Last week’s crowning of Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman as African Footballer of the year by CAF, making him the sixth Nigerian player to receive the award, is very instructive and a lesson for many budding football talents, especially those living outside of their home country of origin. Lookman is talented and level-headed. He is very professional in his approach to the game and from indications his parents’ influence in shaping his life has gone a long way to making him who he is.
I must confess that I have never had any close contact with him but from his conduct on and off the pitch, this is a young man who clearly has his head firmly on his shoulders. It cannot be a mere coincidence that he has never been involved in any on and off the pitch skirmishes with anybody. It has also not been reported so far that has had any faceoff with his coaches and teammates.
That much too his father admitted after the awards when he said; “I’m so proud of him because he’s a very committed player. He’s very humble and doesn’t like too much publicity because he really wants to focus on his football and that is what has taken him to this level.” Sports generally and discipline, are like Siamese twins.
They cannot be separated if any player wants to play at the top and play for long.. When also viewed from the fact that Ademola’s career was nose-diving, a few years ago, after representing England at youth levels, this achievement remains a significant milestone.
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