God used a woman to
capture me, says Taribo West
By STAN OKEKE
Saturday, July 15, 2006
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Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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Taribo West means different things to different folks. To
some people, he was a rugged defender, who went all out to
achieve his ambition, while to others, he is an instrument
in the Lord’s vineyard.
Taribo is a clear testimony of someone who rose from grass
to grace. But for football, he might have ended up as a street
urchin. Hence, he never fails to give glories to God at any
least opportunity. Even those who helped him build his career
have something to show for it.
Recently, the footballer spoke to Saturday Sunsport and revealed
how he became a pastor and how God used a powerful women of
God to track him down. He also spoke of his journey into fame
with the round leather game.
How I was called
I got the inspiration to serve God about 10 years ago. It
was during the Atlanta Olympic Games in the United States
of America. There, I ran into a very powerful woman of God,
who said she heard the voice of God, which asked her to come
to our base and speak to somebody whom God wanted to use.
When she came, it was like a fairy tale, but after we won
the Olympic gold in the football event, the woman came to
me and shared her vision with me. We later talked for a couple
of months before she came to my place in Italy and from then,
I felt the hand of God in my life, which got me delivered
from my bad ways. And till date, the woman has been giving
me prophecies and my life has never been the same.
Prayers during matches
Those prayers were not ordinary; football matches are circumvented
with circumstances and great challenges. It is a power game,
and from my experience, most people in the field play the
game with all kinds of things.
However, I came to realise that something is more powerful
and beneficial than the game itself. So, as a player in the
field, one of the things which gave me true encourage, was
the Word (of God). It inspires and helps to push me forward.
Against Cameroon at the Nations Cup in 2000 for instance,
somehow, every one of us knew that something was wrong. That
day wasn’t just our day. I prayed through the weeks
and months before the game, but that day, I had to struggle
in my prayers.
However, God gave me a sign, which helped me to understand
that the day would be a difficult one for Nigeria. All the
same, God proved that He was still God. In that game, we were
two goals down before Tijani Babangida came from the bench
and scored our first goal before Jay Jay Okocha got us the
equaliser. After the regulation time, we went into penalty
shootouts, but unfortunately, we lost at last.
That was a very sad day for me, but the Bible says, in everything,
give thanks to the Lord. So, at the end of the day, I was
happy. Though we went for the gold, we came home with silver,
which I took in good fate. However, I was convinced that at
the Lord’s appointed time, we would get to our destination.
So, I was happy in spite of all the odds.
Journey into football
My interest in football started in Port Harcourt. As a young
boy, I would leave home very early in the morning to play
football on the streets. From the streets, I started going
to the stadium. In fact, at a point, I was like a stadium
boy, following all those big players like Richard Owobokiri,
Davidson Owumi, Rowland Ohufe, David Ngodigha and others around.
My mates and I were like ball boys to them. And in the process,
they created a feeder team for Sharks of Port Harcourt, which
was handled by Coach Monday Sinclair.
I started there as a young player and when I realised I had
the needed talent for the game, I decided to take football
as a career.
I came to Lagos and joined Ibukun Oluwa FC owned by Chief
Adewale Teluwo, whom I owe a lot. We were three that met him
the same day and he asked us to tell him what we wanted to
do. I told him that I would want to further my education.
I was not really going to school regularly then because I
had no sponsor. So, I was more into playing football than
going to school. But I wanted to go to school.
Chief Teluwo took us as players in his club and as well put
us in schools. He was also paying us a monthly stipend of
N80 each.
In 1989, Chief Teluwo bought a team in the amateur league.
Then, there were quite some good teams in the amateur division
like Enyimba, Kano Pillars, NEPA of Lagos, First Bank, etc.
So, the league was highly competitive. We played in the league
that season and I think we came out either eighth or ninth
on the table at that first attempt.
I played a lot of games for the club, we played against Sharks
also. By then, Sinclair had been promoted to chief coach of
Sharks and he thereafter invited me to play for Sharks.
I played for the Port Harcourt team for one season and joined
Enugu Rangers, where I came to limelight. I played for Rangers
for one year and moved to Julius Berger, where I also played
for one year. It was when I was with Berger that we had the
African Cup of Nations competition in Mauritius. We didn’t
really have a good tournament then, but I played just a game.
In Mauritius, I came in as a substitute during the second
half and played between 10 to 15 minutes. It was there that
a football manager saw me. The man said he went to Nigeria
to look for a very good youth defender, who was doing very
well in the league and somebody directed him to me. I think
it was Samson Siasia that told him that Taribo West was the
stuff he was searching for.
So, the manager came to our camp and followed me to the tournament.
He watched me during those 10 to 15 minutes I played in Mauritius
and thereafter, invited me to France for trials.
I did very well in the trials in France and from there, I
signed a three-year semi-professional contract, but in my
fourth year, I signed my professional contract. That was how
I started my professional career with Auxerre.
I spent four years and half in Auxerre before I signed another
contract to play for Inter Milan. It was in Inter that I exploded…
(prolonged laughter).
Career
I still have about one or two years to play football. I’ve
not really called it quits, but after my experience in Plymouth,
I just decided to go home to do God’s work, because
in the past few years, God has revealed so many things to
me and I see myself battling against His directives.
I just believe God, and when a man fails to listen to Him,
He has a way of taking his peace away. In dealing with God,
if you don’t want peace, you take trouble.
I just decided to work in the ministry for a while, but I’m
praying that He should just allow me to play for one or two
more years before I quit finally. |
