Musician Zainab Sule, fondly called ‘The Queen of Soft Rock’, talks about her early days as a taekwondo athlete, her passion for football, love for Cristiano Ronaldo and more in this interview with EBENEZER BAJELA
part from being a rock singer, which other areas do you have a passion for?
I was a taekwondo athlete but I’m not anymore. I started practising when I was very young and I was involved in taekwondo all through my university days. Before I stopped, I had a brown belt. In fact, it was when I was about to get to my brown belt that my dad started discouraging me from the sport. He asked me to stop because he thought it would make me become more of a man. I am from a military background and the tendency was there. So, he felt if I got more involved in taekwondo, it would change me. His persistence and complaining changed the vibe and that’s why I stopped.
Why did you chose taekwondo ahead of other sports in the first place?
My dad was into judo and I watched him a lot as a kid. I guess that must have influenced my decision to pick up taekwondo as my choice of sport.
While into taekwondo, did you fight with a guy?
No, I didn’t because I was well raised, even though I’m a little bit aggressive. Also, in taekwondo, if you beat up a civilian you will lose your belt and that’s why you cannot engage with another person who is not into taekwondo. Even when you get angry and just accidentally hit out at someone and the association finds out, they will ban you.
With your physique, are guys afraid of you?
I am someone who gets along very well with my male counterparts and actually 99.9 per cent of my friends are guys. I am always very comfortable with male friends and they feel my vibe. You can also tell from our conversation because if I happen to be having this conversation with a lady I probably will be trying to form a British or American accent.
Did you at any time dream of representing Nigeria at the Olympics?
The thought never crossed my mind and I probably wouldn’t have because I don’t like to have a double identity. I have always been a music person and I think I want to be known for that.
Aside from taekwondo, do you follow other sports?
Yes, I do. In fact, I am a crazy football addict. I watch football a lot, especially when I’m not in the studio or doing any other thing.
Which football club do you support?
I’m not so glued to a particular club. When (Jose) Mourinho won the Premier League title with Chelsea in 2004, I was a Blues fan because then in UNIJOS there were two camps, one for Chelsea and the other for Manchester United. You have to belong to one of them, if you are in between, you are on your own. So, when Mourinho left Chelsea for Real Madrid, I followed him there but I remained in Madrid even after he left because of Cristiano Ronaldo. I like Ronaldo so much but I don’t follow him around anymore because I am now a Liverpool fan.
Who is your favourite footballer?
I like Ronaldo and he is my favourite footballer come rain or shine. I’ve been following him since his first stint at Manchester United, when he just arrived from Portugal. I like his personality and work ethic. I used to like Harry Kane but not anymore because he has refused to win a single trophy. He seems so contented at Tottenham Hotspur, where he is not winning anything. He is a very good player but he needs to win a trophy.
There is this argument of who is better between Lionel Messi and Ronaldo. What’s your opinion?
People have different personalities and we don’t get to see it at times. You know some people are nice on the outside but inside they are not the same. Ronaldo is arrogant outside and people don’t like him for that but on the inside, he is a cool and nice guy. The fact that he has to fight for everything in his life makes me even like him the more. He left Manchester United for Real Madrid, before going to Juventus and now he is back at Old Trafford. Look at the number of goals he has scored in all these clubs he has been to. He scored over a hundred goals in every one of them, but he might not be able to do the same now because the current players at United are very selfish and no one is willing to pass the ball to him, they all want to score, unlike his first time at United when he had (Wayne) Rooney, then at Madrid where (Karim) Benzema usually give up his own scoring role just to locate Ronaldo. Messi has just gone to PSG where there are stars around him and we barely hear anything about him again. That’s because in Spain they can worship anybody, from (Andres) Iniesta to Pedro and even Vinicius Jnr but Ronaldo has proven his consistency over the years.
Do you follow the Super Eagles and Super Falcons?
(Laughs) Who are these people you are mentioning? I don’t follow the national team except for this goalkeeper who usually forms swag on Instagram. I think his name is Maduka Okoye and I also like Alex Iwobi. I also used to like Odion Ighalo when he was at Manchester United. In Nigeria, we love to follow those that are trending, and that is why Maduka is the rave of the moment and I think that guy has a personal photographer.
When did you take up music as a profession?
That was when I left University in 2011 but I started travelling around in 2015 and it’s been fun for me.
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