Kanu Nwankwo - Why I plait my hair
Two-time African footballer of the year and former captain of Nigeria’s national team, Super Eagles, Kanu Nwankwo, in this interview with TUNDE AJAJA talks about his growing up, his days as a footballer and what has kept him busy since he retired from soccer
During your recent visit to Tanzania as Startimes ambassador, you told some kids playing football to play hard if they want to be like you. How was it when you started?
When I saw them playing football with boots, it reminded me of how I started and I had to tell them to count themselves lucky that they had boots to play football. When I started playing football, I didn’t have that. I was playing with bare feet. One other thing I learnt when I started playing was that you can’t succeed in football if you don’t listen to instructions and it starts with listening to your parents. You need to work hard, be focused, concentrate, be a good person and move with good people. I’ve found that when you have good friends, you would be a better person. These days, I try to make sure I talk more and influence people positively.
Were your parents supportive when you started?
My dad had always been a sports person, my elder brother used to play football then, even my younger brother, so it was as if members of my family have always been lovers of football. It’s like a family of footballers and as we were growing up, my father emphasised that we should put education first and make sure we go to school. The beautiful thing was that when it was time to play, they would leave us to play our football very well, they supported us to go after our passion and those were the things that helped us.
You have a height that fits basketball game. Did it ever appeal to you?
No, I was never interested in basketball. When I was growing up, I wasn’t this tall, so it wouldn’t have occurred to me at that time. It was as if I became very tall to this level suddenly, and here I am. The good thing is that I started playing football early, I love football, I was sleeping with my football and I even ate with it by my side. Suffice it to say everything about me then was football. So, regardless of my height, I would still have played football, and not basketball. That passion and interest in it drove me to be who I am today because that was what I had always loved doing. I remember that there were times people felt my height wouldn’t allow me to play football, just because they thought I was too tall, but it didn’t work that way. Anytime I played, the same people who said I wouldn’t be able to play football would turn around and commend me for being the man of the match.
With the kind of interest you had then, did you know you would go this far?
I didn’t know; nobody knows the future. Like I told the kids in Tanzania, I come from a family that was not rich, but I listened to my parents; they wanted me to go to school, I did, without putting my passion for football on hold. Back then, anytime I came back from school, I would assist with house chores so all of us could eat. I would go to the market with them and contribute my quota. So, even though my passion was football, I still contributed my quota in the house. I’m sure nobody knew Kanu would be who he is today because I also didn’t know.
If you didn’t go into professional football, which other vocation would you have considered?
I would have been a businessman. I mean any kind of business that brings profit; buying and selling or any kind of business like that. That is what would have appealed to me.
People see footballers as being very rich, are those endorsement figures real or there is more to it?
Yes, footballers are very rich, but footballers work hard too. When you work hard in life, you are likely to be rich and if you are lazy, you would likely be poor. So, the way it works is that it is whatever you give in that determines what your outcome is. If you work hard, make sacrifices and venture into a number of productive things, you will see the result, because nothing good comes easy. There is no shortcut to success, whether you are a footballer or not. Today, if you hear the name Dangote, everybody knows his name, for the obvious reasons, but if he tells his story, you would see that it might not have come easy. So, that is the way it is in football. If I ask you to come and play football for 15 minutes, you would be breathing hard. Being a footballer does not come easy the way people see it. So, whatever they get is what they work for. Those figures are real but they work hard for it.
Many people know you as Papilo, how did you come about that name?
That’s a good one. The interesting thing is that I’m not even the real Papilo. My big brother is the real Papilo. He was also playing football then, so anytime I went to see him, people would always call me junior Papilo. He was a good player but he stopped playing due to injuries. So, after he stopped playing, the next thing was to remove the junior and be answering Papilo. For us to know the real meaning of Papilo, we have to ask him because he’s the real Papilo.
When you were young, you weren’t plaiting your hair. Why did you start?
In life, certain things come and go. When I did it, that was what was in vogue; you would see people trying to come up with different hairstyles. So, when I came back from the Olympics, I was having punk. That was when I went to the hospital for medical examination and then the operation. When I came out, I decided to have a new look and make a statement. So I chose to change my look to something different from what the way it had always been. That was how I started. It has been like a brand because when you try to draw a link between footballers playing football and plaiting their hair, you think of Kanu.
Since you already made the statement, are you likely to go back to the regular male hairstyle?
