Crayon, the well-known singer whose real name is Charles Chibuezechukwu, has revealed a distressing experience from his past, detailing how certain high-ranking members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) hindered his football aspirations by removing him from a national team roster.
The artist behind the hit track ‘Trench To Triumph’ recounted that he had been chosen to join a national youth team in 2015, only to have his opportunity revoked by a group of corrupt officials.
During a recent interview with Cool FM Nigeria in Lagos, Crayon openly shared this disheartening episode, noting that it significantly contributed to the depression he faced in 2015.
Crayon said, “I became depressed in 2015 because I couldn’t get into the university. All my friends were in school. At that time I was really close to my friends. I was the youngest among my friends. Every time they are around is always fun. Then they all got admitted to the universities in Ghana, Benin, etc. I was just me in the hood.
“It was so boring. I didn’t have anything to do, nowhere to go. And my footballing career at that time wasn’t really kicking off for me as well. I used to play football. I used to be a proper footballer. They called me ‘Coutinho’ in my hood. You know prime Coutinho who played for Liverpool?
“I tried to become a professional footballer but it didn’t work out for me because football in Nigeria is quite dicey. There is a lot of corruption. I don’t want to mention names because it might hurt some people. They are big names; top [football] officials.
“At a time I went for one screening in Surulere [National Stadium], they [NFF officials] picked me and they had to like swindle me and pick someone else because the person had money and connections. So, at that point, I became disappointed. I went home depressed.”
