Wikki Tourists newly signed striker, Sanni Ibrahim Enesi has said instead of becoming discouraged due to lack of playing time in his new club, he is motivated to work harder. In this interview with Trust Sports, the former Kogi United and Gombe United player spoke on the need to combine education with sports, his passion for creative arts and ambition to play professional football in Europe.
When and how did you start playing football?
I started when I was very young. I started at the Zico Football Academy in Lokoja. After the then Chairman of the Kogi United Feeder team watched me play, he brought me to the team. When I was playing for the Feeder team, I was still in school. However, after my graduation, I focused fully on playing and in a few months, I was promoted to the senior team. In the senior team, I proved my worth as I became the club’s hottest striker. I scored many goals for Kogi United. My goals took the club to the Super 8 championship, where we narrowly lost out on a promotion ticket to the Premier League. As a matter of fact, since their inception, that was the closest Kogi United came to reaching the Premier League. At the Super 8, I scored a goal against Gombe United so, after the championship, they signed me to play for them. While in Gombe United, I travelled for trials in Switzerland and Austria. Along the line, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged and that scuttled my plans. However, I am very confident I will have another opportunity to play abroad. At the moment, I am playing for Wikki Tourists pending when I will get another chance to actualise my dream of playing in Europe.
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Your pencil portraits have attracted many, are you a trained artist?
No, I didn’t study creative arts. It comes to me naturally. I only learned how to draw in my primary school days and you know that whatever you learn at such a young age stays with you permanently. So it is all about talent from God and passion. But I must confess that a friend Kolapo Obadiah, who is a professional artist once put me through some of the basics.
You are one of the few university graduates playing in the local league. What is your educational background?
I am from Kogi State so I had my primary education in Batista Nursery and Primary school in Lokoja. I then attended Bishop Delisle College, Lokoja where I proceeded to Kogi State Polytechnic for my National Diploma in Mining and Engineering. Afterwards, I gained admission into the prestigious Federal University of Technology, Minna where I read Civil Engineering. I graduated in 2016 and did my youth service in Lokoja.
How were you able to combine playing football with education?
Considering the course I studied in the university, it wasn’t an easy task because I had to constantly juggle both. It was a 50-50 thing. I knew the consequences, but I was not ready to give up on my passion for football. As a matter of fact, before I graduated, I was the captain of my football team. I was their top striker and I scored many goals. Despite the challenges, I was able to graduate on time and also with good grades. I had a carryover only once. I burnt nights in class to regain the time I spent playing football. I thank God I was able to cope with the challenges.
Do you have plans to quit professional football for creative arts?
Quitting football for creative arts is a big no because I have my dream which is to play professional football in Europe. I also want to represent my country. Most importantly, I want to earn dollars as salary and until I achieve that dream, I won’t quit. I am actually close to it. I cannot quit football, but whenever I am opportuned, I will continue to draw portraits. Drawing is a talent that cannot leave me, but football has a time limit. Presently, I devote more time to football.
What are the gains of playing professional football as a university graduate?
There are enormous gains. It gives me a lot of advantages over my colleagues who are less educated. The way I talk, react to situations, especially pressure, the way I reason, the way I express myself is different from most of the players in the NPFL who are not properly educated. I am given more respect than the uneducated players. Without doubt, an educated player reasons and plays better. I am indeed grateful to my parents who insisted I must go to school. Initially I was a bit angry, but I am reaping the benefits now.
What then is your advice for upcoming footballers and those who are already playing professional football?
I will advise the upcoming players to take education seriously because it is paramount. Football has a time limit and there is life after football. If you are well educated, you can have something to engage you after you must have retired from active sports. But they shouldn’t stop playing because a successful footballer can also employ so many graduates. For my colleagues in the NPFL who are not educated, I advise them to try adult education. They should have a certificate even if it is an ordinary National Diploma. Apart from giving them self confidence and respect, it will help them to cope with dubious managers and agents. It is easier to cheat an uneducated athlete than the one who is educated.
It is on record that you are yet to play for Wikki Tourists in the ongoing NPFL season. Aren’t you getting worried?
This is my first season in Wikki Tourists, so I don’t need a seer to tell me to be patient in order to get my own opportunities to play. When I arrived, I met tested players on the ground so I can’t just shove them aside. My parents have trained me to be a very patient young man so I am usually patient in all situations. Therefore, I am confident my time to play and score goals for Wikki Tourists will come. Instead of getting discouraged, I am motivated to work harder.
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