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Pele on Nigeria: ‘Achieving ceasefire in Biafran War my proudest moment’
The beautiful game not just changed Pele’s life but one around him as well as at one point his club Santos was in demand to play teams in Europe.
Apart from the goals and the artistry on the field, there was much more to the legend of Pele. For a boy who initially wanted to be a pilot, only for an accident to ruin it, football became Pele’s world when he saw his father cry after Brazil lost the final to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup at the Maracana. From being part of a video game to stop a war in Nigeria to being called a National Treasure, there are a lot of factors that contributed to the legend of Pele.
The boy who wanted to fly a plane
Pelé, first went to an airport to sell peanuts as a very young boy from an impoverished home. But young Edson’s dream, seen barefoot and from dirt roads, was to fly for he loved everything at Bauru’s aerodrome — planes, gliders and pilots who take off from airfields.
A glider’s accident and death jolts Edson in 1940s, as he and his group of friends go looking for the wreckage and then the mortuary in the southeast of Brazil. From a window, they watched the autopsy and the dripping blood from a severed arm put him off his pilot dreams forever.
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Compelled by circumstances to start out on a shoeshine kit, he hunkers down to bring in money. Ironically he plays shoeless when kicking about a make-do football in the streets. They can’t afford both. Dreams of football aren’t cheap.
Pelé was the ‘I’ in the Edson bulb
His mother Celeste came from a town called Três Corações, in the Minas Gerais state in the ’30s and ’40s. Like most of interior Brazil, they had no electricity, and lots of football clubs. It’s where she met his father Joao, known as Dondinho, who played for the local club while doing his military service. They married and her first child was born around the time electricity came to Três Corações.
The baby was named after Thomas Edison. He was officially nicknamed Dico, but his real name was Edson Arantes do Nascimiento. At school, he pronounced the name of the local club Vasco da Gama goalkeeper, Bile as Pile so, a classmate started calling him Pele. The man himself thought it was like babbling and didn’t like the name.
Besides the King, in Brazil he was often called “Pérola Negra” which meant Black Pearl. “I was really proud that I was named after Thomas Edison and wanted to be called Edson. I thought Pelé sounded horrible. It was a rubbish name. Edson sounded so much more serious and important,” he once told The Guardian.
When Edson decided to form a football club with his friends, they had neither gear nor shoes. But in a pre-TV world, they had football stickers, like trading cards of famous players and their trivia. Pooling stickers into complete sets they decided to swap those for some gear.
The other ingenious scheme was to whisk away peanuts out of freight trains and sell them outside stadiums, airports and theatres. The first gear came from sacks of these stolen munchies.
The ball came from the sticker stash. When a reasonably well-off parent of three playing brothers offered to buy them shoes for the Mayor’s trophy, they changed their name to Amériquinha. The nickname-that-shall-not-be-uttered resounded through the stadium as Pelé won the tournament as the top scorer. A star was born. Pelé didn’t sound all that awful after all.
The other teen of 1958 vintage
José Altafinini’s likeness got cast in ‘Pele: Birth of a legend’, as the antagonist of Italian descent — the brash bully who tormented Pele. In fact, both came from humble backgrounds and the rivalry was garden-variety inter-club friction. But Altafini ‘Mazolla’ offered a counterpoint, an alter ego, a spark for Pele to shine bright, with both becoming Brazil’s youngest debutants at the 1958 World Cup. Two years older to Pele, young Altafini, grew up in poverty, 200 km away from Bauru in Piricica, the son of a worker and a maid.
Vanguard
metro
How Gunmen Storm Akure Clinic, Abduct Three Health Workers
How Gunmen Storm Akure Clinic, Abduct Three Health Workers
Akure, Ondo State – In a brazen late-night raid, armed men abducted three health workers from a Primary Health Clinic in Ijebu, a suburb of Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The security guard on duty, Olawale Yaya, told TVC News that the attackers executed the operation with alarming precision. According to him, the assailants arrived in a high-end SUV, which he identified as either a Toyota Venza or a Lexus. The vehicle was parked outside the clinic before the abduction.
