Okocha and Mikel Obi, who played for Bolton Wanderers and Chelsea in the Premier League respectively, captained the Super Eagles at different times.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Former Super Eagles stars Augustine ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha and John ‘Mikel’ Obi have revealed why they opted to change their names during their playing days.
The two former Nigerian captains rationalised their decisions while speaking on the latest episode of the Obi One Podcast.
According to Okocha, he became known as Jay-Jay after being given the moniker while playing football on the streets alongside his two brothers.
He noted that those they played with gave him the nickname so they could differentiate him from his older sibling.
He added that after people struggled to pronounce his given name, ‘Augustine’, when he moved abroad to join foreign clubs, he decided to stick with the nickname.
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Asked how the name Jay-Jay stuck, Okocha said: “Well, I think it all started in the neighbourhood where we grew up. You know, all of us were footballers because we had no other toys. We were just on the street playing.
“And my two brothers played as well, so we had a few Austins. To identify which Austin was which, they started calling me Austin Jay-Jay’s brother.
“So, from there, Austin Jay-Jay stuck. When I travelled, some people were struggling to pronounce my name, ‘Augustine’. ‘Jay-Jay’ was a lot easier. So, I said I might as well adopt the name, and I put it in my passport. Yeah, it’s in my passport now. It’s officially mine.”
On his part, Mikel Obi said his name was changed from Michael to Mikel during an Under-17 tournament when official names were being printed.
He added that despite submitting ‘Michael’ as his name, Nigerian football authorities printed ‘Mikel’ on his jersey instead.
Reacting to Okocha’s comments, he said: “That’s like me as well. I changed my name. You remember the story? At the Under-17 tournament, when they went to print the names, I gave them Michael. They came back with Mikel, and Mikel sounds better than Michael.
“I had a fantastic tournament. I was like, you know what? I’m just gonna keep it. Of course, I put it in my passport as well.”
