“There’s a level of self-worth now that comes with all the stuff that I’ve done in growing—feeling like my life matters. I think before I never felt that way.”
Before the NFL, Efe Obada felt as if his life—his existence—never truly mattered. Born in Nigeria, he moved overseas as a kid with his sister to live with their mother in Holland. But in the Netherlands, his sister, who has a learning disability, struggled to integrate into society, and his mother battled to find her footing and provide for her family as a single parent dealing with a language barrier.
At the age of 10, Efe’s mom paid a woman—a complete stranger to him and his sister—to take the siblings to the UK where they would start a new life—a better life. His mom would join them in the coming days and they would reunite and begin their happily-ever-after.
Except that didn’t happen.
The woman who was supposed to take care of the Obadas abandoned them on the streets of East London upon arrival, leaving 10-year-old Efe and his sister homeless and afraid. Obada would later learn that he was undocumented.
His mom? She never made it. Her visa situation fell through and Efe and his sister were placed in the foster care system. They spent their childhood, living in over 10 different homes.
When he was old enough to try and fend for himself, Efe’s immigration status led to constant roadblocks. At one point, he had to make difficult choices in order to survive in South London’s toughest areas, doing whatever it took to support himself and his sister.
Life took an upward turn for Efe after discovering football at 22. He had the passion, a 6'6'” frame, and the natural ability, but after struggling to make the final roster cut with three different NFL teams, he realized he needed a chance to develop a better understanding of the game.
That’s just what the NFL International Player Pathway program helped to provide. Obada, a defensive end on the Washington Commanders practice squad, is in his seventh consecutive NFL season, a journey marked by immense obstacles he’s fought to overcome. He gets vulnerable about everything—his struggles, his upbringing, why he’s so proud to be Nigerian and so much more in the conversation below.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The conversation took place in April 2024.
Where in Nigeria were you born?
Efe Obada: I was born in Warri, Delta State. I have very limited knowledge because I left but it’s still home for me.
You spent the early years of life living in Nigeria with your Dad. What do you remember from your time there and what was he like?
Obada: Honestly, I’ve only got a few memories of him. He seemed like a real chill, laidback guy. I remember a lot of power outages. That’s all I remember but there was lots of business being run, lots of people selling things in the street. I remember the suya and how it was just being made fresh outside our compound.
You kind of just touched on it a little but for me, when I think of Nigeria the first thing that comes to mind is the red dirt. I remember spending time at my Oja’s (my grandma’s) house and seeing my family there, the scorching hot temperatures. Do you have any more detailed early memories like that? Maybe about where you lived or the family that was around?
Obada: I can’t remember where we lived but I remember going to school. I remember there was sand everywhere. I remember that the teachers were allowed to [spank] you and I was a naughty kid so I definitely got it a lot. I remember sweet water and just everything being so big.
Was there anything in particular that stood out to you about your culture at that time?
Obada: Everything was celebrated. Birthdays, Christmases—everything was a celebration. You kill the chickens and the goats, and get the big pots out, and you play the music and you celebrate.
I know your Mom lived in Holland. It’s not uncommon with immigrant families, for one parent to live in a different country. Can you take me back to that day, at the airport? You’re leaving Nigeria to go meet your mom for the first time. What do you remember feeling? Who went with you? What did your family tell you about why you were moving? Who said goodbye to you and your sister at the airport?
Obada: Honestly, I can’t remember. I just did what the adults said. Until I got to Holland, I really didn’t even know that I was going to see my mom. I think we went from Nigeria to Ghana first, and then from Ghana, we made that trip overseas. But honestly, I was too young to even realize what was going on. I just had to be on my best behavior.
You lived in Holland with your mom and sister until you were 10 and you’ve said in the past it was like “the world was against her.” What was life like in Holland for your family?
Obada: It was tough. [She was] a single mom. My sister suffers from a learning disability. I think that in a country that didn’t speak English, it was very hard for her to navigate that. Then there were just not enough resources for her to be able to assimilate into our society. I remember I was able to go school but she had to stay at home because there just weren’t any services that offered her [help].
