By Mercy Michael
Why are you wearing your ring on the last finger of your hand?
This is not a wedding ring; it's a ring which was bought for me by one of the Saudi Arabian princesses and this was for all my goals, my matches H400 to 500 appearances, 150 goals and she bought me a signet ring and presented it to me when we were in Saudi Arabia. People have often asked me, Are you married? Are you not married? They bring out this story and that story. I've always said, 'Your private life is your private life and the only thing in life that you can protect is your private life'. All I can say is I have a private life and I have children.
Why are you not wearing your wedding ring?
I've never worn a wedding ring. In my life I've never had one. I've never worn one. You find out that most black Europeans don't wear wedding rings. And as a footballer, always I would have problem with my wedding ring. When I first got married, always I would put on my wedding ring and I would have to take it off again because I'm playing football. You are not allowed to wear a ring and because my knuckle is big, it will always be a problem trying to get it off. So after getting married for like six years ago, I never wore one anymore. You will never see any footballers wear wedding rings.
Doesn't your wife have a problem with it?
Nobody has a problem with it.
I didn't mean anybody; I said does your wife not have a problem with it?
You said that, but I said nobody. I know what you meant (laugh) but I tried to soften the line there. I don't think she has a problem with it. I'm sure after this period of time I would have known.
You seem to like to wearing African print. Who makes them for you?
All my clothes are African and they are all designed by one man. His name is Mudi. Mudi is a wonderful Nigerian designer who cut his cloth to suit a tall black man and his colours are unique. I met him three, four years ago. He had nothing then and he came in and he gave me some suits. In the picture you're holding, the suits I'm wearing is Mudi, the shirt also is his. I saw he had an exceptional talent and decided then that if I rise, I must try and make him rise. And he has risen, because from all my shows, deal or no deal, the football challenge, it has always been Mudi; even this I'm wearing now is Mudi.
Do you have a fragrance that is known with you?
I wear a lot of Arab scents because I'm very influenced by the North. I spend so much of my time in the North. I have families in Jos, Kano, and Kaduna, a lot of Fashanus there, many of them. I've always gone to the Arab countries a lot and I like their perfumes, they're very strong and it stays there, in your skin. This is a country you sweat all the time; you bathe all the time. In England they will teach that you will try out your skin when you keep having baths and showers but here you have no choice, you have to. And I always like to stay fresh, so I wear a lot of Arabic perfumes.
Tell us why you never got to play for Nigeria?
No, I don't have any regrets not playing for Nigeria because in my heart of hearts I know I tried and tried and tried. That was a very controversial issue because people got it all mixed up and people were saying, Fashanu, he turned down his country. It took me four years to explain to those people who cared to listen, that it was actually me trying to come home. I was invited three times to come back home. Each time I came back home, first time under a coach called Otto Gloria, a Brazilian. I stayed at a place called Games Village in Surulere.
Segun Odegbami, the late Muda Lawal, Henry Nwosu, I played with them all. The football I played was totally different; even the coach said, 'afterwards, you might be a star in your own country but over here you're not Playing too well'. In Europe, we play the football in the air, up high. In Nigeria, Africa, South America, the ball is played on the floor, totally different styles. So as much as I wanted to play I didn't fit in for that style. The truth is, for that style, I wasn't good enough.
I came the second time, I was benched.
I came the third time and I wasn't even benched, they didn't even invite me. My guys in London said, 'John, why are you going back home? Each time you go back to Nigeria you stay for one month, you don't get any salary, you don't get anything at all and when you come back to England, it takes you at least one month to get back in the team again, who loses? You lose!'
But in spite of that I still wrote a letter to Westerhoff begging him to put me in the team. I told him I'm one of the top strikers in England which I was at that time, I didn't get a reply. Nine years elapsed, I didn't hear from Nigeria. Then suddenly, Ericsson, the England Manager, saw my team, that day, that year, I was the leading goal scorer, 2nd leading goal scorer in the Premiership with 23goals, an Arsenal player just beat me to it. He said, 'You're are good enough to play for England, and now I'm going to give you an England shirt', It's the highest honour anybody around the world can achieve because you're playing for your adopted country and there it was and as you can see there on the wall, some of the most illustrious England players from Paul Gascoigne to Peter Shilton, the world famous players. That was the biggest day of my life because I played for England. International football standard and domestic standard is a different ball game. Once I put on the white shirt, the uproar started in Nigeria. 'Oh! He turned down his country; he doesn't want to play for Nigeria. It was complete rubbish! It took me time to let everybody understand that, but the whole world now knows that I never turned down my country, I came three times.
