Behind Bright Osayi-Samuel’s decision to represent the Super Eagles is years of deliberate cultural grounding by his father, Nelson Osayi, who made it his mission to ensure his son never lost sight of where the family came from, Footynaija.com reports.
Osayi-Samuel, 28, is now a first-choice right-back for Nigeria and currently plays for Birmingham City in the English Championship.
He was born in Europe to Nigerian parents and grew up in England, which made him eligible for the Three Lions. But that path was never seriously considered in the Osayi household.
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When Osayi-Samuel received his first national team call-up ahead of a friendly against Portugal in November 2022, he did not even hold a Nigerian passport.
The NFF moved quickly, dispatching embassy officials to Istanbul, where he was playing for Fenerbahçe, to process and deliver the document in time for him to travel to camp.
‘Nigeria is not Europe’
In an interview conducted in 2023 but released this week via Elegebte TV Sports, Nelson Osayi gave an account of how he shaped his son’s identity from the earliest age.
“I am a Nigerian. He was born here in Europe. I have told him everything about my country right from when he was even a year old. I knew they would call him up to the national team,” he said.
The father also recalled how football federation officials came to the family to assess Bright’s commitment before the call-up was formalised, and what he told his son about what choosing Nigeria would actually mean.
“I have been telling him Nigeria is not Europe, where you dress up and go out at midnight and come back around 6,” he said.
“I have been telling him, and even his sisters know a lot about Nigerians.”
His words echo what Bright himself has said about choosing Nigeria over England, crediting his parents’ insistence on cultural immersion, including Nigerian weddings, food and values, as the foundation of a decision that felt natural rather than forced.
Osayi-Samuel has since earned 32 caps for the Super Eagles and was a key figure during Nigeria’s run to third place at AFCON 2025 in Morocco, starting six of the team’s seven matches.
This gave me a whole new perspective. Thanks for opening my eyes.