My mom had to provide for all of us and I know that was hard for her. As I get older, I understand what it’s like being an adult so I respect that. We had some good days, we had some bad days but for the most part I was just happy to be with my mom and to have some semblance of normality in family.
You’ve talked a lot about moving to London to change your living situation and better your life but what were the specifics of that initial plan? What was supposed to happen?
Obada: I don’t think I was even involved in the initial plan. I was very young, age 10. You just do what the adults say. Looking back on it now, obviously, it was for a better life and that’s all I was told. I wasn’t involved in any of the decision-making and the how, what, or whys. [I was just told] “This is what you say when you get asked this question, this is what you do, make sure you behave,” and then that’s it. It was very much an African household with respect and all that stuff.
What did the hours before you and your sister actually set foot in London look like? Walk me through that time period from the moment you said goodbye to your mom to your arrival. How did you guys get there?
Obada: I think we took a plane. I remember that day, I remember crying I was like “I don’t want to go, I don’t want to leave,” because we weren’t all going together. It was just me and my sister. My mom was trying to reassure us saying “You guys will be there for a week and then I’ll be there soon.” I remember being in tears. I just didn’t want to go with this random person. I didn’t know who she was.
When we got to the UK, I just remember being cold. It was nighttime. It looked very similar to Holland with the buildings and brick structures but it was just dark and cold.
You’ve been pretty open about what happened once you got to London. You and your sister lived with a woman who had 5 other kids and you said you were treated like “domestic slaves” during that time. Then, after that, you guys were placed in over 10 different homes in the foster care system where you said “it seemed like they cared more about the financial benefits of being a foster parent rather than showing you and your sister an ounce of love and care”.
As soon as you guys turned 18, you had the opportunity to leave but where did you go? Did you guys get your own apartment? What was your living situation like?
Obada: Because my situation from Holland to the UK...my whole early years from primary school, secondary school, all the way up to 18, obviously making that transition into college and then university, I was an illegal immigrant.
The duty of care while I was a minor was on social services to try and help or facilitate some form of legal documentation while it was easier, and they never did that. I think they failed me and my sister in that regard.
So when we turned 18, literally a week later, we had all of our clothes in a black bag and then we got put into a shared accommodation. So I was in a shared accommodation with people similar to myself, in probably similar situations. It was all boys. It was a three-bedroom apartment and everyone would have to share the amenities. My sister was down the road in a women’s shared accommodation.
You touched on your immigration status but I know in the past you’ve said having that status “clips your wings”. Can you share more about that and how it impedes you?
Obada: It’s so many ways, honestly. It was okay until I was trying to apply for jobs and also go to college and university. You have friends that leave the country, go on holidays with their families and things like that. I just didn’t have the ability to do that. I couldn’t go to university because I wasn’t legal. I would have to pay international fees and that’s ridiculous. I remember, I tried. I’d do cash-on-hand jobs and then I’d go and pay, but I just couldn’t sustain it because it was ridiculous.
I couldn’t even get a job at McDonald’s. I applied and got to the final stage, and they said, “We like you; we just need your documents.” I’m like, “Well, I don’t have any. I can get a letter from social services explaining the situation,” but they said that’s not enough...
I couldn’t leave the country, couldn’t get an education, I wasn’t entitled to any legal funds, I couldn’t get a council house. You just feel like you’re not a part of life. I felt like everyone that I was growing up with is progressing and I’m stuck.
I had to settle for things like cash-in-hand jobs or jobs that don’t really have or require [documentation]. I thought about working in security, so I did that through the SIA [Security Industry Authority] which is the [certificate] that you need to get. You fund it yourself but once you’re [certified] you can get certain cash-in-hand jobs for free. So that’s how I did that.
Obviously, my sister couldn’t work so I would have to make sure that I was doing all that and then also funding her life and mine as well. You don’t feel like a part of society. You can’t progress.
I read that at one point you were receiving a weekly stipend of around $44 from social services and you would give that to your sister.
