Junior Lokosa, 30, made a name for himself during the 2018 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) after emerging as the season’s highest goal scorer while playing for Kano Pillars. From Kano Pillars, Lokosa played in the Tunisian and Saudi Arabian leagues before returning to the country to team up with Sporting Lagos. By stroke of coincidence, he netted the goal that secured the Lagos-based team promotion to the elite NPFL. The Lagos State-born footballer shares his career’s pathway with OLALEKAN OKUSAN.
The dream of every football across the globe is to wear their national colours and for Junior Lokosa, this dream became a reality when he was called-up by former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr during the build-up to Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.
His impressive form with Kano Pillars earned him his debut for Super Eagles when he featured in a friendly against DR Congo and his inclusion in the 30-man squad ahead of Russia 2018 was another confirmation that Lokosa’s dream was actualised despite not making the final 23-man list.
“My call-up to the national team made me learn a lot of things because we have experienced players playing in Europe in the team and I learnt a lot from them in terms of idea, game approach and communication on the field of play,” Lokosa admitted. “I must admit that my invitation to the national team has helped my career.”
Recalling his journey from the streets of Lagos, Lokosa said his passion for football was nearly scuttled by his parents who were against his decision to embrace the game ahead of his studies.
He offered: “I love football because I started playing football from the street. My younger brother took me to the field and that was how I started my career because I was only playing in the street, just like every footballer.
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“It wasn’t easy because all parents want their children to go to school.
“However, when they realised football was in my blood and they couldn’t pull it out, they had to accept it. I think today, everybody in the Lokosa family is happy,” he added.
Undeterred by this, Lokosa kept working on his dream of playing football and he got snapped up by an amateur side before catching the eye of FirstBank Football Club.
While plying his trade with FirstBank, Lokosa got a call from Kano Pillars to join the Northern-based team, and this was what brought Lokosa to limelight despite not being too impressive in his first season with Pillars.
“I didn’t plan to join Kano Pillars. However, one day, I returned from training with FirstBank, and I got a call from someone who asked if I wanted to play for Kano Pillars and I said ‘yes’,” he recalled. “Of course, I was praying to God for a better team to play. So, it was like a miracle to me. The following day, I travelled to Kano, and everything went smoothly. I have to thank God because joining Pillars is a big lift in my career.” He joined Pillars in May 2017 and in his first season he scored five goals in 14 league games of the season.
Toward the mid of 2018 season, Lokosa had scored 14 goals in 15 matches and despite traveling to Bulgaria and Norway for a trial, Lokosa still claimed the golden boot award after his 19 goals placed him top of the NPFL scoring charts.
“Being the highest goal scorer in the league really impacted my career a lot as teams were scared of me because of my goal scoring ability. In fact, it impacted a lot because people want to know and learn from me,” he confirmed.
In January 2019, he joined Esperance Sportive de Tunis, inking a two-and-a-half-year contract. But on July 30, 2020, the Tunisian champions announced Lokosa’s departure, and he later moved to Saudi Arabia to team up with Saudi Second Division side Al-Rayyan.
Despite his short spell in the Tunisian league, Lokosa admitted: “You cannot compare Tunisian league with the NPFL as there is a very big gap. I’m not condemning our league, but you cannot compare the two leagues.
“We still have a long way to go to make our league better, but it is just one step at a time. There are so many improvements presently and in the past few years and I believe gradually, we will get there.”
Since making up his mind to embrace football, Lokosa said: “Football has taught me a lot of things because it made me reserved, humble, and how to communicate with people. I have this mentality of never giving up. I’m very happy playing the game called football.”
At 30, Lokosa is not giving up on moving abroad again, when he simply said: “I still want to go abroad and play because it is very good playing outside Nigeria in terms of structures and facilities.”
Lokosa fancies Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi as his role models, describing them as two of the greatest footballers in the world.
“My role models are Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi,” he noted. “I get inspired by these two legendary football players. I learn a lot from them and other good strikers. As a matter of fact, I draw inspiration from them to score my goals.”