How Bolarinwa ‘Iambolar’ Olajide paid tribute to Mikel Obi after retirement

Former Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel, announced his retirement from football less than three weeks ago.  The former Chelsea midfielder had played the game professionally for close to 20 years, beginning with Lyn in 2004.

According to associates close to him, Mikel was one of the shyest players to wear the national team colours. He was an extremely private footballer who stayed away from the media and kept his life private.

One could count on the fingers journalists who had the opportunity to conduct an interview with the 35-year-old outside the national team camp. It would be few, if at all there was.

But Bolarinwa Olajide, who is fondly referred to as Iambolar, was one of the few known popular sports journalists who sat with Mikel within the four walls of a chilled studio to talk with the UEFA Champions League winner.

Iambolar is well respected within the sport journalism circle in Nigeria. The young broadcast journalist has transversed the face of the earth covering various sporting event.

After the former -Eagles skipper hung his boots from professional football, Olajide posted on Instagram  a video of his interview with him on 99.3 Nigeria Info, Lagos, and he used the opportunity to tell him how much hurt he felt when the ex-footballer and his Blues teammates back in 2007, defeated his club, Manchester United, in the final of the FA Cup.

“Good to have you join. And It is good to see you, most times, we see you on television. Chelsea legend of course, a Champions League winner, and I haven’t forgiven you for what you did to Manchester United in 2007. But we’ll talk about it some other day. That goal by (Didier) Drogba was like a bullet to my heart, but I was still happy a Nigerian won the FA Cup that year,” Iambolar said on the show.

Mikel was not the only prominent football figure interviewed by Olajide. He has had audiences with the likes of Carles Puyol, Hernan Crespo, Rio Ferdinand and AS Roma manager, Jose Mourinho, on the job.

Bolarinwa Olajide is a master of the microphone, which though a lifeless object, recognizes his personality. He hosts Max Sports on Sundays with a four-hour slot, beginning from 3pm, when his fans begin to congregate to hear the voice of the master himself, as he treats them to both fun and sport and no dull moment.

Iambolar is a product of the highly impactful Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN); a broadcast station known for churning out the best of microphone kings and queens.