Alli, Onyenze flying on fate’s good wings, gunning for better future

Fate, they say, sometimes takes tortuous routes, but it inevitably leads one to his right destination when not tampered with. Oftentimes, the world is served stories of good turns for individuals, who ordinarily would have been consigned to the backwaters of the society. Simply put, not every talented prodigy gets to realise his potential if left without a helping hand from a benevolent spirit. And so, it is in the story of two young talented lads, Musa Alli and Elvis Onyenze, who recently graduated from the popular Greensprings School, Lagos.

Alli and Onyenze reside in the bustling Lagos Island, where they attended public schools and lived like every other child from a modest family. But, that was until fate intervened and offered them scholarships to study in one of Nigeria’s prime secondary schools – Greensprings School, Lagos. Of course, their story, perhaps, would have been different if not that they possessed recognisable talent that earned them a call to the annual Greensprings Kanu Football Camp.

Alli and Onyenze have played for the national U-15 team and are hopeful of great future in football and/or sound higher education.

Alli sees his sojourn in Greensprings School as the turning point in his life, saying that fate played a good hand on him. He has so much to say about his experience in the school.

“I got into Greensprings School during the second edition of the annual Greensprings Kanu Football Camp; a platform for young talents to showcase their football skills, as well as, receive professional training from experienced international coaches. This platform also provides an educational scholarship for the most promising player of the camp. I was fortunate to be awarded a scholarship to study at Greensprings School at the end of the four-day camp,” he said.

Looking back on his sojourn in the school, Alli says he is now better equipped to make the best of his talent, adding that the facilities he was exposed to in the school could turn even an average player to a super star. “There are so many interesting things that I find different in Greensprings School compared to other schools. For example, the sporting facilities, curriculum, teachers’ attention to details and professional services rendered by the support staff are second to none.

“I aspire to be the greatest Nigerian player ever and to win the Balon D’or. In addition, I will love to give back to the society, improve Nigerian sporting facilities and become a motivational speaker to the less privileged,” he enthused.

Alli reveals that his friends now see him as ‘a role model and someone that will eventually do great things’ because of his association with Greensprings School.

The last child in his family, Alli explains that the scholarship to Greensprings Schools took the burden of paying for his education off his parents, adding that it brought his family so many benefits as they would not have been able to afford such a quality school for him.

Although life was not really hard for his family before he moved to Greensprings, Alli says the school has made him a much better individual. “I used to be quite timid, but Greensprings has helped me to improve on my social skills.

“It has also helped my family in so many ways, including creating family networks, which has reflected positively on me.

“More importantly, Greensprings has helped me to advance my football skills. This has also improved my social skill greatly. As a result, I am more confident. I firmly believe that a successful sport man must be strong physically, mentally and socially.”

Onyenze (now 16), who got a scholarship to the school as reward for being named one of the best two players in the 2013 Greensprings Kanu Football Camp, “it is quite interesting to be part of one of the best schools in Africa.”

Onyenze admits that before joining “Greensprings, I wasn’t the type that could stand in front of 100 people and talk, but today I can talk in front of 10 million people without making a mistake.

“Talk about the quality education I got, the morals, our super teachers that are always there to help when you need it, talk about sports, Greensprings have really helped me to get better in football, with our quality coaches.”

Onyenze describes his experience in the school as the turning point in his life, adding, “Greensprings provided a platform that is equivalent to international standards for me.

“There were numerous memorable moments, but being the first African school to win the annual Keele Cup; the blessed day I received my educational scholarship to study at Greensprings; lifting the GTBank Masters Cup and the day I gave a speech in front of the whole school are moments I cannot forget easily. I had countless memorable moments at Greensprings.”

Just as Alli said, Onyenze admits that the scholarship made life easy for his parents as they didn’t have to worry about paying his school fees, adding that his friends now see him as being ahead of them because of the quality education he got at the school.

And like every other talented youngster, Onyenze dreams of becoming the first Nigerian to win the world’s best player award. He also wants to play for some of the best teams in the world. “I want to play for Manchester United Football Club, which is my dream club… I want to make people who didn’t believe in me to be proud of me and I also want to be successful in life.”