For several weeks, the Nigerian media has been flooded with allegation by Kujah saying that Jay Jay Okocha and his wife, Nkechi, illegally took over a Bureau de change business they jointly-owned with varying number of shares. Kujah, fondly called ‘Soccer Ambassador’ because of his close relationships with some players of 1994 set of Super Eagles, alleged that for 13 years, Okocha pushed him and other shareholders from the said business venture.
However, Okocka opened a can of warm yesterday, describing Nwankwo-Kujah as ungrateful fellow. “I don’t want to join issues with Friday Kujah because I see him as ungrateful fellow,” Okocha told The Guardian.“So many ex-players no longer want to have anything to do with Kujah because of what he did to me. I took him as a friend, and decided to do business with him on trust. But look at the way he is trying to scandalise my name. I won’t fail to his blackmail,” he stated.
Okocha recalls: “I was playing in Qatar preparing for my retirement from active football when Friday Kujah called me one early morning on phone to suggest that he and one Israelis had a business idea. I told him to wait. But some few days later, Kujah went to meet my wife. I was surprised when my wife called to say that Friday Kujah was in my house. To cut long story short, Kujah said he wants us to start a Bureau de change business. He brought the Israelis from a Mega Plaza.
“I asked both of them how much they would contribute for the business to commence, but they replied that they don’t have any money. They said that their contribution was the ‘business idea’ from their head. I decided to flow along with them based on the trust I had on Friday Kujah. I told them that since they were not contributing any cash into the business, I would only pay them percentage based on money generated. Thereafter, he told me to send $300,000, which I did.
“One day, the Israelis, who was the Operations Manager, walked up to me to say that I had to give them another $1million for the business to survive. I was sensing great danger ahead. Should I continue to invest my retirement money into such business, when there is no hope of getting profit?. I quickly recalled how some of my teammates in the Super Eagles, and some others before us fell into some wrong hands after their retirement from football.
He didn’t carry his fans along during those process... He fall my hand