Why not? I wasn’t born with this hairstyle, so, it won’t always be like this. I’ll still go back, but when that will happen is what I don’t know. But if it’s about going back, be 100 per cent sure I’m going back. My kids are growing and I don’t want them to have a wrong orientation. So, I’ll still revert to the normal style someday.
Are your children following in your footsteps already in terms of playing football?
Yes, my children love football. The first one is 11; he is playing in Watford Academy and he’s doing well. The second one, who is nine years old now, is also playing and I’m supporting both of them. I don’t know how it will end up but I’ll give them my support. My parents supported me to be who I am today, so I’m supporting them too.
People rarely see you at social functions. Is that deliberate?
I like my privacy, and when I come out, I do so for a reason, and it has to be something that is worth it. That is when you can see me. That is why you don’t see me everywhere, especially social events. It is not everywhere you see Papilo, so you can say it is deliberate.
Since you retired from active football, what are the other things you have been doing?
When people hear my name now, what comes to their mind is Kanu and his charity works. I love doing it. But apart from charity works, I have other businesses here and there that I take care of. Don’t forget that I’m an ambassador of the Nigerian Football Federation, so football is still in my blood, as always. Anywhere the NFF is going, I have to follow them. In 2013, I was in South Africa for the Africa Cup of Nations from the beginning of the tournament till the end. Not just that, every first half of every game, I had to be in the dressing room, to make input, encourage the players and make sure that we win the game, and it worked, because we won the game.
Are there times you wish you were still on the field?
Yes, there are times I could be watching a match and maybe the person playing was supposed to make a move and he missed it, or there is a better way the person playing should have handled the ball, so, you could move your legs from where you are, but that era is gone now. What you can do now is to talk to those who are playing now, advise them and put them right because most of them look up to you.
Recently, you went on a tour of three African countries, what were the interesting things you found about Africa?
It emphasised the fact that Kanu is not just Nigerian, but he is for the entire Africa. When I went to Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, it was like home. People came and received me and that is positive for Nigeria because they knew a Nigerian was in town.
Some people tend to wonder what took you to those African countries?
As the ambassador of Startimes, we are trying to position Startimes to be the leading football content provider, so we decided to have a tour of Africa to promote the brand, and the kind of reception we had everywhere we visited was impressive. The way Kanu is for everyone is the same way Startimes is for all; both rich and poor because it is cheap and affordable. If you can have like 70 stations and you pay just little to have that, it is something remarkable. There are options out there but they are expensive, while this is cheap and you can have more stations. That is why Kanu is part of them. One other good thing about the tour is that we are not only promoting Startimes, we are also promoting the image of Nigeria. Nigerians love football and a number of people are drawn to English league, but there are other leagues. That is why we are bringing the German, Italian and French leagues. In football, you don’t have to depend on one league because there are big clubs everywhere, so it’s like giving access to other leagues so the younger ones can learn and have access to watch their heroes.
In what ways can Startimes help Nigerian football?
Startimes is sponsoring the two biggest clubs in Uganda. In Kenya and Tanzania, Startimes is part of football there as well and we are planning to do same here in Nigeria, being the giant of Africa in terms of sports.
What is the most important trophy you have ever won?
I have won a lot of trophies but I’ll say the most important trophy that I’ve won is to save a life, not even the 500 that Kanu Heart Foundation has been able to care for. That was why I celebrated my birthday with the kids two years ago. I wish to win more trophies by saving more lives. It is only when you go to the hospital that you really understand what the world is about. That was why when I got to Uganda, the first place I visited was a hospital. You see children who were about to die while their parents were soaked in tears. I had to sit with them because I’m one of them; I’ve gone through it before. So, Kanu is about a symbol of hope to people having heart problem out there. I had to do everything possible to make them smile and see how we can help them out. So, if you do that in a society, I think you are doing something. My work now is to use my name, money and fame to ensure that I give back to the society to help people in need, especially those with heart-related issues.
There have been divided opinions on whether the NFF should hire a foreign coach or not. What’s your take on this?
One thing is that Nigeria is blessed with good footballers. If you go to every country in the world, you would see Nigerians playing football there. The problem with coaching in Nigeria is selection, not coaching per se. So, whether local or foreign coach, you have to choose, because we have the players. It’s just for you to select and guide them. For me, whether local or foreign-based, it’s all good because we are blessed with talented players, unlike what you have in some countries where there are no talents. So, it boils down to selection.
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