Date: 2016-05-15

On May 4, 2012, Nigeria's all-time highest goal scorer Rashidi Yekini passed away, aged 48.

This year marked the fourth anniversary of his death but save for a football game between school children in Ibadan, there was virtually no activity put in place to celebrate the fallen footballer, who scored Nigeria's first goal at the World Cup.

"Just leaving Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan after a novelty game put together for late Rashidi Yekini, who died exactly four years ago, by The Rashidi Yekini Foundation, powered by Barrister Jubril Olarenwaju, his bosom friend and lawyer while he was alive. Great guy. Guess what? The two teams involved were Ibadan Boys High School and Ibadan Grammar School...kids!" ace sports broadcaster Godwin Enakhena wrote on his Facebook page on May 4.

He added, "While I was asking myself why we couldn't have Shooting Stars of Ibadan and Rangers of Enugu play on a day like this for a patriot like Yekini, players and officials of 3SC strolled into the stadium for a training session.

"How about Yekini's former colleagues? Mutiu Adepoju walked in towards the end of the game. No one else. Sad indeed." Though from Kwara State, Yekini was mainly resident in Ibadan while in Nigeria, before his demise in bizarre circumstances.

Some reports said he had a long battle with a mental illness, after the death of his friend, with whom he had a sizeable sum of money. Family members tried to rescue him but he gave up the ghost in the process four years ago, says the late footballer's lawyer, Jibril Olanrewaju.

"It's general knowledge that Yekini was abducted by his family all in the name of curing him from whatever ailment he was suffering from," Olanrewaju said.

"Several attempts were made to take him away, which I repelled with the help of an ex-commissioner of police. But they came the last time and I wasn't there. They were stationed somewhere around his house with some other people. His late sister was also there and they took him away.

"Even while he was dying, the late sister told me he requested to see me. Her narration was that after he took a cup of tea on May 4 he started gasping for air and died subsequently."

But Olanrewaju is upset that Yekini has not been properly immortalised by Nigeria despite his immense contributions to the country's football.

"I am completely disappointed judging by the kind of patriotism exhibited by Yekini to Nigeria. He deserves the best in terms of immortlisation. I am surprised that they don't even know the day he died. If not for my private initiative, nobody would have been aware of the date," Olanrewaju added.

"I have been consistent in trying to encourage the young ones, who didn't watch Yekini play. I have been trying to foist on the government and the NFF to do the needful by immortalising the late footballer and also to tell them that he had two daughters while he was alive and they deserved our attention and care," he said.

During his playing days, Yekini gave his all for the Super Eagles and in the process, broke and set several individual records.

Having topped the goals chart as Nigeria qualified for their first ever World Cup in the United States in 1994, the Goals Father, as he was nicknamed, also entered the history books grabbing the country's first ever goal at the Mundial as the Eagles mauled a Bulgarian side that paraded the deadly trio Hristo Stoichkov, Emil Kostadinov and Yordan Letchkov 3-0.

The celebration that followed was one of the highlights at USA '94. Yekini, to the amazement of his teammates, opponents and fans at the Cotton Bowl, Dallas, rushed inside the goal, grabbed the net and shook it vigorously in celebration of his feat.

Some believe that was the beginning of his problems in the national side, as some 'powerful' players felt he took the glory of scoring the historical goal alone and decided to use several tactics, one of which reportedly included denying Yekini of crucial passes while free on goal afterwards.

And after the World Cup, his career never really got back on track but it never took anything away from the dangerous player. He was Africa's finest striker of his generation. Yekini's teammate and Ex-Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, summed up the qualities of the striker on his blog.

He wrote, "Rashidi was full of pace, had a superb shot (ask the Gabon goalkeeper in our opener in the 1994 AFCON amongst others), could jump very high and instead of heading the ball would chest it down to eventually crucify the goalkeeper, he was calm in front of goal and was a very loveable person once you got to know and understand him!"

Prior to the World Cup, Yekini was also top scorer with four goals, as Nigeria romped to a second Africa Cup of Nations win in Tunisia. He was also highest scorer (four goals) in the 1992 edition in Senegal and second top scorer with three goals at Algiers '90.

At club level, Yekini joined Shooting Stars of Ibadan in 1982 from his first club UNTL of Kaduna. After distinguishing himself in two seasons at the Oluyole Warriors, which earned him a call-up to the national team, the gangling player moved to big-spending Abiola Babes in 1984 and spent three seasons there. He helped the Abeokuta side to two FA Cup titles in 1985 and 1987. While with Abiola Babes, Yekini won the Bournvita highest goal scorer award before he moved to Ivoirian side Africa Sports in 1987. Three glittering seasons in Abidjan, where his goals were instrumental in helping Les Aiglons to a domestic treble in 1989, etched Yekini's name in Ivoirian folklore.

He joined Portuguese second division side Vitória de Setúbal in 1990 and he banged in 34 goals in 32 games to help them to the Primeira Liga in the 1992/93 season. He eventually became the Primeira Liga's top scorer in the 1993/94 campaign after scoring 21 goals, joining Eusebio, Angolan Vata and compatriot Richard Owubokiri as the fourth African to win the top scorer's award in the Portuguese elite division.

His performances for club and country that year (1994), earned Yekini the African Player of the Year, the first Nigerian to achieve the feat. But his career experienced a sharp turnaround after an unhappy spell at Greek side Olympiacos. He went on to play for La Liga side Sporting de Gijón, Setubal (second spell), but a career revival at Swiss side FC Zürich, where he netted 14 goals in 28 games, earned the striker a shock return to the Eagles for the 1998 World Cup. But he couldn't find the net in France and it was farewell from international football for the feared marksman.

But he had etched his name in Nigerian football's record books as the nation's highest goal scorer ever with 37 goals in 58 games. He went on to play for Club Athlétique Bizertin and Al-Shabab Riyadh, before rejoining Africa Sports.

In 2003, at 39, he returned to the Nigerian league with Julius Berger. Two years later, the 41-year-old Yekini made a short comeback to Gateway United before quitting the game he loved so much. Former BCC Lions captain Bolaji Douglas says 'not surprised Yekini has not been given due recognition after his demise.

"It is the same prevalent attitude. He was not recognised while he was alive, I will be surprised if they did that after he had died. But his legacy lives on forever in the hearts of those he impacted with his ability. He is recognised and appreciated in faraway Portugal; a prophet is never recognised in his own country," Douglas said.

"He was a humble guy, an honest gentleman. He appreciated the gift God gave to him, nurtured it, loved it and used it to the best of his ability. He loved the game with his body and soul.

"He was very religious and didn't carry any air around himself. You will see him even at the height of his fame mixing with kids in back corner fields. He would sit with them, drink soda with them and chat with them," he added.

Football agent Clinton Nwankwo said, "My heart bleeds each time I read about Yekini, who scored our first World Cup goal. He deserves to be immortalised. In other climes, his family should be taken care of by the Federal Government. I literally wept when I saw his mother on the pages of newspapers hawking bread.

"Honestly, I am thinking of establishing a foundation for him. Yekini's house in Ibadan is dilapidated."

But Yekini's lawyer, Olanrewaju, argues that the case of his late client's mother, Alhaja Sidikat Yekini, is not as bad as being painted by a section of the media.

He stated, "We know the economic situation of the country right now but I don't believe that story completely. The property in her care, where she collects the rent is at Ilagbo, close to Offa in Kwara State. The property consists of four three-bedroom flats and boys quarters of a bedroom and a sitting room.

"Mama uses one of the garages as her shop. She had always been a petty trader right from time. Except some other people are collecting the money from her, I expect that the rent coming from the apartments should be able to take care of her."