What does Black History Month mean to you?
A way for us to celebrate black history we in America and all over the globe black people have a lot to celebrate. We have gone through a lot of triumphs and came out successful slowly over the years. Like I said, we have a lot to celebrate.
What specifically do you do to celebrate Black History Month?
A lot of Black people over the years have encouraged me in soccer and in school and in life in general. A big influence for me is MLK. I really like his story and a lot of people influence me and encourage me to be a better person and fight for what I believe in and what is right.
What or who would you say is your biggest inspiration?
I watch a lot of soccer, so seeing soccer players are my biggest influences right now, because a lot of them came from the bottom up. Like obviously I’m playing a sport right now and it’s not easy at all. So knowing that these people, my heroes, were able to get good at somethings, so hard is honestly amazing to me.
Have you experienced any struggles of being a young black man in the area and or in America and if so, what are those struggles?
Racism nowadays is a lot more subtle. It’s kind of difficult to say, but sometimes this guy or that guy will call me these slurs. Things are a little bit harder for me compared to someone who isn’t black. Sometimes I try to do things that aren’t easy for people who are my skin color. I live in the county that is heavily populated by Black people. And I see schools that are more heavily populated by white people and they have more resources, and life is going to be more easier for them. And honestly, there is no denying that I try my best and not to complain about that because again, it could definitely be much much worse. But I noticed that and I’m like dang.
Please tell me more about you and your family’s ethnic background ?
Me and my parents are Nigerian. I have spent a lot of my childhood in Nigeria. So we are Nigerian and we are proud. You can hear my parents when they speak. They have accents as well. So we celebrate being Nigerian we eat Nigerian food we love the culture we watch the Nigerian national team. Me and my father pay close attention to the Nigerian team. It’s very nice.
Do you notice any implications for you being Nigerian in America?
You just feel sometimes different from other people. You get made fun of sometimes. At times it doesn’t feel great. Okay fine, They make jokes. You just don’t feel like them and that can be demoralizing at times. But again once you assimilate, it gets a lot better.
What would you say to a young black soccer player when you talk about Black History Month what are some thoughts you might share with them?
Just keep fighting. That’s it, if you look at our people that came before us and you look at what they did they fought for their lives. They had a lot of losses, and there were setbacks so many times. There were times where they could have just given up and if they would have. We wouldn’t have been where we are right now. Just keep on fighting no matter how discouraging it seems as long as you have a plan or a good idea of what you want to do, just keep on fighting for it.
