“Families in Africa behave like they own you when you make money” – Mikel Obi

Mikel John Obi, a Nigerian footballer, has recently gained attention on social media for his criticism of entitled family members who make financial demands.

In a conversation with fellow footballer Rio Ferdinand, the former Super Eagles captain spoke about how in Africa, relatives often expect to receive a person’s money once they become successful.

According to Obi, once an African individual attains wealth, many relatives and cousins come forward with demands, and even sisters marry men who believe they are entitled to be a part of Mikel John Obi’s family.

The football player explained that these relatives often have many children and expect him to financially support them, leading him to sometimes neglect his own needs. Obi also mentioned that these extended family members feel they are owed money and may resort to pressuring him by threatening to go to the media. This issue is prevalent in Africa, as per the football player’s observations.

“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, and 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.”