Super Eagles winger, Moses Simon, has revealed that his father wanted him to pursue a military career and warned he would have to enlist if his football ambitions did not succeed.
The Paris FC forward disclosed this in an interview with Urban Well Sports published on Thursday as he reflected on the challenges that shaped his rise to becoming one of Nigeria’s longest-serving internationals.
Simon said his father, a retired soldier, believed discipline and self-reliance were essential and insisted that staying idle at home was never an option.
“My father said I’d have to join the military if I didn’t make it in football.
“He said a son who refuses to leave home is no son of a soldier. Soldiers don’t stay home,” Simon recalled.
The 29-year-old said the warning became a source of motivation during difficult periods, including unsuccessful trials with several Nigerian clubs and a failed move to Ajax.
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Despite those setbacks, Simon said he remained determined until he got his breakthrough after Dutch coach Tonnie Bruins Slot, popularly known as Coach Bors, travelled to Kaduna to recruit him.
The winger recalled that the coach gave him N200,000 before he had even signed a contract, along with N40,000 for transport, describing the gesture as life-changing.
“The money he gave me was N200,000, plus N40,000 for transport. This was 2013, and it was worth much more then.
“I remember thinking, this man really means business. My father’s house cost N150,000, and here someone was handing me more than that,” he said.
Simon said he returned home immediately to seek his father’s blessing before travelling abroad.
“I took the money home and told my father what they had given me, though I didn’t mention the extra N40,000.
“He wasn’t home at the time because he was still working even after retirement, earning about N5,000 a month. Here was his son with N200,000,” he said.
The Nigeria international said he struggled to sleep that night because of the amount of money.
“That night, I couldn’t sleep. I kept the money under my pillow until morning.
“When my father came home and I told him everything, he said the money was mine to decide what to do with. But since I was travelling, we should keep some aside in case anything happened and I needed to come back home,” he said.
Reflecting on his father’s approach years later, Simon said the retired soldier now lives with far less pressure than he does.
“I think he’s better off than me now.
“He has no stress, no pressure. I think I carry more responsibility than he does now,” he said with a laugh.
