Najeeb Yakubu, once a promising defender for Ghana’s Under-17 team, has opened up about his decision to switch nationalities and play for Niger instead of Ghana. His story shows how mistreatment and lack of support can affect a young player’s career choices.
During his time with Ghana’s youth teams, Yakubu faced several challenges that made him feel unwanted. While with the Under-20 team, he and other former Under-17 players were forced to train separately from the main squad. This unusual treatment left them feeling isolated from their teammates.
One particularly difficult experience came when Yakubu was called back to join the team from Ukraine. After arriving early in the morning and playing in a match against Hearts of Oak, he was surprisingly dismissed from the team on the same day. This wasn’t an isolated incident – similar situations kept happening to him.
Another troubling event occurred during his time with the Under-23 team. When the team was preparing for friendly games in Japan, Yakubu’s passport mysteriously disappeared from the group’s documents at the embassy. He later had to go through complicated procedures just to get his passport back.
These experiences led Yakubu to consider other options. Niger, his ancestral country, had been showing interest in him since 2015. After feeling repeatedly overlooked and unappreciated in Ghana’s setup, he decided to accept Niger’s offer. He made his debut for Niger in 2022 and even played against Ghana in a recent African Cup of Nations qualifier, where Niger won 2-1.
Yakubu’s story highlights how poor treatment of young talents can lead them to make difficult decisions about their international careers. As he puts it simply, “I didn’t feel loved, so I had to go where I felt loved.”
