Boro’s Nigerian international defender Kenneth Omeruo celebrated his country’s national day by enjoying some traditional cooking when he visited a firm of Darlington solicitors.
The World Cup star dropped into Macks’ offices in the town centre with some friends to try favourite dishes including jollof rice, fried rice, peppered beef and spicy chicken.
Family law specialist Amanda Adeola was up at 5.30am to cook enough food for all 60 employees in the firms’s three offices in Darlington, Middlesbrough and Redcar.
“I think it’s a really nice thing to do,” said 20-year-old Kenneth. “I didn’t expect anything like this to be going on and was asking the club if we even had any Nigerians here in Darlington.
“It’s really good to celebrate because it’s only once a year and it’s very important in our history. In Nigeria it’s a holiday and there are lots of parades and everyone gets to be with their family. It’s a big event.”
The Nigerian Community on Teesside group (NICOT) have organised a party on Saturday, but as Kenneth will be tied up trying to help Boro beat Fulham at the Riverside, he won’t be able to join them.
So Amanda, who is married with a three-year-old son, decided it would be nice to invite him to pop along after training at nearby Rockliffe Park, with staff at Macks all wearing Nigerian colours of green and white to add to the occasion.
“The idea of bringing the food in was to show the solidarity and diversity within Macks and everyone really entered into the spirit,” said Amanda, who moved to England at the age of 14 and has dual citizenship.
“The atmosphere in this office is like a family so even though you’re at work, you feel like you’re at home. Everyone genuinely cares about each other.
“It’s a public holiday at home when we celebrate achieving our independence from Britain in 1960. It’s the day Nigeria became its own country, so we celebrate and people have fun and dance.”
Kenneth admits he felt a little homesick earlier in the day but said the visit really helped.
“Right now I miss the food and my family,” he said. “I have a few Nigerian friends in Middlesbrough and I enjoy meeting up with them. Where I grew up is close to where Amanda comes from, but we’re not the same tribe.”
Most of Amanda’s family now lives in the UK and Ireland but she also misses Nigeria, especially the sunshine.
She added: “Happiness is very important to Nigerians. No matter how hard things are for you, even if you have no food or water and are experiencing other hardships, everyone still has a smile on their face.
“There’s also a Nigerian saying that no matter where you are or what you become in life, you must never forget home, so we have to celebrate and I am honoured that the entire firm and Kenneth have joined in the celebrations with me.
“There’s always a party going on in Nigeria and I miss that. But I have quite a lot of Nigerian friends. Many of the Nigerians here are professionals including, doctors, lawyers and architects and over time you meet many of them and form friendships.”
And although training and football comes first, Kenneth admits he also enjoys a party as much as any of his compatriots when the time is right.
“When it’s a holiday or a free day, of course you want to party,” he laughed.
Kenneth brought a huge bottle of champagne along as a gift for Amanda, who has invited Kenneth and his friends to visit her family for more Nigerian delicacies.
The centre-back, who is on loan from Chelsea, is hoping to return to action for Boro at the Riverside this weekend after being rested for the midweek draw with Blackpool.
“It was the right decision by the manager to leave me out because I think I needed to rest and also to recover fully from my injury,” he said.
“We were unlucky with the result but we have to put it behind us and try to win the next game, against Fulham. As a Chelsea player, it would be nice to beat them!”
