CELEBRITY
SPORTS JOURNALISM LEGEND, OJEAGBASE HITS MILESTONE OF 70
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
Nigeria’s sports journalism living legend, Dr. Emmanuel Sunny Ojeagbase who was formerly known as Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase is 70 years this Thursday, 31 December, the eve of the New Year.
He is founder of the longest running all-sports news publication outfit in Nigeria, the Complete Sports Communication which has rolled out more sports publications than any other organization in Nigeria.
The former soldier turned journalist, publisher and businessman as well as inspirational figure was born on 31 December 1950 in Oshogbo which is the capital of Osun State in South West Nigeria.
Being born on that day in Yoruba land and as he is very fluent in the Yoruba language even though he is ancestrally from Edo State, he could have been called Abiodun as his birth date coincided with festive period.
He became a trail blazer with his Sports Souvenir which hit the newsstands in November 1984 as Nigeria’s first all sports weekly publication that was unrelated to pools betting unlike the Sporting Record of the then Daily Times of Nigeria.
Yet, the advent of Sports Souvenir was not the beginning of Ojeagbase’s sporting journalism career. He was hitherto unheralded when he was a freelancer for Herald newspapers in Ilorin and the New Nigerian in Kaduna before doing the same for Daily Times in Lagos.
At the time, he was in the Nigerian Army which he joined in 1969, a year to the end of the Nigerian Civil War. In 1979, the soldier journalist voluntarily retired as a corporal to take a full time sports writing job under the celebrated Solomon Babatunde Oshuntolu (ESBEE) in the Daily Times.
That was the launch pad into great fame. The hitherto golden fish can find no hiding place in the waters again. In 1980, he joined the Concord Press of Nigeria and was editing the sports pages of Sunday Concord.
Here, his writings, largely in simple flowing English and in-depth analyses were delightful to read. One of such was the unearthing of the causes of frictions that existed between the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the then government-ran National Sports Commission (NSC). the Sunday Concord write-up captioned “Strange Doings at NOC” was published on August 8, 1982.
It was a hallmark of investigative journalism and in-depth reporting.
Ojeagbase traced these to 1966 in the days leading to Nigeria’s participation at the Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica when a newly appointed NSC military helmsman, Colonel Mike Okwechime broke into a meeting of the NOC under the presidency of Adetokunbo Ademola.
Another masterpiece of Ojeagbase in the Sunday Concord was his unearthing the remote and immediate causes of Nigeria’s elimination from the 1982 World Cup qualifying series.
He easily fitted in into the high-profile journalism package that The Guardian set out to achieve when the acclaimed flagship of Nigerian print journalism began in 1983.
At The Guardian, he headed a power-packed sports desk that included Michel Obi, Trigo Egbegi, Chris Okojie, Ikeddy Isiguzo, and Sam John among others. Interestingly, all later became sports editors of notable Nigerian publications.
He left The Guardian and set up Sports Souvenir in November 1984 to begin his illustrious career as a publisher and entrepreneur. A year later, he founded the Complete Football magazine as the first colour sports magazine in Nigeria.
As its title implies, it was devoted entirely to football and profited greatly from Nigeria’s exploits at the inaugural FIFA under 16 World Tournament in China. Six years later, other titles came in quick succession – the International Soccer Review, Complete Football International and Complete Football Extra which was devoted to the domestic Nigerian football.
On 18 December 1995, Ojeagbase’s Complete Communications Limited rolled out the Complete Sports newspaper which has remained not just the market leader, but the longest running daily sports newspaper in Nigeria.
Ojeagbase’s contribution to sports is not limited to establishment of publications. He has contributed also to human capital development in sports journalism.
His stable has seen the development of notable sports journalists. Standing tall among these is Dr. Mumini Alao, the organisation’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Group Managing Director.
As a thorough-bred sports journalist, he is the longest serving editorial member of the organisation which he joined in 1988, making him the Nigerian Lionel Messi of sports journalism.
His long service in just one organisation is teaching other professionals the need for perseverance, dedication and loyalty. Alao in 1996 had the honour of being the first to win both the Nigerian Media Merit Award (NMMA) and Diamond Award for Media Excellence (DAME) sport sports writing in the same year.
Ojeagbase’s stable has also produced the likes Simon Kolawole, Tunde Sulaimon, Ehi Braimah, Ejiro Omonode and Frank Ilaboya among others.
Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Inter Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour”.
He also had roles in the “Dark Knight Trilogy” and the “Harry Potter” movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama “Slow Horses”.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated with the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14
-Reuters
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One of three judges in Diego Maradona’s closely scrutinized homicide trial in Argentina resigned on Tuesday amid a scandal triggered by the alleged filming of an unauthorised documentary, bringing uncertainty to the future of legal proceedings.
The high-profile trial over the death of soccer star Maradona began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
-Reuters
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For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The League of Wealthy Sportsmen
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2025
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