Emmanuel Adebayor needs to stop this, or he'll mess his
family up. The footballer shared another epistle on his
Facebook page this morning detailing how his elder brother
Kola (pictured with him above) messed up the opportunity of
becoming a recognized footballer in Germany and how he tried
to help him become something in life to no avail. He also
wrote that his family members have started writing letters to
his football club and radio stations. Read what he wrote
below...
If I decide to bring out the Part 3 today, it is because
my brother @Kola Adebayor and my other siblings have
decided to talk about our family issues on social
medias, through letters to my club, radios…I could
write an autobiography and sell it but I decided to
share with you here.
25 years ago, my big older brother Kola went to
Germany and he became the hope of our family. We all
thought he could change the way we were living. Years
after he left Togo, we still had no electricity and no
phones. If he wanted to talk to us, he would call the
Atlantic Hotel that was very close to our house. We
would then run to the hotel reception and talk to him.
When I got the opportunity to go play football in France for
the first time, we needed money to for the flight tickets and
other expenses. My brother was nowhere to be found. Only
God knows what he was doing in Germany.
When I arrived in France, I did all the paperwork with my team
and they allowed me to stay in the academy. A few months
later, my brother wanted to come visit me. I was running out
of money and I was living at the academy. Therefore, I had to
borrow money so I could pay for his hotel. At that time, my
teammate Sega N’diaye from Cameroon was kind enough to
lend me some money. I also had to borrow some more money
because I had to give my brother some money for his trip
back to Germany. Keep in mind he is my older brother.
A couple years later, things started to get better. Thank God, I
signed a contract with Metz. Since then, my brother would
contact me whenever it was time to pay his bills. Sometimes,
he would say his son is sick… I had to get used to all this.
Again, I was lucky enough to get an offer from Monaco and I
signed for the football club. One day, Kola and the late Peter
Adebayor came to visit me in Monaco. My two brothers did
not let me know they were coming. Someone said “blood is
thicker than water” so I took them in. They arrived early in the
morning and I was on my way to training. When I came back
home, we had a discussion and they wanted to start a car
business. Obviously, it involves a lot of money. I told them
that I could help them out as soon as I get paid next.
At that time, Thierry Mangwa was staying in my apartment
because he was struggling with some personal issues and
needed a place to stay. One day, I came back from training
and he was crying. He never told me why. My brothers could
also not explain. Another day, one of my friends Padjoe came
to visit me and as he was leaving the house, I believe I
offered him about €500. My brother Kola noticed that and was
very upset. He was trying to understand why I gave my friend
some money right away but not him. My reason was very
simple; the money he (Kola) needed was a huge amount of
money that I did not carry in my house. We went on and had
an argument about it.
Another day, after training…I was very tired and decided to go
take a nap. I woke up and a knife was held to my throat. As I
opened my eyes, both of my brothers were there. They were
shouting and they claimed that I was wasting their time. Peter
was going mad and Kola was supporting. I asked them: “Is
this the only way to solve this issue? I yes, then kill me and
take the money”. It’s only at that moment that he put the
knife down. After all this, I found a way out of my own
apartment and I called my parents. My mom suggested that I
call the police. That was the only way for me to get back into
my house safely… I had training the next day, by the way. So
I did what my mom said. Police came and they settled down.
Again, “blood is thicker than water”, so I let it go. A few days
after, Peter went to visit one of Kola’s friends in Paris. That
means I was left in the house with Kola; for my own safety, I
found a way to get him the money as soon as I could. Only
God knows how much I gave him that day.
A few months after all this, I went back to Togo and I was
surprised when my mom started to ask me why I called the
police on my brothers, she continued and said I am the bad
person in the family. That is another story I will leave for
later…
Every time I went back home, everyone kept asking me why
my brother never visited after all these years. Immediately, I
organized a flight for him and he came back to visit the
family, at my own expenses.
On April 22nd 2005, we received some bad news. I received a
call and they announced that my father passed away. I was
devastated. I called my big brother and told him that we all
have to be there. Again I made sure there was a flight ticket
ready for him. We all went back home and I took care of
everything. A long time before my dad died, he was in the
hospital one day and he asked me to make sure his funeral is
not a moment of sadness. He wanted us to celebrate his life.
I leave it to God to decide if the funeral I organized for my dad
was what he wanted. The man who calls himself the “big
man” in the family did not contribute to anything. But he still
has the boldness to say I do not take care of this family.
In 2006, I had another big opportunity to go play for Arsenal.
Since then, my brother has started to come up with series of
false accusations against me.
On July 22nd, 2013 sad news hit us in the family. My brother
Peter Adebayor passed away. His death was sad and I was
affected by it. One thing I find difficult to swallow today is
that Kola was accusing me of Peter’s death. He is saying that
the shop I opened for Peter was not good enough. He kept
texting saying that my career would be destroyed. I did
everything for Peter when he was alive, I brought him to Metz,
and Monaco with me. What can Kola say that he has done for
Peter? Nothing. The man did not even show up at the funeral
even after all the money I sent for the trip back home.
He is saying that I also made my mom suffer, but he forgot
that when he was in Germany, at some point I was the one
always by my mom’s side. As soon as I started to make a
living with football, I did everything you could imagine for our
mom. That is normal. But my brother is never satisfied. He
said I bought a shitty car for my mom.
Why can’t he buy a better one? All I want from him is to take
his responsibilities. Since I am not doing it right, he should
show the example as a big brother. He has been in Germany
for more than 20 years, but he never brought our mother there
to visit. Even to go back home for a visit is another struggle.
All he keeps saying is that my father said I should build a
house for each one of them. I don’t think my father said that.
Does that even make sense for him or anyone? As a big
brother, he is supposed to be doing all that I am doing for the
family. He should stop hiding and take his responsibilities.
When he came to Europe, he was young enough to become a
football player too. Anyways, some people are drivers here but
they are able to take care of their families. They even bring
their parents and other family members. Why has he not done
anything like that but he keeps talking? As a matter fact, he
should at least bring Rotimi, Bidemi or his own son Aziz here
before talking about “taking care of the family”. Actions are
louder than speeches.
A lot of people are saying that I never went to school, but
they forget that it is because we could not afford it. I never
blamed my parents for that. But thank God, today I am able
to speak more than 3 languages and I can send my daughter
to school. I am proud of that. People can accuse me for not
going to school, but in the end it is all about who you become
and what you teach yourself. It is also about what life
teaches you and what you learn from it.
Many times I wanted to give up. Ask my sister Iyabo Adebayor
how many times I have called and was ready to commit
suicide? I kept these stories for years… But If I die, no one
would know my story, no one would learn from it… Some
people say I should keep these stories private, but someone
has to sacrifice himself; someone has to talk about it. I know
people would relate to my story and others would learn from
it. For every one who knows me, I’d do anything for my
country and my people.
Final message from the younger brother to the older brother:
Quit Smoking and Quit Drinking. That was my story.
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