- By Sam O’Femi Fasetire
Veteran sports editor and broadcaster, Sam O’Femi Fasetire has disclosed how a very dramatic situation that was similar to Galatasaray of Turkey striker, Victor Osimhen’s transfer saga played out for him at the start of this week.
Fasetire disclosed to SportsDay that he started at a new job on Monday, in much the same way Osimhen had been virtually on his way to Al-Ahly of Saudi Arabia before his move to Galatasaray occurred out of the blue.
It would be recalled that Osimhen sealed a loan agreement with Galatasaray on the last day of the past summer transfer window after he had been frozen out of the first team at SSC Napoli of Italy.
It should have been a smooth transfer for Osimhen, since Napoli no longer needed him, but the Serie A club still went ahead to block his expected signing at Ahly by demanding an extra fee from the Saudi outfit.
Having also earlier blocked interest in the striker from Paris Saint Germain of France, while Osimhen had himself snubbed an offer from Chelsea of England, the Super Eagles’ star appeared set to spend this season in the cooler at Napoli.
However, the unexpected offer at Gala opened a brand new door of opportunity for Osimhen and it is fast turning into a heaven sent move, which Fasetire said has now played out in a much similar style for his next career path as a school teacher.
Fasetire revealed at length, “It so happened that I decided to leave Masterguide College, Egbeda after two years with them, and I already had two offers from a couple of schools near my residence at Ikotun.
“However, just 24 hours before I was set to drop my resignation letter on the last day of the term, which was December 13, I got an offer to join Brightville College in Ibadan as their principal and sports director.
“I quickly decided to overlook the two nearby offers and opted for the new one in Ibadan, due to the opportunity it would give me in reviving my love for grassroots football – considering that the proprietor also runs a sports academy.”
However, the respected journalist, who previously worked at Complete Sports, Brila FM, SportsDay and Star 101.5 FM among others, disclosed that he had to pull out of Brightville College when the school that produced 2019 Golden Eaglets’ sensation, Akinkunmi Amoo, could not guarantee him free accommodation that was promised at the start of negotiations.
He narrated further, “Everything appeared on course for my smooth relocation, until an issue about accommodation emerged in the last week of December. The matter dragged on until a day after the new year, with some legal angles also involved.
“I became scared of getting myself entagled in a legal web that had reportedly been dragging on for five years, and danger signs loomed ahead. So, I had to shelve my whole relocation process.
“I was already thinking of picking up one of the two offers that I earlier got near my residence, until the owner of GodMervic Schools sent an unexpected message to me.”
Fasetire then explained how a request from the school’s proprietress gave him bolts of guilty conscience, and he could not rest until he finally made up his mind to join the ranks of her staff.
“Incidentally, I had actually previously resigned a year earlier from Masterguide College in order to join GodMervic in 2023, but pulled out at the last minute due to pressure on me from my colleagues at the other school. So, seeing that Mrs Ogazi could still contact me shook me emotionally.
“Ahead of the resumption of students on Monday, I already had two other schools in mind to choose from, until Mrs Ogazi sent a request to me that I should help her get a science subject teacher. That ignited a feeling of guilt in me, and I told myself frankly that I had to compensate her for having dumped her in 2023.
“This simply means that, as God would have it, an unexpected turnaround came into my next job as a teacher in a similar manner with what happened to Osimhen. I am now praying to succeed at GodMervic school as he is doing at Galatasaray,” Fasetire enthused.
SportsDay notes that, having scored 13 goals and provided five assists in his first 15 matches at Gala, Osimhen has settled seamlessly into the Istanbul-based side’s mainframe, such that the initial plan of seeing him join a bigger club at the start of this year is not necessary any longer.