Obada: Yeah, every week, I would have to walk from my shared accommodation to the social services way outside where we would each get 44.50. This money was for travel, food, clothes, everything. [That amount] just doesn’t stretch, it doesn’t go anywhere. So I would get my 44.50 and make sure that my sister was okay. I would buy her clothes on top of all the other things I was trying to do. I was just trying to hustle and make sure that we were okay. Aside from that 44.50, everything else had to come from me.
You’ve said that your environment has the ability to turn you into someone else just for the purpose of surviving. Can you talk about some of the things you had to do in order to survive and put money on the table in South London?
Obada: I think you can imagine and fill in the gaps. Having no options and limited resources to better myself and better my life, to better my family and surroundings. You are exposed and you do have access to certain things that generate income. It was done from necessity and survival as opposed to glorifying what that environment and lifestyle come with.
What is your current status in pursuit of UK citizenship at the moment?
Obada: Even now as an ambassador for NFL UK, one of the first and the longest NFL players [from the program], I’m still struggling with it. I’m still not a [UK citizen]. I have the means to leave the country because I have a Nigerian passport now. I just get visas and things like that but I’m still not recognized as a British citizen. I’m still trying...it’s been from age 10 to 32. It’s been a while and I’m still not recognized. I have letters and emails of when the government has been trying to kick me out constantly.
I would seek asylum, [mention] my family life, you name it, I’ve done it. I’ve been scammed by lawyers and solicitors. It’s been a battle but I’m hoping that in the near future, all that stuff will get resolved and I can live a normal life where I don’t have to constantly worry about leaving the UK and only having residency in Nigeria.
I’m sorry that you’ve had to go through that. Where do you think you would be today without the International Player Pathway Program and what does the program mean to you?
Obada: Honestly, I think I’ll be worse off. Best case scenario, I’d probably be living a very mediocre lifestyle, going from paycheck to paycheck, just surviving. Worst case scenario, I’d probably be dead.
But the program means a lot to me. It was that golden egg for me and that golden ticket. It gave me the opportunity that I desperately needed and I gave it everything that I had. I poured everything into it. I didn’t want to go back to a life of nothing really. It paid out and now I have the ability to influence my community and provide for my family—to represent my culture. My name and surname are associated with good and positivity. It means the world to me.
How many times were you cut before the IPP? Around 5?
Obada: I think probably like 6 or 7 times in just one year. Then the next year I tried to make it, I tried out for Atlanta and wasn’t good enough. I tried out for Kansas City and wasn’t good enough. I was still just trying to learn so I took a whole year out. I was trying to go to Canada so I could learn the game because one of my favorite D-lineman, Cameron Wake, did that. He went to Canada, developed, came back, and had a really great career. I just felt like I could do it but I just needed time to develop and understand this game. But then the IPP program came after that year off. It gave me a platform and opportunity to be on a team for a year and develop which is what I really needed. The following year I made a 53-man active roster and haven’t looked back ever since.
You were the first player from the program to make a 53-man roster after playing the sport for just 4 years and I think that’s so incredible but I think your mental and emotional transformation is just as important and something that is maybe not as obvious. How have you grown emotionally and how much has the IPP and finding American football influenced that?
Obada: There’s a level of self-worth now that comes with all the stuff that I’ve done in growing—feeling like my life matters. I think before I never felt that way. That’s really how my mentality has changed.
I think I had a lot of anxiety, a lot of self-doubt, just negative thoughts. I lived a very sheltered life and I think through football, through traveling, through exposure and communication with different people, and understanding the different journeys, I’ve been able to just grow and just expand my view of the world. Now I have a platform that I get to share that and also impact people that are in a similar situation.
I’ve heard you say that you still live your life as if you’re still working as that security guard that you were back in the day. You’ve only been on one holiday since being in the league. How challenging has it been for you to shift from that survival mindset?
Obada: I don’t think I have yet. I really don’t. Because one, success didn’t come immediately. I had so many no’s. Then, through my observation and understanding of what this is—it’s a business and how fragile it is—one day you can be at the top of the world, and then one injury later you’re out of a job and you’re forgotten. It could just get taken away from you at any moment. I think the combination of those two things, lets me know that you just have to stay in it and grind.
