When MEN Look DOWN on YOU (1)
It is not the first time. It is not the second. It would not be the last.
It has been a recurring decimal — to borrow the cliche. Men, which connotes all human beings, have suffered rejection, dejection and ejection from time immemorial.
The few following examples may suffice to buttress the aforementioned point.
Jephthah
This maverick biblical character was a by-product of illegitimate relationship. He was not only abandoned. He became an unavoidable “centre of companionship" with street urchins. He was not important until there was a war and the Israelites needed a leader.
Nwankwo Kanu
This erstwhile towering two-time African Footballer of the Year (1996 & 1999) was diagnosed of an unusual, life-threatening heart condition after he had led the Nigerian “Dream Team" to win the gold medal at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic games.
While undergoing the ‘ritual’ in the Italian League — a medical test, I guess, a doctor at Inter Milan had told him he would never play football again. That discovery, I’m not too sure now, made medical tests a prerequisite for football players before joining a new club globally.
The former Iwuanyanwu Nationale and Ajax star: places he had emerged a serial winner (winning the Nigerian League title; Dutch League and the UCL): became ejected, rejected and dejected even though he was cautiously allowed to play for International Milan after undergoing a successful heart-correction surgery in faraway the United States of America.
In a twist, however, the then Arsenal FC London manager, Arsene Wenger took the risk to bring Kanu to the then Highbury.
In a Premier League match versus Chelsea FC, a London derby: “Papilo" as he’s popularly called did come in as a substitute and single-handedly turned the game around by scoring a hattrick.
Thus, from a losing position: Arsenal won the game 3–2 and that very match’s performance handed Papilo his second African best player award.
Kai Havertz
The German international was famous for scoring the winning goal which gave Chelsea its second UEFA Champions League trophy. But things turned south, no thanks to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resultant effects on businesses owned by Russian nationals, including Roman Abramovic.
Kai Havertz was contracted by Arsenal current boss, Mikel Arteta.
