Friday, 29th March 2024
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Nigeria legend Keshi buried

Former Nigeria skipper and coach Stephen Keshi has been laid to rest in his village of Ilah, southern Nigeria, Friday afternoon, but without the fanfare promised by the country's government.

Former Nigeria skipper and coach Stephen Keshi has been laid to rest in his village of Ilah, southern Nigeria, Friday afternoon, but without the fanfare promised by the country’s government.

Keshi, 54, died on June 8 in Benin City.

However, it was not the state funeral that the Nigerian government first promised with oil-rich Delta State and Keshi’s family organising his final passage beginning with a number of events on Thursday.

Nigerian sports minister Solomon Dalung said the government chose a low-key funeral because Keshi left behind a family that has to be catered for.

“I am not shocked by the way the government has treated this event,” said a disappointed ex-Nigeria captain and teammate of Keshi, Austin Eguavoen.

“For instance, most of us have yet to get the houses the government promised us when we won the Nations Cup in 1994.

“You are only energised when you have been looked after.

“You now wonder if Nigeria is worth fighting for or even dying for.”

Keshi’s son Femi blasted the government for failing to honour a promise of a state funeral for his father.

“The federal government did not deliver on the promises they made to us as regards our father’s burial,” he said.

Keshi made history in 2013, when he became only the second man after Mahmoud El Gohary of Egypt to win the Africa Cup of Nations both as a player and a coach.

‘Big Boss’ will also be remembered as the man who spared off the exodus of Nigerian players to Belgium in the mid-80s when he signed for Anderlecht.

2 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    Nigeria is really a developing country with a strong tendency to not improve on things. A person of Keshis calibre, knowing what he did for his country in football deserves a state burial and a documentary on him to inspire young ones and showcase to the world a Nigerian man worthy of emulation. If the NFF is run by ex-footballers, I bet they would honor their own better than this mediocre burial. It is time the Nigerian football is run by people who know their job and has experience. In addition, it is likely that Keshi did not die of a heart attack but a Pulmonary embolism–Literally blood clots in his lungs going by the antecedent history surrounding his death. We need to honor our own. I doubt any footballer would achieve as much as Keshi did now or in the immediate future. Rest in Piece my brother, you did well and your life had a meaning.

  • Author’s gravatar

    Poor Keshi- he played at the highest level for his country, qualified his compatriots for the World Cup and won the african Cup of Nations. Yet he was hired and fired and hired and fired and stressed all the way by the NFF…