He was a very skillful and passionate footballer, but at a time when his brilliance on the pitch was about to attract global attention, a hard injury dealt him a big blow. But away from his first love, football, Ola Muyiwa, founder of Footy Homes and Properties, has found new interest in the real estate world. In this interview with SEGUN ADEBAYO, Muyiwa, reveals his dreams in his new engagement.
You are an ex-footballer but many people now see you as a real estate developer, tell us how your football career began and ended.
I fell in love with football at a very young age. I was born and raised in Kebbi State and completed my secondary and first degree education in the North. I graduated from the Bayero University, Kano in 2010 and I have always had passion for football. I featured in the West African University Games (WAUG) and the Nigerian University Games (NUGA). I was discovered by Kano Pillars FC during one of my matches. I was invited to their camp and I joined the club. I played for Kano Pillars for some years before I travelled out of the country to further pursue my career in football.
Where did you play abroad?
I played in France, Kenya and later Russia. From Russia, I went to Turkey where I signed my first professional contract. I played in the club for five years. During my spell at the club, I never stopped coming to Nigeria to check on my people and look at investment opportunities because I recall that my late dad was a big investor who I learned so much from. So, while I was playing football, I never took my eyes away from investing money in worthy ventures. I bought some plots of lands across the city of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital as a player. But football didn’t allow me focus on the investment part or become a developer, which has always been my passion. I love to be remembered for creating a legacy that will continue to grow and empower people even when I am no more.
Were you opportune to represent Nigeria at any level?
I got an invitation to the national U20 team, the Flying Eagles during the reign of the late Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi as Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Along the line, I discovered that some people were asking me to pay certain amount to get cleared, and in the process, I was discouraged and had to stay back abroad. I never got any invitation again till I quit active football.
Which club were you playing for at the time the invitation came?
Then, I was in Jordan, playing for Al Bakar FC. At first, I thought I got the invitation because of my talent, but on arrival in the camp, I discovered they wanted more than talent probably money on their table. That was what discouraged me, if not; I would have joined the Flying Eagles that year.
Do you regret not playing for Nigeria?
Representing your country should be a thing of joy for any footballer. So I would say that at that point, I wasn’t happy because I felt so bad and I was really bothered about it. The invitation came but it was sad that certain forces didn’t allow the dream to manifest. After a while, I stopped getting bothered and I accepted it as an act of God. I concluded that God didn’t want me to play for Nigeria.
Why did you stop football?
I had a chronic knee injury that lasted for about two years that I couldn’t kick the ball for some time. It was a very difficult time for me and my career because it was a mysterious injury that forced me out of football when I never planned to quit finally in 2016.
Since you returned to Nigeria, what has been your engagement?
When I came back, I floated Olafooty Football Management (OFM) where a lot of football talents were discovered and groomed. The academy has been running since 2016 and I am really happy to be helping young Nigerian footballers to discover their talent and pursue it to a meaningful level.
After establishing OFM, I discovered that some of the investments I had when I was playing in Turkey had yielded. Some of the plots of lands I bought became had tripled in prices. Some grew from N5 to N10 million, some jumped from N15 to N30 million and so on. It was then that I discovered that with those some of those properties, I could start up from there. That was how I ventured into truck business and it birthed Olafooty International Resources, from there, I joined a betting company BetKing, invested in it, and from there, the business started expanding.
How has it been convincing people to trust your brand over the past months?
As I said that I have always loved to go into investment and property, so in 2022 when the opportunity presented itself, I spoke with my team and some stakeholders and we agreed that it was time to go into real time investment and property. I believe we all have ambition in life and we will surely get there if we don’t give up on our dreams. We started about six months ago, but a lot of people have been saying it out there that we have surpassed some organisations that started before us. From Dream Gardens at Moniya to Diamond View at Elebu, Silver Park at Ayegun Oleyo and Glamour Park behind Lead City. The responses we have been getting from people have been impressive. I can boldly say that we are just starting.
What has been your source of motivation?
I want to tell you now that the governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, is part of my motivators in this line of business, because I do watch every comment and move he makes when it comes to real estate. I am not a politician and I don’t even care about what politics is about, but whenever he’s talking about the developmental part of Ibadan, growth of Ibadan, especially when it concerns real estate, I always try my best to listen to the government’s interest when it comes to investment in real estate.
Amid daily challenges, how have you managed to stay afloat?
If you say that I’m a young, well then I’m a young man, but it’s not by age. I’ve always been determined and focused. Even as I’m speaking to you, I feel I have not even started my journey; there’s still a long way to go. There’s no day that I wake up that I don’t have a huge task ahead of me. I’m not one of the regular youths out there who spend most of their time hanging out, clubbing and all. It’s rare to see me outside. If you see me outside, I’m either attending a business meeting or out to eat. I’ve not been to the club in a very long time, when I go, it’s always someone or the other pushing me to go.
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