Rashidi Yekini: The match ends, the memories lingerEASTER day was the D-day for Nigeria's recluse gangling striker, Rashidi Yekini. Leading his quiet solitary lifestyle in the rustic city of Ibadan, neighbours recalled how family members from Ilorin, his hometown, forcefully came to take him 'home' for treatment that fateful day- and he never returned.The mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the former African Footballer of the Year still baffles friends and fans alike and, as they recall his life and times, many are crying foul over the strange manner of his sudden death.One of the enduring memories of the 1994 African Cup of Nations is the picture of Rashidi Yekini hands akimbo starring at the Egyptian goalkeeper, Ahmed Abdelaziz Shobeir, who was sprawled on the floor after failing to stop a thunderbolt from the greatest striker Nigeria has ever produced. Although the ball did not enter the Egyptian net courtesy of the cross bar, Shobeir, was not in a hurry to get off the floor having barely survived the bullet from the dreaded Yekini.As was usual in the Super Eagles team of 1994, Sunday Oliseh collected a pass from Ben Iroha, looked up and sent a long-range pass to Yekini, who was drifting towards Egypt's goal. The well-positioned striker brought the ball down with his chest, cushioned it with his left foot before releasing the ferocious shot, which would have been the goal of the tournament if it had not crashed off the Pharoahs' bar.After the group game in Tunis, which ended goalless, that moment in the tournament became a regular feature in most analysis of some of the best scenes of the championship.That same year five months later, Yekini was to leave the world with another spectacle, the picture of a joyous soul arms through the net, hands clenched around the strings and tears of joys running down his cheeks as he reached out to the world.He had just scored Nigeria's first goal ever in a FIFA World Cup, a simple tap in from a Finidi George cross, but the significance of that feat was too much for his patriotic soul to hold back, hence the tears of joy.It was appropriate that Yekini would score Nigeria's first ever goal at the World Cup because up till that moment in June 21, 1994 in Dallas he had almost singlehandedly dragged the talented Super Eagles team to victories and wins in major games.Rashidi Yekini was more than an ordinary footballer. He was a patriot, who did everything possible to ensure that his country excelled even when the odds were against the Super Eagles. He went about his job trying to find openings for his country; he never complained and never joined any of the various factions that existed in the team during the glorious years of Nigerian football in the 1990's.In fact, from the time the former Nigerian coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, brought him to the national team in 1984, Yekini was the focal point of the Super Eagles throughout his stay in the team.Yekini made his debut for Nigeria at the Nations Cup at the Cote d'Ivoire edition of the tournament in 1984, but he scored his first goal at the tournament at the Morocco 1998 championship in a group game against Kenya. But at the end of his career, he had 12 goals in five appearances to rank as the third highest goal getter in the championship behind Samuel Eto'o Fils (15 goals) and Cote d'Ivoire's Laurent Pokou (14 goals).Yekini was so reverred in world football that he became the first Nigerian to be awarded CAF's African Player of the Year in 1994.Born to Yekini and Sikiratu Balogun on October 23, 1964, the young Rashidi, even as a pupil of ABS School, Kaduna, helped his father, a glazier (he cut and fitted glass structures into buildings) after school.He would later train as a car painter, before he took to active football in 1981 when his friend, Ade, took him to coach Muniru Sule of UNTL Kaduna.In 1984, Yekini joined Shooting Stars of Ibadan alongside Sola Akinsola, Daniel Abdulahi, Kayode Aina and Olu Kalejaye, and later played for Abiola Babes before leaving for Cote d'Ivoire when the Abeokuta team was disbanded in 1987.In his football odyssey, Yekini played for Vitoria Setubal of Portugal, Olympiacos of Greece, Sporting Gijon of Spain, FC Zurich of Switzerland, Tunisia's Club Athltique Bizertin and Al-Shabab Riyadh of Saudi Arabia, before rejoining Africa Sports.In 2003, at 39, he returned to the Nigerian league with Julius Berger and later played for Gateway of Abeokuta in 2005 before finally hanging his boots.Yekini was a prolific goal scorer, but his life after retirement was shrouded in controversies and speculations about the state of his health.The star, who retired to his sprawling duplex in Ibadan, was once reported to have gone insane, but his close associates swear that nothing whatsoever was wrong with him. That he chose to live a secluded lifestyle did not make him a mad man, his friends say.Speaking on the lifestyle of the late Yekini, Emmanuel Amuneke, who played in the same 1994 squad with the former African Footballer of the Year, said: 'A lot of people have said so much about Yekini living a lonely life and not ready to help anybody. Footballers, like sportsmen, live a regimented life and when they are active, they don't have time for social activities. So when they retire, they are stuck with that kind of life. I don't believe in what people are saying that Yekini did not associate with anybody.'Amuneke added that, 'since our days in the national team, Yekini was somebody that kept to himself. After training you would always see him in his room. It wasn't until when you got close to him that you would know he was a very jovial person.'How many people ever cared to find out how he was living his life' How many people made sure that they went near him and found out what was happening with him. I believe you can only know a man if you get close to him. But a lot of people just listened to rumours and concluded that he was one person who was scared of meeting people.He was a great footballer. We may not produce another Yekini. I mourn him today. He was someone I looked up to and I am going to miss him.'Amuneke, who succeeded Yekini as the African Footballer of the Year In 1994, revealed that he modelled his game after the late striker.'Yekini is one man I grew up to emulate