Former Super Eagles captains Jay Jay Okocha and John Obi Mikel have revealed the circumstances surrounding how their names were changed.
Speaking on the Obi One Podcast, both former Nigeria internationals explained the backstories behind their iconic names.
Okocha became known as ‘Jay Jay’ through a nickname originally given to his younger brother, James, who was the real Jay Jay.
Mikel explained that his name was changed from Michael to Mikel due to an administrative error during an Under-17 tournament when player names were being printed for their shirts. He submitted “Michael,” but the jersey returned printed as “Mikel”
Asked how the moniker stuck, Okocha said:
“Well, I think it started all 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. So, to identify which Austin was which, they started calling me Austin Jay Jay’s brother.
“So, from there, Austin Jay Jay stuck. So, when I travelled, some people were struggling to pronounce my name, ‘Augustine’. So, ‘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.”
Mikel shared his story also. 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.”