May 30, 2026
The thought of Henry Nwosu is big on my mind.
When I nicknamed him ‘Youngest Millionaire’ it was because he was the youngest player in our group to be worth a million Naira in domestic Nigerian football after AFCON 1980. Henry had other nicknames, one of which was ‘Congo’.
Before 1980, none of us had ever earned a million Naira. What were approved for us as bonuses were no where near that ‘impossible’ figure. A thousand Naira was a whole lot of money. We were previously on N2:00/N5:00 daily allowance, and N60:00 match bonus. Those were the maximum we received.
Then came the Nations Cup and our world changed, particularly for the youngest amongst us, a young man just out of secondary school who was going to earn a big bonus. A thousand Naira felt like a million, hence my nickname for him – ‘The Youngest Millionaire’.
