humanity displayed by the public in concern for the safety and wellbeing of the commuters, including me, an ordinary retired football player that was eager to get home and celebrate with Victor Osimhen for his well-earned elevation to the status of a Napolian god.
This morning, I feel good and refreshed. I rested through the night and the experience has receded to the back-burner of my tasks today.
So, I am back on the work beat, chasing how to make ends meet, and attempting to fit the jig saws into life’s endless puzzle.
What a day it was, yesterday: the anniversary of the birth date of my first child, May7ven; a friend’s brother passed on; a cousin called to remind me of the burial of her late father; reports on radio of a young man shooting and killing innocent people in an American mall; bombs were raining on innocent civilians in Ukraine; I missed most of Alcaraz defining a new era in world tennis on the clay courts of Madrid.
All happening on the same day, in the one world, different strokes for different folks.
I thank and appreciate everyone, especially those that took the trouble to reach me yesterday. In retrospect, things were not quite as bad as I must have put out.
I thank you all, nevertheless.
Thank you very much. Ahead of the rest – The Frontier.
Dr. Olusegun Odegbami, MON, OLY, AFNIIA.
