Read his piece below....
While the world were still mourning the overdue passing away of “the greatest” Muhammed Ali. Africans and Nigerians especially were stroke with the news of the sudden death of football legends and coaches Stephen Keshi and Shaibu Amodu, at the age of 54 and 58 years respectively.
One might say ‘the gods must be angry’, yeah! And rightly so, because of the circumstances surrounding their death. It was too close to call, too similar, same week, and same misfortunate ailment. Little wonder, the family of the late Stephen Keshi conducted an autopsy to know the real curse of his death. The late Shaibu Amodu who paid tribute to his former assistant and friend Keshi after his death, on the other hand, was buried very quickly without an autopsy, according to Islamic rite.
However, despite the controversies during their time as coaches of the national team, their achievements and status as legends cannot be over emphasized.
Stephen Keshi, a man not shy away from controversies, earned the nickname “the big boss” for his exemplary leadership qualities. In 1984, then the captain of the New Nigerian Bank football club, he was banned from all football activity by the Nigerian Football Association. This promptly proved to be a blessing in disguise, earning him a move to Belguim in Europe, via African Sports football club of Ivory Coast, making him the first foreign based player in Nigeria history, thereby opening the floodgates of Nigerian footballers plying their trade in abroad. He won the African Nations Cup (ANC) as captain in 1994, and also helped in qualifying the nation to its first world cup, that same year. After hanging his boots, he ventured into coaching, were he proved very successful. Qualifying Togo to the world cup in 2006, although he was not allowed to take them to the world cup in Germany, after he was sacked. He was appointed national team coach of the Mali national team on a two year deal in 2008, but was sacked after Mali disappointing African Nations Cup exit as host in the group stage in 2010. His appointment as Nigerian national team coach in 2011, proved to become an inspired move by the Nigerian Football Federation. Winning the ANC in 2012, to become the only African after Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary, to have won the ANC both as a player and a coach. He also led the Super Eagles to the FIFA Confederation Cup and the world cup in Brazil the following year. Although, in July 2015, he left the post, after the NFF failed to renew his contract, after several disagreements and clashes with members of the football federation.
Coach Shaibu Amodu, on the other hand, broke into the football scene in Nigeria, after inspiring BCC Lions FC of Gboko, to a surprising triumph of the FAcup in 1989. He went on to win the Nigeria FAcup twice with El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri, before returning to BBC Lions in 1994, were he clinched his fourth FAcup trophy, making him the most successful coach in the history of the competition. He also managed the Super Eagles of Nigeria on four occasion, starting from 1994 when he led Nigeria to the Gold Cup competition in USA, after Dutch coach Clemens Westerhorf left as head coach of the national team. He also qualified Nigeria to two world cups but was ousted on both occasions, the last in 2010.
Based on their remarkable successes, it’s so disheartening to know that these legends of the game are no more. Their skills, experience and knowledge of the game will invariably be missed. They still have much to offer to the game, but just as the famous saying goes; ‘God giveth, God taketh’, and so, only God knows why.
These men gave their all to the nation and to the growth of football in the country, till their last breathe. Little wonder, their death was attributed by many, to as an accumulation of stress over the years. And so, they should be treated as legends, they truly are.
Unfortunately, we live in a country were legends are treated like rags while they are alive or even dead. As the case of ex-super eagle’s striker and record scorer Rashidi Yekini showed, despite his achievements with the national team, he died of total reject and neglect from the country he famously served during his playing days.
We can’t allow a recurrence of the Rashidi Yekini episode, these fallen soldiers totally deserve a better treatment. Their legacy is an inspiration to many and generation unborn. And so, their legacy should be carried and kept in high esteem.
It’s a time for sober reflection, it’s time to celebrate their brief but useful existence, and it’s a time to reminisce with smiles on our cheek, their time on planet earth, well spent serving their beloved nation. Weeping doesn’t bring back the dead, does it? They have gone to rest, let’s pray their souls rest in perfect peace.