Wilfred Ndidi’s compassion extends beyond the football field, combining his sportsmanship with support for the less privileged.
Despite being unable to help Leicester City in their 3-1 loss to Liverpool on Boxing Day, the Super Eagles midfielder celebrated the festive season with thousands of children from Ajegunle, a densely populated neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria.
From as early as 8 am, children from various communities within Ajegunle gathered at the Maracana Stadium to meet their hero, who was eager to celebrate with them. Upon Ndidi’s arrival, the children were already enjoying a sumptuous meal provided by the Nathaniel Idowu Foundation in collaboration with the Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government, chaired by Fatai Ayoola.
Adding to the event’s significance, the paramount ruler of Apapa Town, HRH Moroofdeen Oluwa, graced the occasion, and Yemi Idowu, the founder of the Nathaniel Idowu Foundation, was present to support the initiative. To show his humility, Ndidi took time to serve the kids and the dignitaries present at the occasion.
Watching the kids enjoy themselves despite the scorching sun, Ndidi expressed his joy: “It is the festive period, and these kids deserve to have something like this. It’s something for them to remember like there’s something great going on in the community. These memories stick, and that’s exactly what we are trying to do here. The happiness on the faces of the kids is something you can’t express. When you do something for the kids, the emotion is great. These memories stick with them forever, and I’m very happy and glad to be here and experience this with the kids. When we were growing up, we didn’t experience something like this. The kids are precious to us, and when they grow up, they can replicate things like this.”
Local Council boss Ayoola highlighted the uniqueness of having Ndidi celebrate with the kids: “It’s a back-to-back celebration for the youth of Ajegunle. I’m highly elated to host Ndidi and Yemi Idowu in my local government. Jonathan Akpoborie was also here as one of the Ex-Internationals. This month alone, we’ve had visits from Odion Ighalo, giving the kids befitting Christmas gifts. Today, we are celebrating with the children in grand style, providing them with food, drinks, and happiness. That is the essence of what we are doing today. I’m particularly pleased to see Ndidi’s involvement. He even served food to some of the people while they were seated and gave the kids presents for the season. Seeing him take pictures with the kids is great for them.”
HRH Oluwa, the traditional ruler of Apapa, added: “You can see the children from Apapa Kingdom and the stand for the elderly people. We are all enjoying our Boxing Day celebration courtesy of Wilfred Ndidi, Yemi Idowu, and the Chairman of Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government, the best local government in Nigeria, chaired by Fatai Ayoola. We are having fun with the children while adequately observing crowd control. We took care of the children, including those we couldn’t admit into the facilities at the Maracana Stadium.”
Ndidi, a product of Ajegunle, is giving back to his community by ensuring the kids have a great time this festive season. He appealed to other successful individuals from the community to give back as well. “You can see our beautiful stadium, one of the best in Africa, the Maracana Stadium.”
Yemi Idowu emphasized the importance of putting smiles on the kids’ faces: “This is part of what we do every year to bring the children together, celebrate with them, and give them something special, especially here in Ajegunle. I’m very grateful to have Wilfred Ndidi, the Chairman of the Local Council, and the Royal Majesty, as well as others, supporting us. We’ve shared over 2,000 packs of food items with the children. It’s not about the number but the quality of what we’ve done today. It wasn’t rowdy; it was very pleasant. The kids danced, played, ate, met their friends, and experienced the joy of Christmas. This program is Ndidi’s idea in collaboration with the Local Government and the Nathaniel Idowu Foundation. We work together as a team, balancing everything with the local council, Ndidi, and myself, with the support of the king. This teamwork has a bigger impact. We thank Ndidi for supporting and funding the program, which he has been doing for close to five years now. During the palliatives, he quietly supported various places, and people later found out it was him. We are very grateful. It’s a good example for other wealthy individuals to give back to the community.”