Mikel Obi Tackles Extended Family Members Who Feel Entitled To His Money [Video]

Former Nigerian footballer, Mikel John Obi has shared his perspective on the financial challenges faced by people who come from Africa and achieve financial success.

During a conversation with a fellow football star, Rio Ferdinand, the former Super Eagles captain said that when Africans make money, it is often perceived as a collective resource by extended family members, including relatives, cousins, and sisters.

He described a scenario where people marry into his family because of his financial stability, leading him to take on the responsibility of supporting not only his immediate family but also the extended family members of those who married into his family.

The footballer expressed concern about the pressure to financially support relatives, especially when they have numerous children.

Obi claimed that this obligation is deeply rooted in African culture, where people are expected to provide for their extended family members.

He also emphasized the need for people to assert themselves and set boundaries, stating that there comes a point where one must say “enough is enough.”

The footballer mentioned the potential threat of relatives going to the press if financial support is not provided, highlighting the challenges people face when navigating these cultural expectations and family dynamics.

“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 much kids, who’s 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 I’ve done for you guys? But this happens a lot in Africa. Not everybody comes out and speaks about it,” Mikel Obi said.

Watch the video below:

Meanhwile, Giravanz Kitakyushu’s defensive midfielder and Super Eagles player, Mikel Agu, is celebrating the arrival of his second child with his wife, Henrietta.