Former Super Eagles striker, Rashidi Yekini, died on Friday in a private hospital in Ibadan, aged 48.
The former Vitoria Setubal of Portugal striker was said to have died after a brief illness. A statement from the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Kwara State, Tunji Moronfoye, said he would be buried on Saturday (today) in Ira, Offa, Kwara State.
The Supervising Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdulahi, said in a statement signed by his Special Adviser, Julius Ogunro, that Yekini’s name would live forever in the memory of Nigerians.
“The honourable minister is saddened by the death of Yekini. He was the greatest in Nigeria’s football history and although he has gone to rest, he will live forever in our memory. We commiserate with his family and pray that God will give them the fortitude to bear the loss,” the statement said.
Yekini had a successful international career with the Eagles between 1984 and 1998, scoring a record 37 goals in 58 appearances. The highlight of his days in the Eagles was when he scored Nigeria’s first World Cup goal in the 3-0 demolition of Bulgaria at the 1994 World Cup in the US. He also played in the 1998 World Cup in France.
He began his journey to football fame in 1982 when he joined Shooting Stars of Ibadan. He left the club two years later, joining Abiola Babes of Abeokuta. In 1987, he joined the Nigerian football legion playing outside the country when he moved to Africa Sports of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. His best club achievement was at Setubal in Portugal, where he scored 90 goals in 108 appearances between 1990 and 1994.
He moved to Olympiacos of Greece soon after the World Cup in 1994, but his form dropped considerably as he struggled to find his scoring form. He returned to Setubal in 1997 and after spell at Zurich, Bizerte, Al-Shabab and Africa Sports, he journeyed back home and joined Julius Berger in 2002. His last club was Gateway of Abeokuta in 2005.
His death was a climax to a wave of rumours surrounding his private life. Since ending his career as a footballer, he had withdrawn from public life, living as a recluse.
Yekini’s life outside football was in contrast to the success he achieved as a player. His celebrated marriage to Kemi, a graduate of the University of Ibadan, after the World Cup in 1994, only lasted three months and his relationship with two other women was shrouded in controversy.
A few years ago, he was alleged to have beaten up his tenant in Ibadan over domestic issues, sending him out of the house. He lived alone in the sprawling house he built at Oni and Sons area of Ibadan. An unconfirmed report said Yekini was furious because the said tenant had tried to talk him into having a relationship with a woman. He was also alleged to have sacked his lawyer after he discovered that he increased rent on his property without his knowledge.
Last year, rumours went round that the former striker was seen burning valuable house items at his home in Ibadan; an action that sparked further rumour that he was mentally ill. He fuelled the speculation more with a new wave of generosity.
Concerned friends said Yekini withdrew millions of naira from his bank account and gave to people; some of them were people he did not know.
When contacted in Ibadan over the issue, the former Shooting Stars striker refused to react, although his attitude towards his few friends, players of a local club he supported with money, and daily activities were normal.
He lived a life of fixed daily routine. He trained at the Liberty Stadium (now Obafemi Awolowo Stadium) each morning and spent the afternoon at Sabo area of the ancient town, where he usually prayed at the central mosque. He would return home around 3 o’clock and drive to Olubadan Stadium around 5 pm, where he stayed with a friend simply known as Uncle Bayo.
At the time, Uncle Bayo, who sells compact discs beside the Olubadan Stadium, spoke in defence of Yekini’s state of mind. He said Yekini was financially stable and that what he gave out to people was a fraction of his wealth. He said the former footballer had a huge deposit in a leading bank in Nigeria.
Back in those days, there was a report that Yekini rejected the Peugeot 504 given to the players by Shooting Stars patron, Chief Lekan Salami, because he felt he was too young to use a car.
Giving more insight into the life of the football legend, Bayo says Yekini’s reticence was a result of his betrayal by many people in the past and that his recent behaviours could be traced to the failures in his personal life.