Farooq Oreagba: The king of steeze recounts life’s experiences; battling incurable cancer, amassing sleeve tattoos

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Farooq Oreagba gained mainstream prominence a week ago after he was massively featured in the annual colour festival in Ogun state dubbed the Ojude Oba.

The festival which emerges three days after the Muslim’s Ileya celebration quickly garnered intense attraction from netizens after photos from the event surfaced on social media. The glitz, glamour and essence of Yoruba culture was put on full display by the statesmen and natives of Ogun state.

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A certain person who stole the show was a interestingly was heavily tattooed, fair complexioned and handsomely built. Though he was elderly, his swagger, charisma and masculine aura was quick to garner the attention of not only those at the events but netizens who were experiencing the Ojude Oba festival vicariously through social media.

Characteristic of social media users, the research community disclosed that the identity of the king of steeze at the event; his name is Farooq Oreagba. He quickly became a social media sensation due predominantly to the aforementioned qualities.

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In a recent interview with Morning Show on Arise TV on Sunday, June 23, 2024, Oreagba, the Managing Director of NG Clearing and former Member of the Derivatives Product Advisory Committee of the Nigerian Stock Exchange reflected on his newfound fame, achievements and battle with cancer.

On Battling Cancer…

Even though his form of cancer, multiple myeloma, is incurable, Oreagba said being diagnosed with the condition in 2014 was the best thing that happened to him.

“I’ve always been a bit of a controversial person, but we’ll not go into that. I think from the moment I was diagnosed with cancer in February 2014—it’s an incurable form of cancer—priorities changed.

“I’ll say this to somebody, and it’s going to sound ridiculous. I’m 58, and if I could live another 20 years, I’ll say being diagnosed with cancer is the best thing that ever happened to me. It changes my perspective on life. What I’m there for. I’m there for it.

“Counselling cancer patients, trying to improve access to better healthcare, I’ll do that all day long,” he said.

Accepting the Circumstances And the Most of It

He also stated that he participates in marathons to raise money for cancer charities just to give people hope.

“I got hope from places I least expected, and from some of those I expected, I got nothing. That’s life, and you learn your lessons,” he said.

The Ijebu indigene further spoke about how he has been able to find fulfilment and stay happy despite his health status.

“You don’t know how much time you’ve got; you line up your priorities. For me, it is family first because I don’t know how long I’m going to be around, but by God’s grace, I’m 10 years and counting, and since I’ve been crowned ‘king of steeze’, I’m not about to just go like that anytime soon.

“I’ve been counselling cancer patients for a while. I was diagnosed in February 2014. In fact, I had a bone marrow transplant in August 2014. I did chemotherapy every day, 21 days a month, for eight years.

“I don’t do chemotherapy anymore; I’m living my best life; I’m back working. That gives me a sense of fulfilment because people ask me why I am so happy. ‘I’m alive!’ And as long as you’re in the game, you can win the game; each day is a blessing,” the NG Clearing MD stated.

Fulfilment In The Little Things Of Life, Be Yourself

According to him, being diagnosed with cancer reduced the number of friends he keeps.

“One thing I realised is that when I was a senior executive at the exchange in the early 2000, let’s say I had five million friends.

“When I left the exchange in 2010, my five million friends went down to one million. When I was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, my one million went down to a hundred. That was a very important lesson; it’s important that you hold your friends close, keep your 10 toes down all the time, and be yourself,” he added.