By KAYODE OGUNDARE @kaybaba99
I wrote this piece three years ago, on the night I learnt of the passing away into glory of one of the best goalscorers to come out of Africa. I’m re-running it today on the third anniversary of his death, in honour of one of the greatest goalscorers of all-time…
The only scene that keeps playing in my head now, three good hours after I’d confirmed that our own dear goalsfather Rashidi Yekini is no more, was my first personal encounter with this great son of Africa over two decades ago.
Of course living in Ibadan, the Oke Ado/Liberty Stadium road axis in particular, Yekini was a frequent sight and was to be seen often relaxing in his Liberty road apartment whenever he was in the country, but our first one-on-one was a few days after the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia in 1994.
I was coming out of the Lekan Salami stadium that morning when he drove up to the gate, not in his Pegeuot 504 which was familiar to practically every Ibadan man, but in a white sports car which I later learnt belonged to his friend. He was dressed in Super Eagles tracksuit and had a woman (whom he was later to get married to that same year) in the passenger seat.
When he got to my side, he wound down the glass and asked in that heavy Hausa-accented Yoruba of his: “E dakun, se Alhaji Gani (3SC curator) wa lori field?”.(Please, is Alh Gani still within the stadium?).
I was tongue-tied for a whole minute. This was a guy who’d just emerged Africa’s topscorer at the Nations Cup, helped qualify Nigeria for the World Cup and the reigning African Footballer of the Year! Growing up and kicking street football in Ibadan in those days, every kid had basically one dream: to sign for IICC (3SC), dribble like Segun Odegbami and score great goals like Rashidi Yekini.
He was our hero. The fantasy of every boyhood dreams. Yet he was so humble. No blings (of course, I knew that before), no fake airs and certainly no exaggerated swagger. He knew he was my senior in everything including age, exposure and achievement, yet he was so gentle and kind.
Humility was Yekini’s middle name. he drove the same car, a Peugeot 504 which the late MKO gave him after he signed for the defunct Abiola Babes in 1985, for close to a decade yet the car was in pristine condition and he stayed in the same modest apartment long after he had become an international superstar in Portugal.
When I regained my voice, I told him I wasn’t sure but offered to go and check for him. He parked well, came down from the car and decided we should do the search together on foot.
We walked back into the stadium and turned and turned (for those familiar with the Lekan Salami Stadium, Sabo entrance) until we finally entered the Mainbowl and saw Alhaji Gani picking balls and looking very busy.
Yekini decided to wait at a distance until Alh Gani finished his task and I chose to wait with him because there were a million and one question I wanted to ask him. We sat on the iron railings and waited. Much as I wanted to talk and chat him up, my tongue stuck to my mouth and no question came out. Instead I kept looking at his legs, particularly that dangerous right foot, with which he was terrorising defenders and goalkeepers around the world.
We talked about the weather (imagine!) and about some of the 3SC players still on the training pitch on that day. He was a devout Muslim and laced each sentence with Insha Allah and a prayer for those players to make it in their chosen careers even though none of them was within hearing distance. I kept nodding my head at every sentence, content just to be in the presence of the one we all fondly called ‘gangling’.
Finally, Alh Gani was through and sighted Yekini so he came over at which point I begged to take my leave. Yekini asked what direction I was going so that he could drop me off but I’d had him to myself for all of 20 minutes and that, for me, was enough for one day. Some people never had that privilege in a lifetime.
Though I saw him several times after that, we never got the chance to sit down and talk again but anytime his name was mentioned, my mind always went back to that magical day in 1994 when I walked, sat and chatted with the king.
I count myself lucky to have had such an opportunity with him but I will gladly trade that memorable incident for having Yekini alive for a few years more. No, scratch that, I will take a few days more to have him alive with his friends, family and fans.
I never saw a superstar who didn’t care for publicity like him. He was a reluctant celebrity. He hardly granted press interviews. Yekini was a total recluse. Unlike what some people speculated that he avoided the media because he was an illiterate, Yekini may not have had any formal education but he was a self-taught man and spoke four international languages – English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. He was just not publicity-seeking in his lifetime.
I also read various reports of how he behaved ‘strangely’ before his death which suggested that he had mental issues. One example of such ‘strange’ behaviour, according to the reports was that he was seen buying ‘booli’ (roasted plantain) by the roadside. Despite the solemnity of his death, I laughed at the absurdity of that report because that was the quintessential Yekini for you.
My cousin Taofik Oladiti is alive today and will testify that we once saw Yekini at NTC road close to the Olubadan stadium and guess what he was doing? He was buying roasted maize by the roadside and this was around 1992/93 when he was already one of the most recognizable faces in international football. Was he mental at that time too? Certainly not! He was just down to earth, funny and doesn’t fit into the stereotype of an average superstar.
I also heard from the grapevine that that he died a poor, broken man because of some business investments which went awry. I put a call through to ex-international Dimeji Lawal, a very close acquaintance of Yekini who was at the burial and wept like a baby.
When I asked him the same question, he said: “Kayode, the King (that’s what most of us call Yekini) was a very rich man who helped a lot of people. I’m aware he paid the tuition of several people and helped to set up a lot in business but if anybody is in doubt about his finances, they can go and inquire at First bank.” Simple!
The lesson today’s under-achieving band of footballers can learn about him is humility and level-headedness. Yekini was humble to a fault. I also remember an occasion in 1993 when he was caught up in traffic at the Agbeni junction and when a fan saw him and was about to draw attention to him, Yekini frantically begged as if his life depended on not being discovered. I’ve never seen such a reluctant superstar who worked so hard for greatness but shunned publicity like a plague.
He’s no more today. He died a bitter man. But being a deeply religious person, I know he died a fulfilled man at peace with his maker. Like all human, he was not without his failings and sins so I pray that God will forgive his sins and grant him al-jannah. (Amen)
HERE GOES A YEKINI, WHEN COMETH ANOTHER? R.I.P AFRICA’S GANGLING STRIKER!
*This article was first published in the print version of International Soccer (i-Soccer) on May 11, 2012.
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