Being a Tottenham fan helped me battle cancer – Farooq Oreagba

After turning heads at the 2024 Ojude Oba festival with a standout appearance that lit up social media, capital market executive and cultural ambassador, Farooq Oreagba, popularly known as Mr Steeze, has remained in the spotlight. In this interview with ABIODUN ADEWALE, he also reveals a surprising side—his love for Tottenham Hotspur

You run marathons and also play golf. How do these activities help you as someone who has battled cancer?

First and foremost, exercise helps, so it doesn’t have to be golf or marathon. Ironically, I never ran a marathon until I was diagnosed with cancer. I ran my first marathon in 2017, a 42km, because I was trying to raise money for a cancer charity, and that’s what got me going. Ultimately, my attitude to life is: health is wealth, and if you are going to fight a battle, you have to be fit. So, God forbid you are diagnosed with anything you don’t want, if you are healthy and have a level of fitness, it improves your chances. So, I chose golf, the gym and running, but it doesn’t matter what you do. Exercise and being healthy is all that matters.

How does it help your work-life balance?

Managing time is very important. Most weekdays I’ll run three or four times in the morning before I go to work. What I appreciate is when I run at 6 o’clock in the morning, even my colleagues in the office know because I will be charged and ready by 8 o’clock. Meanwhile, my colleagues get to the office at 9 o’clock and they are going to have coffee because they are still trying to ginger themselves. I think ultimately, it’s up to the individual to get the priorities right. My priority is not running, it is not golf, and as long as it doesn’t interfere with my work, what I have to do is plan my time.

Aside from recreation, are you interested in sports?

Yes, I have been playing squash since I was 11 years old. At 12, I was playing for Lagos State. I played rugby semi-professionally until 2008. I have never been good at football, so it has always been squash and rugby, and because of rugby, I had to go to the gym. Also, I am a very competitive person.

What are the trophies and medals you have won?

In 2008, our team won the veterans tournament at the Dubai Sevens Invitational tournament in 2008, and that was my last game.

Does not being good at playing football stop you from watching?

I am a fanatical Tottenham Hotspur supporter, and I have been supporting Spurs for over 20 years. I am a season ticket holder. My son goes to watch the games if I’m not around. When a Spurs supporter or a Nottingham Forest or Crystal Palace fan supports their team, it is not because they are winning. We are hardcore, ride or die. That kind of resilience is what keeps us, and it manifests in various ways in my battling with cancer and everything else. I don’t quit. As long as I wake up in the morning, I have a chance to win.

You’re the first Spurs fan I’ll ever meet, but it’s sad your team are on the brink of relegation. How does that make you feel?

There is always a first time, and I am proud. If we relegate, I’ll go with them and come back with them.

What endeared you to Tottenham?

Somebody has to support them, and my house is in North London. So, I made my choice: Tottenham or Arsenal. So, whether they beat us more than we win games, it’s adversity. It’s not different from dealing with cancer. We wake up, we have problems, and we have to deal with them. In fact, I will flip the script that being a Tottenham supporter has prepared me to deal with cancer.

Your team won a European title before Arsenal. How does that feel?

It was special. I will hold on to that, but one season later we are battling relegation.

Aside from Spurs, how close are you to Nigerian football?

I didn’t use to follow too much, but now I do because of Remo Stars and being an Ijebu man. Kunle Soname happens to be a childhood friend, and he has been dragging me. So, if I have to choose any team, it would be Remo Stars. I have been to the stadium, and now you will start to see me frequently. I want to go and start watching games. At least twice a month, I go to Ijebu to ride horses, so I am going to add watching football to that as well. I think for Soname, it is not just about the club, it is about supporting Nigerian football. The last time I was there, I saw the national U-17 team camping there. He is passionate, and he is willing, and has been known to put his money where other people don’t want to.

Research is divided on whether tattoos cause cancer. What’s your belief about having tattoos as someone who has battled cancer?

I had tattoos before I had cancer. But let me say it this way: people buy art, and when they die, they burn it, but tattoos are the one piece of art you will take to your grave. I might even do some more soon.

(punch)