WORCESTER Wolves star Alex Owumi has said he feels overwhelmed with the response he has had following the publication of his inspirational new book.
‘Qaddafi’s Point Guard’ tells the incredible life story of Owumi’s desire to make it as a professional basketball player before his dreams turned into a nightmare when he became trapped in Libya’s civil war.
After a successful stint of college basketball in America, Owumi then got the opportunity to make it to the big time when he signed for Libyan team Al-Nasr – a club privately funded by the family of the then Libyan president Muammar Qaddafi.
But his joy at playing professional basketball was soon interrupted by unrest in the country and the resulting Civil War which left the star imprisoned in his Benghazi apartment for more than two weeks with no food, phone signal or internet with his life at serious risk.
Despite his weakened condition Owumi put his life in even more danger by escaping the crisis-hit country before stopping at a refugee camp in Egypt.
His dramatic escape then resulted in a triumphant change of fortune as he was then approached by an Egyptian team seeking his services. He then helped them to an unlikely league title and earned himself the Most Valued Player award.
Since its publication last month the book has received rave reviews on websites across the world and basketball fans in the UK have expressed to him their enjoyment of the book.
Owumi, who has helped Wolves enjoy their best start to a BBL campaign, told the Observer he was delighted people were interested in his story.
“My mindset for this book was to tell my story to the world,” he said. “This wasn’t about me making a great profit or becoming rich off it, it was me giving a gift to the world. I’m happy people are enjoying it.
“There are so many messages in it and it reflects on a person’s struggles in life, not just in Libya but when I was child growing up with social issues.
“There was not a minute or hour that passed by when I was not wondering whether I was going to survive or not which waves on you mentally and your then fighting demons inside.
“The Libya experience was tough and there were many times when I lost my faith in God when I was sitting on my own with no food.
“My favourite part of the book is when I talk about playing soccer on the street with these four young boys in Libya and then they become the same people who protected me from machine guns, knives and handguns. And you watching them kids aged 11 turn from boys into men.
“It’s been brilliant to be getting great reviews on Amazon and even when the team travelled to Newcastle a couple of weeks ago there were people from the area wanting to me to sign copies of the book which was brilliant.
“I hope many people can be inspired and take a lot from reading this book such as life skills and learning to stay positive.”
Qaddafi’s Point Guard is available to buy on Amazon and other book retailers.
