Like it is said, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. It is also said that nothing good comes easy and this apt in the life of Dolphins’ FC shot-stopper, Godwin Ayalogu who recalls the hardships and sufferings he went through in his life and believes he has come a long way from the misery of his secondary school days.
He has played football as a goalkeeper for Ebonyi Angels, Rangers International, Sunshine Stars and now Dolphins FC.
However, the bulky goalkeeper says he began his life in the most bizarre of ways, washing corpses in the morgue and being a prized street fighter.
“My nicknames are Paco, Desperado, The Cat and these three names basically sum up my life up till this point as a footballer,” Ayalogu said.
“Paco is about a dead person that came back to life. I was given that name when I washed bodies at the morgue because I needed money. They gave me that name because I never was scared of anything or anyone.
“I didn’t have a dime, my parents didn’t either so I used to do that job to pay my school fees and help my siblings.”
The graduate of Government Technical School said he would leave class, while in school to the morgue to wash bodies and explained how he started.
“There was a morgue close to the school and it was run by a Ghanaian. I used to sneak from school to go there. When the Ghanaian asked me what I wanted, I told him a job.
“He wanted to know if I could cut it there and I affirmed. I asked for gloves and the required chemicals and I washed four bodies on my first day at work.
“I don’t believe in fear. I had gone hunting in the forest at midnight and I never thought anyone should be afraid of anything. At that time, I was paid ten naira per body and I did that job for four years.”
Ayalogu continued that after washing bodies at the morgue, he would go to the market to push carts/ trucks for people who did heavy buying.
“I would carry yams, lettuce and stuff. During the rainy season, I used to go to the river to help pull out boats that sank in the River Niger. I had to learn how to swim for this because pulling sunk boats out of the river and mud was a lucrative trade for me.”