Nigeria, Feb. 6 -- When Samson Tijani was invited to the Nigeria U-17 national team otherwise known as Golden Eaglets in 2018, the principal thought for his ageing dad was to see his son become the shining light that would lead the family out of the dark tunnel precipitated by economic poverty.

Working as a security guard in one of the palatial apartments in Valley View Estates around Aboru, a suburb in Lagos, Pa Tijani spent most of his existence inside a cramped cubicle just beside the entrance gate, closing and opening the gate to automobiles and people that came calling on his employer. It was also where he met his children, family and friends, who would stop by to see him.

This was his existence because affording a rented apartment...