•Taribo West preaching in Orile Iganmu, Lagos … recently
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Former Super Eagles defender Taribo West is revelling in his pastoral duties after a hard life growing up, writes ’TANA AIYEJINA
These days Taribo West is home alone in
his Opebi, Lagos mansion, away from the glamour and limelight he once
enjoyed as a superstar footballer.
He no longer wears the flashy and
oftentimes crazy hairstyles that stood him out in the pack. Baldness has
set in and he is now clean-shaven. He is no longer “fearfully made” as
he was once described by a comedian, because of his looks.
In his footballing days, Taribo was
truly fearsome, an attacker’s nightmare. He had the crunchy tackles and
would kick you on and off the ball, and force you into intimidation with
his looks, gestures and power.
Today, he is a far cry from that
personality. What you have now is the born again Taribo West; the pastor
and founder of Shelter in The Storm Miracle Ministries of All Nations.
“I spend most of my time at home
meditating. All I want to do is to keep spreading the gospel. In my own
little way, I have been into evangelisation visiting places like Ughelli
and within the Orile community, Ajegunle and so on. God has been kind
during these visits to preach the gospel to people who are yet to
receive Christ. We believe He will take us globally very soon,” Taribo
said.
Fascinatingly, the Rivers-born preacher
prefers taking the gospel mostly to the ghettos. It might not be
unconnected with his childhood. Born in Port Harcourt, he grew up in
Shomolu, a neighbourhood in Lagos, where he was involved in gang
fighting but with a reputation as a footballer of note in the area.
Taribo lived life on the streets and
witnessed attacks, robberies, fighting and all manner of vices on a
daily basis. But he had a rethink of his dangerous lifestyle after he
watched his best friend stabbed — by a rival gang— and bled to death.
Afterwards he devoted more of his time
to playing football. After a stint with Port Harcourt side Sharks, he
moved to Julius Berger in 1992 and spent just a season with the Bridge
Boys, before sealing a dream move to French side, Auxerre.
Perhaps his childhood experiences informed his decision to reach out to the youths in such areas.
“Your background experience counts. We turn to God to give us direction. I’m happy how far He has taken us.
“The gospel is for the poor, rich and
noble. Part of the gift God gave me is to reach out to the downtrodden.
It is good if you can reach out to the downtrodden, preach the gospel to
them and try to meet some of their needs through humanitarian services.
I’m grateful to God for using me to spread the gospel across to these
people,” he said.
On getting to Europe, Taribo would find himself entangled in another life of charms and superstitious beliefs.
A move from Auxerre to Milan saw him
playing for rivals AC and Inter — one of few players to achieve the feat
— in a three-year stint in Italy.
With a new-found life of affluence, the
big defender paid huge sums of money for him to be supplied charms to
win games, protect him from career-threatening injuries and also to be
foretold the results of matches before they were played.
The 1998 UEFA Cup winner used to burn
candles and hold a magical stone from Israel before games but he is
bewildered that people are reluctant to publicly identify themselves
with the practice, saying players and officials are deeply involved in
the act.
Taribo said, “Of course yes (I was
involved). I don’t know why people decline to talk about their
involvement with charms. Football has to do with a lot of powers. When
there are big events, you look at the stadium, you see people, fans
invoking all kinds of things; magicians are there, voodooists are there.
“In my playing days, when I was ignorant, I used to get some mallams and babalawos (traditional doctors) to make charms for us, which we took to (national) camp. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.
“In some clubs, before every game, the
president or leader of the club will give you a lucky charm to play
with. They will tell you to put it in your boots or socks and play. It’s
their superstitious belief; that it can help them win matches.
“There are some coaches who are
connected to African magicians and soothsayers from Senegal, Burkina
Faso, Zaire or even Nigeria. These people are consulted to give these
coaches results of games even before the matches are played.
“These people see strange things and
they can tell you with their magic and charms, what the outcome of a
match will be. People believe and use it. It works for those who believe
in it. I saw it, I experienced it, I was with players that used it and I
used it. So, why are people denying it? There are charms and rituals in
football. It still exists.”
When Patience Ikemefuna, an evangelist
who lives in America paid Taribo a visit in Milan, it marked a new phase
in the 1996 Olympic Games gold medallist’s life.
Ikemefuna was perplexed when she
discovered that Taribo was deeply involved in occultism. There were
charms in his wardrobe and other parts of his apartment. Even though her
host resisted initially, she convinced him and after several praying
sessions, Taribo gave his life to Christ.
Today, even though they are not biologically related, he refers to Ikemefuna as “my sister.”
“God used her to change my life and ever
since, my life has never been the same. I’m grateful to her. When I had
an encounter with God and I became born again, I discovered that these
powers were powerless. It was an avenue to collect money from us. There
are lots of voodoo practices in football. If you are not with God, you
have to be with the devil; with the devil they come with everything,” he
added.
What is the difference between life in Christ and one filled with charms?
“You can’t compare,” he said. “When I
was living that ignorant life, I was in darkness. In the darkness, the
devil can give you what God can also give you, but he will give you
without joy and peace. Eventually, you will end up in sorrow. But when
you experience the joy of Christ, it adds no sorrow.
“The joy of the Lord is not only my
strength; it gives me everything I need in life. The love of Christ
comes with freedom, success, favour, expansion and a better life. When
you have all these, you have everlasting peace. That is why I am
comfortable today and I’m happy how God has seen me thus far.”
But being a pastor doesn’t mean he is
free from temptations. In fact he realises that there are even tougher
battles to fight as a cleric.
“Temptation is permanent; it’s there
every hour, every day but if you begin to study the Bible, there are
principles that God has laid down for us. If you follow this, the devil
will not keep you.
“From my house to the bus stop, I may
see a young girl not properly brought up, dressed half- naked walking on
the streets. You will see temptation right there. But you have to pray
for God’s grace to overcome the temptation.”
After a career that has seen him play
football in Nigeria, France, Italy, England, Germany, Yugoslavia, UAE
and Iran, Taribo has seen it all and aptly names his church a shelter.
He added, “We told ourselves to fast and
ask God for a name for the ministry. In the process, a sister came up
and said a voice told her that we should call the ministry Shelter in
The Storm Miracle Ministries. That’s how we got the name.
“During my journeys, God created a
shelter for me and transferred me into that fold. There are lots of
natural disasters everywhere in the world in these last days. There are
crisis in Asia; there is terrorism and sectarian groups springing up.
People are migrating from all over the world to Europe because of fear.
In the midst of all these, God has created for everyone a shelter, where
everything in your life will be restored again.”
Even though he is no longer actively
involved in the game, which gave him the good life and saw him resident
in some of the world’s biggest cities, the Super Eagles — with whom he
played two World Cups and two Africa Cup of Nations — is still very dear
to Pastor Taribo West.
“We need to pray for the team and I have
taken it as an assignment to pray for the team. The national team is
part of my body, it’s my family.”