as a player when I started watching him when he played for UNTL of Kaduna and later Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan.'Those days we always liked to play like any player that caught our fancy and anytime I watched Rashidi Yekini, I tried to model myself after him. It gave us great motivation to see him play and as an aspiring footballer, my prayer was to be like him in everything I did as a footballer.'He recalled: 'At the time that I started real professional football, I always liked to see myself as Rashidi Yekini. It was a great joy for me that I wanted to emulate a great player like him.''I met him in the Super Eagles in 1993 and the first match we played together was the game against Sudan at the National Stadium, Lagos. You needed to see me that day. A man I had come to love and respect was just by my side and we were playing together in the national team.''My dream came through that day and I was happy that I did not disappoint in that game. All through the camping period, I watched him and learnt some things from him,' he reminisced.Although almost all Nigerians loved Yekini the footballer, there were speculations in 1994 that his former team-mates were jealous of his exploits hence they refused to pass the ball to him even when he was in a good position to score.That speculation was aided by the fact that after the game against Bulgaria, Yekini did not score another goal for Nigeria until he left the team.Sunday Oliseh, who captained the national team from 1999 to 2002, shed more light on the controversy.Speaking to a local website on Monday, Oliseh admitted some players were jealous of Yekini during the 1994 World Cup.According to Oliseh: 'When Yekini scored his famous goal against Bulgaria at the USA '94 World Cup, he celebrated the feat alone, lending credence to the belief that something was wrong in the team.''The only reason why I am saying this is that for the future and for the country, for people to learn and because I feel that honours have not been given to Yekini like it should'some players had beefs with Yekini and all that,' Oliseh said.'Of course, he had some beef with some players because I was in the background, I was watching everybody and I know those who were'''Some of our players were madly, sickly, mentally jealous and the moment Yekini was named the best player. He was leaving for Panathinaikos. There was some jealousy there and Yekini himself, he was not smart enough to calm things down'but with due respect'''A lot of things about it, you know, personally, if you look at it, which other striker do we have in the history of Nigeria who strikes 30-metre shots. If Yekini can count the number of goals at the highest level, it will be over a hundred' of all the strikers we talk about in Nigeria, which other striker' 'None! None! None!' Oliseh said.That team had Peter Rufai, Chidi Nwanu, Emeka Ezeugo, Ben Iroha, Mike Emenalo, Samson Siasia, Daniel Amokachi, Finidi George, Victor Ikpeba, Augustine Eguavoen, Thompson Oliha, Mutiu Adepoju and Skipper Stephen Keshi, among others, as the senior members of the squad.His associates also described him as a friend to the downtrodden, who was ready to lend a hand to the needy at all times. But he was also a private person, who never wanted to bother anybody.When The Guardian visited his house yesterday in Ibadan, the building was desolate, unkempt and there was no sign that anyone had lived there in the last two months. What happened to this great son of Africa'The Guardian gathered that the family of the late Yekini came to take him to Apete area of Ibadan during the Easter festivities. He was said to have been taken in chains apparently in search of a cure for an undisclosed ailment. He seemed to have had a premonition of his death as he was said to have withdrawn a lot of money from his account, which he distributed to total strangers.A woman simply known as Iya Ariyike, who sells beverages in front of Yekini's house at the Ring Road area of Ibadan, said she didn't think that the late footballer had any mental ailment.She said: 'I don't think Yekini had any mental problem because he went out every morning to train at the stadium and was willing to help whoever came in contact with him. It was during the Easter celebration that some people believed to be his family members came to take him away in chains.''He had a poultry while he was alive and they (chickens) made so much noise yesterday apparently having a feeling he was dead. Strangely, we have looked through his fence and the birds are all gone.'The four-bedroom house situated at Oni and Sons area of Ring Road was said to have been bought by Rashidi from the former chairman of the state Water Corporation, Bisi Akande after the 1994 World Cup.Apart from a woman, who operates a kiosk opposite the house and some few vehicles coming in and out of the houses in the area, the street was quiet while the gate to the late soccer star's premises was firmly locked.The woman, who identified herself as Paulina, described the late Yekini as cool and generous.Paulina, who has been operating her kiosk for the past three years, said the ex-footballer rarely greeted or acknowledged people's greetings and that he was always aloneExcept on a few occasions when the late Yekini came to her stall, Paulina said she never had any contact with the soccer legend.She disclosed that the ex-footballer lived alone in the house until few weeks ago when his relatives came to forcefully take him away.Another neighbour, Tunji Afolami said the player was forcefully taken away on Easter Day, by some people very close to him and he never returned home.'Yekini was a peaceful man in the area, he kept to himself and would not greet people, we all knew him for that. But on Easter Day, some people very close to him came here to force him out of the area without any reasons. What we heard next was that he was dead.'Another businessman who lives behind Yekini's compound, Yomi Ojo, also lamented the death of the ace footballer.He debunked claims that Yekini suffered any mental illness asking rhetorically, 'they said Yekini was mad but how coulda mad man switch on generator himself, drive himself, visit orphanages, give cash to widows and play with the children in the area'Ojo, who claimed to have known Yekini for