Oba Abdul-Wahab Oyetoro of Onira hasexpressed regret that Nigeria does not
honor its sports heroes, and called on
the government to take measures to
immortalize them, with specific
reference to soccer legend Rashidi
Yekini.
He was speaking to
SaharaReporters which was in the area
in a follow-up to the story about the
plight of Alhaja Sidikat Yekini, mother of
the late Super Eagles striker, who has
fallen on hard times and now retails
bread to survive.
“People like Yekini, Muda Lawal, and Samuel
Okwaraji to mention just a few should be fully
immortalized,” the Oba told our reporter
yesterday in Ijagbo, Kwara State when we
visited his palace.
Yekini, one of the world’s most feared strikers in
his prime, died four years ago, and his mother
confirmed that things have been tough for her
since his passing.
The old woman had only two loaves of bread
available for sale when our reporter arrived,
and her tray was soon left empty in two
customers.
Rashidi was said to be a generous man who
took good care of his mother while he was
alive, and his mother attested to the fact that
was a very good son who had cared for her and
the entire family when.
Alhaja Yekini recalled: “I must confess Yekini
took care of me and my late mother (the
grandmother). Anytime we had a festival,
especially the Muslim Ileya festival, my son
would buy two giant rams, one for me and one
for my late mother. He took care of me, and I
can never forget him. But after his death, I have
been suffering, no help, no assistance from
anybody whatsoever.”
She further told SaharaReporters that in
addition to supporting herself from the little
money she makes from selling bread and other
items, she has other responsibilities, noting,
“Most times I don’t even spend the money
alone.”
She drew attention to all the bills she has to
pay, including electricity. And while she has
been interviewed by many journalists in the
past, nothing has happened so far.
Asked if she knew about what Rashidi Yekini’s
lawyer wrote about her condition, she replies “I
don’t know the lawyer they are talking about
because the last time I saw him was during the
Fidau prayer, we met at Ira,” she said. “Ever
since then I haven’t set my eyes on him again; it
was the first lawyer that I know, but this one I
don’t know at all. I heard he (the lawyer) is
claiming lots of things, but sincerely speaking he
has never come to Ijagbo here where I live. “
Alhaja Yekini confirmed that her famous son
built the house she lives in; completed the
house where his uncle lives at Ira, and also
another family house in Ira.
“But he warned me to stay here at Ijagbo in the
house where he built for me and my late
mother,” she said, before praising some of her
tenants whom she said had been supportive of
her.
“How much am I collecting here as rent, go
round and see things for yourselves, and you
would know what I am talking about,” she told
our reporter. “But my tenants here have been
very supportive, just that they can’t do more
than they are doing.”
Alhaji Tunde, one of those tenants, was said to
have assisted Alhaja Sidikat in converting the
security post built by late Yekini at the gate into
a shop apartment so she would be able to
collect rent from it to alleviate her financial
situation. The house Rashidi built for his mom
has 4 three-bedroom flats, one two-bedroom
flat, and three single room apartments known
as “Boys quarters.” SaharaReporters gathered
that the money collected from the rents is less
than N140,000 per annum which is not enough
to take care of the elderly woman’s needs.
There is another shop apartment available for
renting, but nobody has shown willingness in
occupying the space.
Alhaji Tunde described Rashidi as a very nice
person when he was alive. “Anytime Mama
informed him about how we tenants have been
taking good care of her, he would not hesitate
to give out anything he had on him; he was such
a generous person. But since after his death
things have not been the same again,” he
explained.
As a matter of fact, Rashidi’s younger sibling,
Akeem Yekini also lives in one of the flats,
Alhaja Sidikat and two others tenants live in the
flats at the Ijagbo house. But another tragedy
for the family was the death of Yekini’s younger
sister, Rofiat, who died in a ghastly motor
accident less than two years ago. Late Rofiat
had been the only active person engaging
Rashidi’s lawyer over the properties of the
former African soccer king. Since her death, it
was alleged that the lawyer has been having his
way.
Upon leaving Ijagbo, our reporter embarked on
another journey to the palace of Onira, Oba
Abdul-Wahab Oyetoro, about 40 minutes of
drive from Ijagbo.
The royal father narrated his experience about
the sad situation. “I don’t know anything about
Yekini’s property because I am not a member of
his family,” he said. “But I think the lawyer and
the wives are in the best position to answer that
question. Since Rashidi died, the mother also
“died emotionally” four years ago, what I mean
is that the women is no longer the same again,
because he was the breadwinner of the family.
But please help us appeal to the government
and concerned authorities to immortalize
Rashidi Yekini. He served this country with all
his might, and I don’t think it is right for them to
just let the labor go unrewarded.”
“People like Yekini, Muda Lawal and Samuel
Okwaraji to mention just a few should be fully
immortalized. Muda Lawal already has a
stadium named after him, but that is not the
same with Yekini. I remembered during the
Fidau prayer four years ago, the Kwara State
government promised to name the Kwara
Stadium after late Yekini, but we later saw they
named one tiny place near the CBN quarters
after him; it is even hard to identify the place.
“Also, former NFF President Aminu Maigari
promised that memorial games would be
played in Lagos and Abuja, and the gate takings
would be given to the family; including many
other promises that never saw the light of the
day.
Let the state and the federal government
do something so that the younger generation
would also be motivated by Yekini’s heroics for
the nation. In other advanced countries, people
strive to get the name, but here in Nigeria, we
don’t even cherish the name again; my appeal
again is that Yekini’s name must not perish.”
Our reporters also visited the Yekini family
home at Irra town, as well as the burial ground
where Rashidi Yekini was buried. There was
nothing in the area even to indicate the final
resting place of the soccer legend.
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