By John Chinaka Onyeche
On January 3rd, 2025, I visited China Acheru’s house after working with him to get his books, including this one, published on Amazon. It felt like our third meeting in person—two times in connection with book reading in Port Harcourt and now finally at his home. This meeting also offered the chance to meet Obinna, the cover design guy.
One phrase in China’s book mainly stuck with me: “Let’s leave this for another story, or I have digressed.”
China’s book begins with experiences from abroad, but in the end, it brings us, his readers, back home to celebrate with him as he hits the milestone of covering his 1000th football match as a journalist. This is no small feat, and I want to congratulate him for achieving such an extraordinary milestone.
As a reader, I view this book as a journalistic work full of interesting and intriguing stories that will leave you wondering, “Will this guy not be killed at some point in his career?” Yet, here he is, still alive and eager to cover another match.
The book can be seen as a personal narrative—a series of stories from a journalist who never backed down in the face of career challenges, whether at home or abroad. Despite the obstacles, China continued to report on sports, driven by his passion for the subject and his commitment to football fans.
I recall a visit to his house in Choba, where a group of his friends gathered and discussed football passionately. I stayed silent, enjoying my meal, as I’m not a football fan myself. I hope I didn’t mess things up by not contributing to the conversation, but as he would say, “Let’s leave this story for another day.”
On another occasion, I mentioned to a colleague at work that I was assisting China Acheru with publishing his book on Amazon. My colleague immediately exclaimed that China was a well-respected figure in sports analysis. I, however, told him that I didn’t know much about him beyond our work on the book. But as China would put it, “That story is for another day.”
“Diary of A Vagabond,” as the title suggests, truly reflects the essence of China’s journey. The story begins abroad, where he recounts an experience in Morocco. There, he was searching for a specific perfume called “Hashish,” not realizing that the name also refers to illicit drugs in that foreign land. Thanks to a lucky escape, he avoided the serious consequences of being caught in such a situation. I’d call that incident a “language barrier” story.
As the book continues, we see how different cultures perceive things in diverse ways, especially across Africa and the rest of the world. One example is the story about the Mandinka people of Gambia, which touches on cultural practices that might seem confusing or strange to outsiders. But I’ll leave it at that—read the book to learn more, as I won’t spoil it here. The key takeaway, however, is simply to “be good.”
There’s also a mention of individuals who believe they are beyond the control of others. Sadly, this mentality is not confined to any one continent; it’s a global issue. It doesn’t matter whether or not it’s reported—this is a reality we must all face.
There’s also a section in the book about the sexual activities of players and their managers’ attempts to control them. I won’t say much about that, but I’ll leave it for you to ponder when you read the book yourself.
I’ll close by mentioning China’s ordeal in Spain. This part of the book highlights how the international community must stop harboring ill feelings towards well-meaning Nigerians when we visit their countries.
In conclusion, I encourage you to reach out to Mr. China Acheru to get your copy of this incredible book.
Or, you can visit Bookville, Mummy B Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State to buy the book or go to www.Amazon.com or www.books.chinaacheru.com.
