BEVERLY HILLS, January 26, (THEWILL) – The death has been announced of the mother of John Ogu, Nigeria’s Super Eagles midfielder who currently plays for Al-Adalah, a Saudi Arabian football club based in Al-Hulaylah, Al- Ahsa.
Details have not been released by the Ogu family about the circumstances that led to her demise and the exact date of her passing but the midfielder got the word of his bereavement out on Monday through his verified Twitter handle (@ogujohnugo) with the following words and a smattering of heartbroken emojis:
“Worse day of my life
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Leading the nation in sympathising with Ogu, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which confirmed the unfortunate loss, expressed condolences with the family through the official Federation Twitter account (@nff) on Monday.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with @NGSuperEagles midfielder @ogujohnugo following the passing of his Mom. May her gentle soul rest In peace.”
The midfielder’s social media accounts give evidence of lovely memories he shared with his mother and times he had her flown abroad to attend to medical concerns. From his posts on social media, his mother used to run a food canteen in Surulere where the footballer and his siblings grew up.
Ogu ascribed the difference his rise as a professional football made in his life and the lives of the Ogu family. In June last year, he gave a clue as to what life was like before the money from football started coming:
“I’m grateful to God for all he has blessed me with. Thinking about when my mum be selling food on the street and people get jealous of her that they had to pour Kerosine in her stew just to make all difficult for her and children but we never gave up,” Ogu tweeted.
The 32-year-old was part of the Super Eagles squad that featured at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and he helped the Super Eagles fight to finish third at the African Cup of Nations in Egypt 2019. He has also played in Spain for Almeria and Atletico’s B team but he moved to Saudi Arabia from Israel’s professional League side Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
