Author and human rights advocate Edem Ossai has shared an emotional account of the life of Nigerian football legend Nwankwo Kanu, portraying him as a symbol of courage, perseverance, and triumph over adversity.
Speaking on the Edmund Obilo Show from 1:58, Ossai, writer of “The Role Model Series for African Children,” which features a book about Kanu revisited the football star’s humble beginnings in Owerri, Imo State, where his passion for the game first took shape.
According to Ossai, Kanu’s childhood was marked by both poverty and health struggles that could have ended his dream long before it began. “He used to fall sick, they told him and his parents this boy has a hole in his heart, don’t allow him do strenuous things. His father and mother didn’t have money to take him to a big city hospital,” she revealed during the interview.
Despite medical warnings and financial hardship, his father being a retired civil servant and his mother a petty trader, Kanu’s determination never wavered. From playing barefoot on the streets, he worked his way through the Nigerian league before leading the country to glory at the Under-17 World Cup, which marked the beginning of an illustrious global career.
Ossai described Kanu’s journey as one of divine purpose and inner strength, noting that his miraculous recovery from a heart condition and eventual return to football reinforced his enduring legacy as a fighter. View, More,
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