How will you describe your style?
I would say that I was fast, aggressive, and direct. A lot of my goals were scored by my sheer strength and speed. I wasn't a JJ and a JJ is not me. I wasn't a Kanu and Kanu is not me. I remember playing many games with Kanu, Aston Villa and Arsenal and he always used to confuse me because as he comes on I will always greet him as a Nigerian, and he always looked so gangling and so awkward, everything a footballer doesn't look like and five minutes to go, he scores the winning goal. He always used to do it. It actually used to sink my heart when I see him warming up, Arsenal and Aston Villa 2-2, 1-0, he comes on, and he has this funny walk ways, walking gangling like that, and five minutes to go Kanu scores the goal. He always used to do it and we always used to tell each other that if this guy comes on, be careful of him and that's the love and the respect that we've got for ourselves.
What outfit do you think you look best in?
I think when I stroll down my road with no clothes on, naked, that seems to get a lot of compliments (laughs). I often hear a lot of compliments, they're not nice but it's a lot of compliments (laughs). But if you're saying in clothes-wise seriously, one of the most beautiful ones is a white shirt with Chinese dragon, three dragons on it and Mudi designed that shirt because I'm also a Martial artist. For 16 years, I travelled round the world studying the Martial art and I realised it was better to heal than to destroy and so Mudi did a beautiful shirt for me and that's my favourite shirt.
How do you maintain your physique?
Let me lie and say, that everyday I run by 6'oclock 5'oclock and I never eat nor drink anything. The truth is born very lucky. God gave me a very good physique and because of my hard work during the years of Martial art, my stretching regimes, my exercises, I came up with, 'Focus on fitness with Fash', a CD tape for women for doing exercises in their houses. A lot of women who are not the right shapes, should we say diplomatically, don't want to go to the gym. Most Nigerian women don't want to go to the gym because most of our African women don't have the time, busy schedules. They've got children and they've got work load. So I say, 'You don't need to go to the gym, just watch the CD and pick three or four that you like. Most women want to get rid of the gut, arm, buttocks, and firm up the breast that's it. Remember, men have a tummy full stop, women have the tummy and they've the gut; so most women want to get rid of the guts and tighten up the tummy, waking up the bum. I'm a physiotherapist; I'm an exercise man; that's what I've done all my life. I'm not saying on the CD, 'Try and look like Fash'. I'm saying that because God has given me that. All I'm saying is, 'These are the ways that you as a woman can change your life. You can change your eating habit, sleeping habits, all other things by going through my fitness tape.'
What do you love doing in your free time?
Working! My work is my free time. I'm a workaholic. I also travel a lot. In Africa I think there're 53 countries, I have travelled to 48 and in 48, I think have met 27 heads of state. Since I've been back home, I can't even imagine, there is no state that I haven't travelled to. I'm always in Kano, Jos, and Port-Harcourt; tomorrow Saturday I'm going to Abuja.
What phrase or adjective describes you?
An enigma. I'm somebody who likes to diversify. From football to television, banking, tyre protector, oil business, construction, you have to be able to change; you have to be able to go into other businesses. I enjoy that and I take the example of people like Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola, Dr Mike Adenuga, they're the real pioneers, I'm just pretending. They're the ones who are going out there and are making it but you know, we are all learning and I'm somebody, I like to learn from people who, should we say my peers? Who would have thought when I came back to Nigeria three years ago, within three years I would now be involved with the bank, not in my wildest dreams in England could I ever own a bank however? Much money you've got, Couldn't happen! Here now, for the first time and I'm enjoying it, my name was cleared by the CBN. I'm a director of a bank and I have equity shares in the bank. Micro financing is the way forward in this country; it's not the big banks. We've got to appreciate it's for the people. I've been very lucky.
What's your typical day like?
Today Friday, I'm on my way to see some friends in Apapa where I'm going to talk to some of the young prisoners in Kirikiri. My days are crazy; I got in late last night from Port-Harcourt. I'm now in Lagos, and tomorrow Saturday morning, I would go back to Abuja. Then, from there to Kano, Kaduna, Jos and back to Lagos again. It's never ending.
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