“They took three staff members. The gunmen parked on the road. They came with an expensive jeep. It looks like a Toyota Venza or Lexus SUV. It’s not a small sedan car. It’s an SUV. It’s not a bus. It’s a high-end SUV. The gunmen even pressed a button to open the boot. After opening it, they forced the three people inside and drove off,” Yaya recounted.
The attackers specifically targeted staff members who were on duty, assaulting them before forcing them into the boot of their vehicle. The guard described the assailants’ familiarity with the vehicle as “disturbing,” noting how they effortlessly operated the automatic boot before making their escape.
Security agencies in the state have been alerted, and investigations are ongoing to locate the kidnapped health workers and apprehend the perpetrators.
How Gunmen Storm Akure Clinic, Abduct Three Health Workers
metro
How Hijab-Wearing Woman Allegedly Abducts Suya Seller’s Daughter in Delta
How Hijab-Wearing Woman Allegedly Abducts Suya Seller’s Daughter in Delta
A 33-year-old suya seller, Abubakar Isiaka, has made a passionate appeal to security agencies and members of the public to assist in locating his three-year-old daughter, who was abducted in Delta State.
The child, identified as Sheripha, aged three years and eight months, was reportedly taken on March 7, 2026, during a burial ceremony in Ogwashi-Uku.
According to the distraught father, the incident occurred amidst the gathering when an unidentified woman wearing a hijab allegedly lured the child away. The suspect reportedly took advantage of the busy environment to carry out the act without raising immediate suspicion.
Isiaka explained that all efforts to locate his daughter since the incident have been unsuccessful, leaving the family in deep distress. He noted that the sudden disappearance of the child has thrown the entire household into emotional turmoil.
“We have searched everywhere and asked around, but there has been no trace of her,” he said, pleading for urgent intervention from security operatives.
The case has reportedly been brought to the attention of relevant authorities, while local residents have also been urged to remain vigilant and report any useful information that could lead to the rescue of the child.
Members of the public with credible information have been encouraged to assist law enforcement agencies in ensuring the safe return of the young girl.
How Hijab-Wearing Woman Allegedly Abducts Suya Seller’s Daughter in Delta
metro
Nigerian Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Michael Oli, Dies Suddenly in US
Nigerian Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Michael Oli, Dies Suddenly in US
A Nigerian Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Michael Oli, has died suddenly in the United States, sparking grief among the Catholic faithful in both Nigeria and abroad.
Fr. Oli reportedly slumped and passed away while taking a walk on Thursday, March 26, 2026. His death was confirmed in an official statement released on Friday, March 27, by the Catholic Diocese of Awka.
The statement, signed by the diocesan Chancellor, Rev. Fr. Charles Ndubisi, disclosed that the late cleric was serving as the Administrator of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Faith, South Dakota, at the time of his passing.
“He was ordained on August 23, 2008. Funeral arrangements will be announced soon. May the soul of Rev. Fr. Michael Oli rest in peace, Amen,” the statement read.
Further confirmation came from Scott Bullock, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rapid City, who described the priest’s death as sudden and deeply saddening.
In a message to clergy and faithful, Bishop Bullock stated that Fr. Oli died on the morning of March 26 and was serving as pastor of St. Joseph in Faith, St. Joseph in Mud Butte, and St. Anthony in Red Owl, all in western South Dakota.
The bishop revealed that local authorities have commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the priest’s death. According to him, the Deputy Sheriff of Meade County has ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause.
“At this point, we do not know the cause of death, only that he had not been feeling well,” Bishop Bullock said.
He urged priests within the diocese to offer three Masses for the repose of Fr. Oli’s soul, in line with Catholic tradition.
The late priest’s sudden death has drawn condolences from parishioners, clergy, and members of the Catholic community, who have described him as a dedicated servant of God committed to pastoral service both in Nigeria and the United States.
Funeral arrangements are expected to be announced by the church authorities in due course.
Nigerian Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Michael Oli, Dies Suddenly in US
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