Even if it’s [for] a short amount of time of your life, you have to give it everything you can. Then once it’s said and done, you can cut your cloth [based on] how much money you’ve saved, that way there’s some longevity afterward.
A lot of us go broke within like five years. A lot of people lose their families, get divorced, all of these other things that you have to be aware of. So I just think [you have to] give it everything for now. I’ve always told my wife that NFL stands for “not for long”, but I’ve been in it for 9 years now. I’m just grateful that I’m still in it. I’ll keep putting my nest egg away for a rainy day and then once I’m done I can decide the lifestyle that I can afford. I think [that mindset] is part of the reason why I’ve been able to have that longevity.
One of the things I was really impressed by about you is how sentimental you are. You’ve talked about team dinners and always making sure to get the signatures from your teammates on a bottle of wine from dinner. When you talked about your favorite memory from making your NFL debut back in 2018, you could have easily said making that first sack or proving everyone wrong, but you said it was the way the team embraced you afterward and getting that game ball.
What does the brotherhood of the NFL & IPP mean to you—especially since you grew up only being able to rely on yourself and your sister?
Obada: Growing up in foster care, family isn’t the one that you’re born into but I’ve realized it’s the one that you choose. That’s kind of how I live my life. I get the opportunity to just choose the people that I deem to be family and cherish.
With the IPP family, I always feel like it’s us trying to infiltrate this environment that wasn’t meant for us. I know all the IPP guys, I can say all of their names, and I root for them because I’ve gone through that same journey. Then within the NFL, it’s such a short life, one year you can be playing with someone, and the next year or even week, they’re gone. But once you go through that with someone—once you go through training camp and a season, or winning a championship—it’s like a bond because you’re around them so often.
Once this thing kicks off, I’m around them a lot. That bond is honestly forever. I’ve got guys that I still talk to from my first year in Dallas. You can just tap in and it’s always love, there’s always that connection. There’s nothing like it. That’s what’s made me sentimental. This journey is not for long and once it’s done, all that I’m going to be left with are memories so I thought why not collect some stuff, that way when I look back on it I can see it and be proud.
The NFL has so many great initiatives for global football development that are life-changing for so many people. Tell me about your involvement with NFL Africa, the Academy, NFL UK, and the IPP. How has your journey influenced you to give back?
Obada: There are so many smart people creating beautiful initiatives that are affecting communities, bridging the gap between Africa and the UK, and trying to create opportunities for those who love the game or have the ability to play and participate. I’m just privileged and honored to be in a position where I can be a part of all of that.
With NFL Africa, the NFL Academy, the IPP program, and other [initiatives], I see firsthand how they’re changing people’s lives and changing the narrative around cultures, scouts, and colleges—how they scout and [identify] talent. I see how it’s impacting communities with camps that we’re doing and how it’s changing young kids’ lives and the culture of the game in the UK.
I’m just privileged that I’m positioned in a way where I can reach out and share my story, or I can reach out and create things and be a part of camps and these moments like tryouts and mentoring kids. Honestly, it’s a blessing for me. I grew up without role models and to be able to be in a position where I can be that for someone means the world. Honestly, it’s more fulfilling than football.
“I’m proud of you”. Those four words are so empowering and you’ve given life to so many athletes with that statement. Who are some people that have encouraged you on your journey?
Obada: My wife. I honestly think that she’s the secret sauce to my success. Through all my dark days, through my self-doubt, all of my “no’s”, she’s been someone who’s always been supportive, someone who’s always believed in me, and who has always seen my potential. She is someone who’s always held me to a high standard and a high regard. She’s definitely someone that says that to me and it means the world to me. As I go through my career there are some coaches and players, but throughout my whole career and my whole life—in everything that I do—I just want to make [my wife] proud.
Switching gears, I want to talk about your Nigerian roots. You’ve said that staying connected to your culture is your anchor. How have you stayed connected and do you keep in touch with any family in Nigeria?