about seven years, described him as a quiet and disciplined man.'Yekini was a quiet and disciplined man. He loved keeping to himself. But at times he confided in me.In the same vein, Akin Odupitan described the late soccer star as an easygoing person who did not like flambouyant life.'Sometimes ago, the family members came with a team of policemen to force him to go with them but he explained to the police that he was not mentally sick as alleged by the family. As a result of this he was left to go. He was an easy-going person who lived a humble life. He was always giving to those in need. The beggars usually lined up in his house to take food.'He was also said to have been a cheerful giver, generous and kind to those in need, especially his siblings, neighbours and some of the players he had been nurturing who often sought financial assistance from him.There was a case of a pastry seller inside the Liberty Stadium called Mama Chibuzor, whose children Yekini was said to be paying their school fees. His generosity also crossed religious organisations where he singlehandedly donated money for the purchase of a band set for a church along Onireke area of Ibadan.According to friends, Yekini on many occasions registered youth clubs for local competitions so that they could measure their level of improvement but always warned them not to publicise any assistance he rendered to them.'Oga Yekini used to buy us balls, pips, boots and even gave us money to register for tournaments, and that was why we took the AEFA Cup we won recently to his house' said Moroof Ogunmola, who is known as Coach Milla.Attesting to the philanthropic nature of the late soccer star towards young lads, Fatai Olugbodi, a friend of the deceased said the gangling striker was the one responsible for the education of some of the young players whose parents could not afford their schooling.'Yekini doesn't like to hear any noise generating from anything he does and that is why he always ran away from media, but he always supported any young player who seek for his help. He annually paid for O'level examination of many players here especially those that trained with him at Liberty Stadium here,' Olugbodi said.One of the closest persons to the late Yekini was Mohammed Jubril, a legal practitioner, who described the late football star as a hero that lived a simple and honest life.'I was a youth corps member working with a law firm, Uche Amajo and Co., in Ekotedo area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital in 2001. At that time he (Yekini) was a client to my boss and he picked interest in me because he discovered that we were from the same state ' Kwara and being a Muslim as well.'Whenever he came to see my boss, sometimes my boss would direct him to me while he would also walk directly to me in my office. We related that way for two years until I set up my own firm. We were relating not as client alone but as friends and brothers,' Jubril said.Jubril said the late former African Footballer of the Year never showed interest in acquiring wealth, adding, 'He was not the kind of person that loved buying property and he never showed interest in material things. He was a down-to-earth person, who rarely argued with people.'He told me after the 1998 World Cup that he wanted to go into coaching after retirement but he never followed this up,' he said.About the speculation that he suffered mental imbalance before he died, Jubril stated: 'I think only a medical expert that can ascertain whether somebody is sane or not. But for me as a legal practitioner, nothing showed that Yekini was mentally unstable because he drove around Ibadan on his own and there was no time the police complained that he was reckless.''He was doing his normal chores and minded his own business. Even though he had a licensed gun, there was no time he was reported to have shot anybody. His spoke coherently too, so I don't know why people started insinuating that he was mad.'I could remember a few years ago that his bank ' First Bank ' complained to me that he was making some unusual withdrawals and that he was doling out money to people. I confronted him about this. But he said that people have been complaining that he was stingy and he decided to be generous. He wondered why people should complain when he decided to be generous. He was somebody who would never cheat anybody and he ensured that nobody cheated him.'Jubril narrated an incident that took place two years ago to buttress his argument that Yekini was of sound mind: 'In 2010, one of his former wives, who has had children for other men, engineered a move to take him to Oshogbo for psychiatric tests, but he refused vehemently. He informed me about this. He even told them then that any test they wished to carry out on him should be done in Ibadan and not in Oshogbo and that it should be done in the presence of the police so that whatever happened to him would be known to everybody.''I want to say that towards the later part of his life, he never trusted anybody and that is why he hardly related with people.'According to Jubril, Yekini left enough resources to take care of his children, his first wife, Patricia, lives in England with the first daughter, Rashidat, while the one living in Osogbo, Adeola, had his second daughter, Mariam.Super Eagles former assistant coach, Joe Erico, who once trained Yekini at the national team, credited him as 'playing his role very well and contributing his quota to the glory that Nigerian football attained in years past. Yekini belonged to that era where national pride was paramount and they cared about what they were doing on behalf of the country.'On what the present crop of Super Eagles players should learn from the deceased, Erico said they are aplenty. 'Apart from being a dedicated player, Yekini was never the type to believe that he had a shirt waiting for him in camp. In other words, he was always ready to work extra hard to impress the coaches and always showed that he merited his selection.'He, however, called on sportsmen not to always 'look up to the government to do anything for us. We should try and invest wisely while we are still strong and able to fend for ourselves because someday, all of us will find ourselves in the position Yekini found himself.
Click here to read full news..
