He
wanted to become one of the next great Nigerian footballer. He had the
chance to change his life forever and to follow in the steps of the
Okochas, Wests and the Akpobories. But on the way to becoming a
national hero, his dreams were burst like a bubble. A stroke of fate,
injury, brought his career to a sad end. He eventually pieced his life
together and is now giving hope to the boys and girls living on the
streets of Ikeja, Lagos.
Now aged 27,
Ndubuisi Duruna remembers a time, when he lived the dream of hundreds
of thousands of children across Nigeria – to emerge as a professional
football player and eventually to play for the famous Manchester United
or Real Madrid.
From the cradle
Duruna was born in
Warri, Delta State. It was while he was in secondary school that Duruna
discovered his interest in sports and in particular for football. From
this moment onwards, there was only one place to find him, at the
training grounds and streets all over Warri.
His father had
hoped he will study educational science, but after participating in the
local Principal’s Cup, Duruna’s talent could no longer be hidden. This
ultimately caught the attention of former international, Mike Anongbi
when scouting for clubs from abroad. In cooperation with former Ghana
professionals Joshua Kesta and Tajudeen Agboola, Anongbi set the basis
for a career full of hope and promise.
The journey begins
Duruna has always been confident and he believes that with sports and hard work anything was possible.
The first stage to
climb was the greasy pole he found in his birthplace where he grew up
to wear the jersey of a local club called Delta Strikers, which
featured in Warri’s local league.
A short time later,
he took the opportunity of scoring goals in the Benin league and
changed clubs a few months later to play for Trade Bombers in Nigeria’s
capital, Abuja. But his nomadic spirit and quest for new challenges
helped to boost his career and saw Duruna joining Bendel United in Edo
State. Again, he stayed only for a short while before leaving the club.
From then on he went to Pioneer FC of Aladja, and a short time after
left to play for Union Bank Football Club in Lagos, where he was shaped
into an extraordinary football player in regard to boys of the same age.
It was at Union
Bank that he also developed a great personality with an enormous mental
strength that in combination with his brilliant ways of moving the ball
across the field. This stint in Lagos helped him take his talent
outside of the country to demonstrate his abilities in the Republic of
Benin where he was cheered on by the fans of Dragon FC. But only six
months later, he returned to Nigeria and eventually managed to make the
expected career breakthrough.
In 2001, after
three months in Lagos, Duruna received an offer to play abroad and
finally his lifelong ambition was able to set sail and the next port of
call was to score goals in Turkey. He spent three years in the second
division at Akallat FC; scouts brought him to the United Arab Emirates
where he soon gained the title “darling of the public” for his newest
club Diba Hisen FC. For one and a half years he led his team in Dubai
from victory to victory before going to Bahrain where he wore the
jersey of Moscora FC for one year. He returned to Dubai to woo the fans
in the stadium of Dubai Diamond but in the same year he changed clubs
and moved to Oman where destiny took a decisive turn.
Decisive turn
Duruna narrated the
incident saying: “It was a 50/50 challenge for the ball against an
attacker of Nusnus FC. At that moment, I just felt a slight twinge but
never thought it would develop into an injury that would require an
operation.” But because I did not trust the doctors from Syria and
Kazakhstan who were supposed to attend to the injury, I decided against
having the operation.”
Duruna was also
anxious concerning the qualifications of the physicians and he was not
convinced of the language barrier. He left Oman for Dubai to start
another stint in division 2 but that was where it was discovered that
he needed an urgent operation.
“In my life I have
never had any kind of operation. I called my mum (mother), who advised
me to come home and seek local therapy which I did. But unfortunately,
the pain has not been cleared. I still feel pain sometimes.”
Though the injury
has abated, the trauma and the disappointment are still present. From
time to time the physical pain is revisited when he even cannot stand
for more than ten minutes without suffering acute pain.
The fight-back
Despite the disappointment, Duruna didn’t abandon his dream; he just modified it and fought his way back to football.
Duruna may even get
his career on track again if he can have corrective surgery on the
knee. “I have been told that a bolt may have to be inserted on my knee
cap. My girl-friend, who is Italian-American, is trying to help me have
the surgery in Florida, though I may opt to have it in France, when the
Homeless World Cup holds in August.”
How did he become the coach of the Homeless World Cup team?
“When attending the
Sunday mass at my church in Lagos, the bishop introduced me to Yomi
Kuku, a director of a non-governmental organisation called Search and
Groom.” This organisation is helping to give homeless youths a meaning
to life using football in Ikeja, a Lagos suburb.
Kuku offered to
assist Duruna to get into coaching and soon he started volunteering in
the Next Hero Project within the scope of the organisation. In 2008 he
started out as a member of the scouting team. Ever since, he has
discovered players for the team. He is now in charge of the team as the
Chief Coach.
Today his career is setting a good example for the boys and girls in Lagos.
“Though I will like
to play again, even if it is at a fifth division side, I am also drawn
to coaching and I see that even if I did not make it to the top, I can
help one of the boys I coach go higher than I ever achieved,” he said.
Durunna has great passion, discipline and soulfulness, and with these
he is working his way up the ladder and his dreams of being the best
footballer in the world has now metamorphosed into becoming the beast
coach in the world. With this drive and commitment, he has become an
example of social commitment and the change of society in the country.
Eventually the boy born in Warri has now become the boy from Ikeja.
