The footballer shared another epistle on his
Facebook page this morning detailing
how his elder brother Kola (pictured with
him above) messed up the opportunity
of becoming a recognized footballer in
Germany and how he tried to help him
become something in life to no avail. He
also wrote that his family members have
started writing letters to his football club
and radio stations. Read what he wrote
below...
If I decide to bring out the Part 3
today, it is because my brother
@Kola Adebayor and my other
siblings have decided to talk
about our family issues on social
medias, through letters to my
club, radios…I could write an
autobiography and sell it but I
decided to share with you here.
25 years ago, my big older
brother Kola went to Germany and
he became the hope of our
family. We all thought he could
change the way we were living.
Years after he left Togo, we still
had no electricity and no phones.
If he wanted to talk to us, he
would call the Atlantic Hotel that
was very close to our house. We
would then run to the hotel
reception and talk to him.
When I got the opportunity to go play
football in France for the first time, we
needed money to for the flight tickets
and other expenses. My brother was
nowhere to be found. Only God knows
what he was doing in Germany.
When I arrived in France, I did all the
paperwork with my team and they
allowed me to stay in the academy. A
few months later, my brother wanted to
come visit me. I was running out of
money and I was living at the academy.
Therefore, I had to borrow money so I
could pay for his hotel. At that time, my
teammate Sega N'diaye from Cameroon
was kind enough to lend me some
money. I also had to borrow some more
money because I had to give my brother
some money for his trip back to
Germany. Keep in mind he is my older
brother.
A couple years later, things started to
get better. Thank God, I signed a
contract with Metz. Since then, my
brother would contact me whenever it
was time to pay his bills. Sometimes, he
would say his son is sick… I had to get
used to all this.
Again, I was lucky enough to get an offer
from Monaco and I signed for the
football club. One day, Kola and the late
Peter Adebayor came to visit me in
Monaco. My two brothers did not let me
know they were coming. Someone said
"blood is thicker than water" so I took
them in. They arrived early in the
morning and I was on my way to
training. When I came back home, we
had a discussion and they wanted to
start a car business. Obviously, it
involves a lot of money. I told them that
I could help them out as soon as I get
paid next.
At that time, Thierry Mangwa was
staying in my apartment because he was
struggling with some personal issues
and needed a place to stay. One day, I
came back from training and he was
crying. He never told me why. My
brothers could also not explain. Another
day, one of my friends Padjoe came to
visit me and as he was leaving the
house, I believe I offered him about
€500. My brother Kola noticed that and
was very upset. He was trying to
understand why I gave my friend some
money right away but not him. My
reason was very simple; the money he
(Kola) needed was a huge amount of
money that I did not carry in my house.
We went on and had an argument about
it.
Another day, after training…I was very
tired and decided to go take a nap. I
woke up and a knife was held to my
throat. As I opened my eyes, both of my
brothers were there. They were shouting
and they claimed that I was wasting
their time. Peter was going mad and
Kola was supporting. I asked them: "Is
this the only way to solve this issue? I
yes, then kill me and take the money".
It's only at that moment that he put the
knife down. After all this, I found a way
out of my own apartment and I called
my parents. My mom suggested that I
call the police. That was the only way
for me to get back into my house
safely… I had training the next day, by
the way. So I did what my mom said.
Police came and they settled down.
Again, "blood is thicker than water", so I
let it go. A few days after, Peter went to
visit one of Kola's friends in Paris. That
means I was left in the house with Kola;
for my own safety, I found a way to get
him the money as soon as I could. Only
God knows how much I gave him that
day.
A few months after all this, I went back
to Togo and I was surprised when my
mom started to ask me why I called the
police on my brothers, she continued
and said I am the bad person in the
family. That is another story I will leave
for later…
Every time I went back home, everyone
kept asking me why my brother never
visited after all these years. Immediately,
I organized a flight for him and he came
back to visit the family, at my own
expenses.
On April 22nd 2005, we received some
bad news. I received a call and they
announced that my father passed away.
I was devastated. I called my big brother
and told him that we all have to be
there. Again I made sure there was a
flight ticket ready for him. We all went
back home and I took care of everything.
A long time before my dad died, he was
in the hospital one day and he asked me
to make sure his funeral is not a
moment of sadness. He wanted us to
celebrate his life. I leave it to God to
decide if the funeral I organized for my
dad was what he wanted. The man who
calls himself the "big man" in the family
did not contribute to anything. But he
still has the boldness to say I do not
take care of this family.
In 2006, I had another big opportunity to
go play for Arsenal. Since then, my
brother has started to come up with
series of false accusations against me.
On July 22nd, 2013 sad news hit us in
the family. My brother Peter Adebayor
passed away. His death was sad and I
was affected by it. One thing I find
difficult to swallow today is that Kola
was accusing me of Peter's death. He is
saying that the shop I opened for Peter
was not good enough. He kept texting
saying that my career would be
destroyed. I did everything for Peter
when he was alive, I brought him to
Metz, and Monaco with me. What can
Kola say that he has done for Peter?
Nothing. The man did not even show up
at the funeral even after all the money I
sent for the trip back home.
He is saying that I also made my mom
suffer, but he forgot that when he was in
Germany, at some point I was the one
always by my mom's side. As soon as I
started to make a living with football, I
did everything you could imagine for our
mom. That is normal. But my brother is
never satisfied. He said I bought a shitty
car for my mom.
Why can't he buy a better one? All I
want from him is to take his
responsibilities. Since I am not doing it
right, he should show the example as a
big brother. He has been in Germany for
more than 20 years, but he never
brought our mother there to visit. Even
to go back home for a visit is another
struggle. All he keeps saying is that my
father said I should build a house for
each one of them. I don't think my
father said that. Does that even make
sense for him or anyone? As a big
brother, he is supposed to be doing all
that I am doing for the family. He
should stop hiding and take his
responsibilities. When he came to
Europe, he was young enough to become
a football player too. Anyways, some
people are drivers here but they are able
to take care of their families. They even
bring their parents and other family
members. Why has he not done anything
like that but he keeps talking? As a
matter fact, he should at least bring
Rotimi, Bidemi or his own son Aziz here
before talking about "taking care of the
family". Actions are louder than
speeches.
A lot of people are saying that I never
went to school, but they forget that it is
because we could not afford it. I never
blamed my parents for that. But thank
God, today I am able to speak more than
3 languages and I can send my daughter
to school. I am proud of that. People
can accuse me for not going to school,
but in the end it is all about who you
become and what you teach yourself. It
is also about what life teaches you and
what you learn from it.
Many times I wanted to give up. Ask my
sister Iyabo Adebayor how many times I
have called and was ready to commit
suicide? I kept these stories for years…
But If I die, no one would know my story,
no one would learn from it… Some
people say I should keep these stories
private, but someone has to sacrifice
himself; someone has to talk about it. I
know people would relate to my story
and others would learn from it. For every
one who knows me, I'd do anything for
my country and my people.
Final message from the younger brother
to the older brother: Quit Smoking and
Quit Drinking. That was my story.
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