Adebayor’s kinsmen in Nigeria not happy over family crisis

Firstclass newsline visit to the sleepy town by a source revealed
that the youths and some elderly persons, who are football fans in the
town, are not oblivious of the quarrel tearing the family apart.
The footballer's late father, Shadrach Adebayo Adeyi, hailed from Eesa
compound, one of the largest families in Igbaye.
Residents of the town said they were up to date with the family's
misunderstanding onFacebook, expressing dismay at the manner in which
it had gone public.
The famous footballer had reportedly accused his mother of witchcraft
and claimed his siblings had wanted his downfall onFacebookdespite
helping them. His brothers and sister had also fired back through
various media, slamming him for selfishness and neglect.
Relations said Emmanuel and his siblings were born and raised in Togo
after their father left Ghana, when former Ghana President Jerry
Rawlings drove illegal Nigerian immigrants out of the country. They
said Shadrach chose to settle in Togo rather than return to Nigeria.
Shadrach, according to them, married a young lady from Ekusa, a
community not far from Igbaye.
The couple raised their family in Togo and Emmanuel rose to stardom,
but they said the recent daily postings on Facebook by the Tottenham
player had become an issue of concern to them.
The head of the Eesa family, Pa Nathaniel Okunlola, told our
correspondent that he and other members of the family wanted the
siblings to reunite and move on with their lives.
Okunlola, who estimated his age to be around 103, said the player's
father died some years back and was buried in Togo. He said the family
had cut their ties with their kinsmen in Igbaye but added that he
would love to see them re-unite and return home.
Another elderly person in the family, Pa Ahmed Oyetayo, who is second
in rank to the monarch of the town, said he was disturbed by the news
of quarrels which had turned the family members to sworn enemies.
He said, "We are not happy about the development and we are appealing
to them to stop the show of shame. I am sure their father, Shadrach,
will not be happy in his grave. It is disturbing when siblings engage
in this kind of dirty fight.
"There is no family where there are no issues but such issues are not
made public. I believe it is the handiwork of the devil. The devil
will always want to cause division where there is unity and they just
have to realise this and forgive one another. They can still come
together and forget the past.
"We do not know how their quarrel started and we won't apportion
blames but we are using this medium to reach out to them to stop this
fight.
"Our family here in Igbaye wants them to come home and do something
(to re-establish their father's legacy). They can rebuild their
father's house. Their father, Shadrach, built a house here when he was
living in Ghana. They can rebuild it or build their own. We are proud
of them and even if they will not come, they should stop the fight. We
are begging them in the name of God."
Oyetayo, who retired as a Chief Nursing Officer at General Hospital,
Osogbo, Osun State, said Adebayor's kinsmen did not have the player's
contact because their father, who used to visit Igbaye before his
death, never brought home his children.
While conducting a source round the bungalow built by Shadrach,
Oyetayo said the man built the house when he was in Ghana but his
children buried him in Togo.
One of Adebayor's cousins, John Odesola, who is now residing at
Igbaye, said he was not happy with the development among his cousins
and their mother. He attributed the rift to the devil, who he said
would always want to cause disaffection in any peaceful relationship.
But he added that the crisis was not beyond what they could settle
amicably.
Odesola said, "The crisis among the siblings is disturbing. If I
could, I would visit them to see how the crisis could be solved. I
will like to advise them to stop the fight, and I want to beg them to
put an end to the daily accusations which is just like washing their
dirty linen in the public.
"There is bound to be misunderstanding even between husband and wife
but making it public is not a solution to such. My brothers should
think twice and discontinue their quarrel."
Some residents concurred with Adebayor's relations, calling on the
warring siblings to end their quarrels and live peacefully together
again.
Some of the residents, who said they had been following the 'Internet
war', also blamed the devil for the crisis. But they said the mother
should intensify her prayers to regain the trust of her son, who
labelled her a witch.
Okunlola
However, some of the residents differed on the personality of
Adebayor's mother. While some said the mother might have caused the
crisis by supporting one of the children against another, those who
claimed that the mother was the cause of the crisis failed to provide
any proof to sustain their claim.
However, a resident, who identified himself as Kunle, said he believed
the story as it was told by Adebayor. But he would want the family
members to end the rift.
Kunle said he believed that the family problem contributed to the loss
in form, which the player struggled to cope with in the just ended
season.
He said, "I think their mum knows something about the family crisis.
They said she is a witch but it may be so or she may be doing
something to make them believe that she is fetish. But Adebayor should
beg her because the woman is his mother. No matter what has happened,
he should beg her and I think his career will pick up again."
Firstclassnewsline.net