Jay Jay Okocha, Obi Mikel Reveal How They Changed Their Names

Former Super Eagles captains Jay Jay Okocha and John Obi Mikel have revealed the stories behind their famous names.

The two former Nigeria internationals shared the details while speaking on the Obi One Podcast.

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Okocha explained that the nickname ‘Jay Jay’ started in the neighbourhood where he grew up. He and his brothers were all footballers, and because several of them were named Austin, people needed a way to distinguish between them.

According to him, his younger brother, James, was already known as Jay Jay, leading people to call him “Austin Jay Jay’s brother.”

The nickname eventually stuck. Okocha said it also became easier for people outside Nigeria to pronounce than his first name, Augustine.

He said, “So, from there, Austin Jay Jay stuck. So, when I travelled, some people were struggling to pronounce my name, ‘Augustine’. So, ‘Jay Jay’ was a lot easier.

“So, I said I might as well adopt the name, and I put it in my passport. Yeah, it’s in my passport now. It’s officially mine.”

Mikel revealed that his name change came from an error during an Under-17 tournament.

He said he submitted ‘Michael’ when officials requested the players’ names, but his shirt was eventually printed with ‘Mikel’ instead.

After enjoying a successful tournament, Mikel decided to keep the new name because he felt it sounded better.

He said, “At the Under-17 tournament, when they went to print the names, I gave them Michael. They came back with Mikel, and Mikel sounds better than Michael.

“I had a fantastic tournament. I was like, you know what? I’m just gonna keep it. Of course, I put it in my passport as well.”

Both former Super Eagles stars eventually made their adopted names official by putting them in their passports.