It tugged on my heart strings in ways that I can't even explain. I guess that's because of the angle that I'm thinking about it from - how you never know where life will take you despite your beginnings (who would have thought that the child of Cambridge grads would live his life in such rough patches? I can't help but wonder in what ways his life would have been different if his parents had never come back to Nigeria,if his siblings would have lived, etc), the long lasting effects that the greed and wickedness of a small group of people can have over the lives of many innocent people (re: The Biafran war - many of the war's architects are gone now but the evil they did will never be completely wiped out), his doggedness and determination in the face of it all (in a way and through the most difficult situations, he kind of lived a full life. I hope his son is alive and well? 🥹). I hope he finds the forgiveness and peace that he yearns for. This piece makes me think about how many people we just pass by everyday not knowing them or what they've been through; I will forever be curious about people and the stories that make them who they are. Thank you so much for this story and for the pictures, too.
It's surreal how different life was then compared to now... and how it seems like so long ago but in reality is just a few decades. Now I'd love to hear more stories about people in Mr Okafor's age bracket ✨
I really enjoyed reading this. I'm a big fan of boxing and we need more stories about Nigerian athletes (popular or forgotten). I particularly like the part where he talked about the civil war and his journey to Cameroon. Welldone, Aisha.
Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for this.🥹❤️
It tugged on my heart strings in ways that I can't even explain. I guess that's because of the angle that I'm thinking about it from - how you never know where life will take you despite your beginnings (who would have thought that the child of Cambridge grads would live his life in such rough patches? I can't help but wonder in what ways his life would have been different if his parents had never come back to Nigeria,if his siblings would have lived, etc), the long lasting effects that the greed and wickedness of a small group of people can have over the lives of many innocent people (re: The Biafran war - many of the war's architects are gone now but the evil they did will never be completely wiped out), his doggedness and determination in the face of it all (in a way and through the most difficult situations, he kind of lived a full life. I hope his son is alive and well? 🥹). I hope he finds the forgiveness and peace that he yearns for. This piece makes me think about how many people we just pass by everyday not knowing them or what they've been through; I will forever be curious about people and the stories that make them who they are. Thank you so much for this story and for the pictures, too.
Every person is a world of stories. ❤️
And to the people that draw out these tales and weave them into a beautiful tapestry of big emotions and meaning, you are magic.
Thank you, Aisha. You are magic. ✨
I absolutely love this
It's surreal how different life was then compared to now... and how it seems like so long ago but in reality is just a few decades. Now I'd love to hear more stories about people in Mr Okafor's age bracket ✨
I know right. I think we need to read more (real life) stories like this. What a life!
what a wonderful story - thank you so much for this
I really enjoyed reading this. I'm a big fan of boxing and we need more stories about Nigerian athletes (popular or forgotten). I particularly like the part where he talked about the civil war and his journey to Cameroon. Welldone, Aisha.
Thank you, Moyo.
Awesome as always. I was glued to my computer screen throughout.
Thank you.
This was so good.
This is a wonderful story!! I enjoyed every minute of reading. Thanks for the effort you put in to this and other beautiful pieces ❤️
Man. This was such a profound read. Kudos to the team.
This is so good.
I could picture every of the story in my head like I was there. Well done Aisha Bello👏. See how valuable Naira was back then Omo!
Kudos girl!!!
Love love this 💯
I love how you captured the contrast between past and present, making me reflect on how much things have changed.
Mr Okafor to the world !!!
Thank you for yet another interesting and Immersive story telling. We certainly need more of this. 🙂
I wrote a bit about this where - https://open.substack.com/pub/thinkingwithabdulfatah/p/4-not-so-random-thoughts-about-history?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=7a78r