Obada: Unfortunately, I’m not in a situation where I get to go back. I haven’t been back since I left due to immigration issues. Since I’ve had the ability to leave the UK, I’ve just gone straight to the NFL just going between off-season and in-season, racing in this American dream. But one day I do plan on going back once I’m out of this grind phase, to really learn and understand where I come from. But in the interim, I just stay connected through food. I love my food. I’ve gone through the Netherlands, the UK, and America, and no offense to anybody else’s food but nothing hits the same.
If I’m at an away game and I’ve had a bad game, I just text my wife “Babe can you please just make me some Jollof [rice] or pounded yam and egusi?” It just centers me, it makes me feel safe. It’s in my DNA because that’s really what I was eating when I was younger and I feel like it’s a part of me.
[Another example] is music of course. I remember years ago I used to play Afrobeats in the locker room and people were like “Turn that off I want to listen to American rap,” but now when I play it, it’s the trend.
I think growing up, being African wasn’t cool. Now it’s more accepted and there’s more of a platform for people to express themselves—to feel connected. It’s more acceptable to be able to express your differences as opposed to trying to blend into Western society in all these different things and I just love it. Especially in the way I dress as well. I’ve got so much African attire, just chilling. I get to express that and stay connected in that regard as well.
What are you most proud of about your Nigerian heritage? What are some values from your culture that have made you successful?
Obada: I’m so proud of how hardworking we are. Put us anywhere in the diaspora, we excel in all fields. That’s what I’m proud of—our hustler mentality. That’s just in me. You put me anywhere, in Amsterdam or London, I’m going to thrive. I’m going to find a way. Naija no dey carry last! That’s how I feel. That’s what I’m most proud of and I see it in the guys that get picked up in the IPP program. It’s crazy. We’re just built different!
I recently watched the Giannis Antetokounmpo documentary, “Ugo”, and there was a quote in it that said, “We don’t know who we are until we know where we’re from”.
When it comes to leaving your mark on this world, how important is it for you to not only learn more about your culture but to share that with the world?
Obada: I think it’s important. Because of how I’ve grown up I definitely have adopted a lot of different cultures and traditions, and that’s obviously part of my personal makeup. At my core I’m Nigerian, I’m African, but there’s also other things that have made me. Representation matters.
We’ve had the opportunity for a couple of years now to have our flags on the back of our helmets. Initially, I had the English flag but then after a while, I was like I’m going to start wearing my Nigerian flag on there as well. It’s just showcasing and understanding that representation because I’m able to use my experiences from different cultures to connect with different people in different ways.
What is your full Nigerian name and what does it mean?
Obada: I’m going to keep that one in-house but I was told it means “more than wealth”.
What tribe is your family from?
Obada: Urhobo.
Alright, I’ve got a “This or That’ game but the theme is for the culture. First question... Jollof rice or pounded yam with egusi?
Obada: Pounded yam with egusi.
Plantains or Fried Yam?
Obada: Wow... why is that so hard for me? I’m going to go with plantain because I eat it more.
Puff puff or Akara?
Obada: Puff Puff.
Afrobeats or Amapiano?
Obada: Afrobeats.
Favorite Afrobeats artist?
Obada: (Long pause) That’s not fair... you can’t have a favorite.
Fine, who is your go-to Afrobeats artist?
Obada: Recently it’s been Tems. “Me and U” is the song that’s been on replay right now. But I go through different phases, some days it’s Burna Boy, some days it’s WizKid. I even go old school with P-Square and Fela. It’s a range.
Wow, I know the Washington Commanders’ locker room has got some good music playing!
Obada: They’re very lucky to have me.
Editor’s Note: By Way of Africa is a series committed to highlighting the talent and stories from the African continent and its diaspora. African stories are worth telling, and the culture—all of the languages, tribes, and traditions—is worth celebrating. Embedded in these narratives is a profound testament to the diligence, discipline, and work ethic deeply ingrained in African heritage. Whether born on the continent or dispersed across the globe, the contributions of these stories to society resound uniquely, by way of Africa.
