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Editor’s note: Year 1994 was a special one for Nigerian football. In a World Cup match against Bulgaria, Rashidi Yekini, top Nigerian player, holder of African Footballer of the Year title, scored Nigeria’s first ever goal in the world’s most significant football competition. With no doubts, at that moment 31-year-old Yekini dubbed “The Goalfather” by fans and sports journalists was on top of the world.  It came as no surprise that Nigerian team coach, Clemens Westerhof, said everyone was yet to see the real Rashidi Yekini.
Unfortunately, it was not going to happen. Yekini’s untimely demise under obscure circumstances on May 4, 2012, left a number of questions unanswered. Was it an accident or a deliberately organized murder? Why after three years since Yekini’s death no investigation has been initiated? Writing for Naij.com Hussain Obaro tries to figure out why Nigeria has so soon forgot about its national hero.
Story hghlights:
– Yekini’s role in helping Nigeria in 1994 Africa Cup of Nations where he also topped the goal charts and was named the best player of the competition was truly heroic.
– News media started drawing public attention to Rahidi’s deteriorating health in 2011 when he was said to suffer from a bipolar disorder, depression and some other undisclosed psychiatric conditions.
– It is a shame after three years since Yekini’s death there has not been a deliberate and conscientious effort to unravel the circumstances surrounding his death.
I vividly remember Rashidi Yekini’s iconic celebration in 1994 when he scored Nigeria’s first World Cup goal. It was our first FIFA World Cup match against Bulgaria in Boston, USA. Unlike the other team members, Yekini ran into the posts, gripped the net with an intensity of a man overcome by the ecstasy of victory, and muttered the words nobody could hear.
Rashidi Yekini was born in the city of Kaduna on October 23, 1963. The skillful footballer who played as a striker scored 37 goals in 58 appearances for Nigeria. His commitment to both club and country stood out among those of his peers. Yekini’s role in helping Nigeria in 1994 Africa Cup of Nations where he also topped the goal charts and was named the best player of the competition was truly heroic.
The former African Footballer of the Year, who started and ended his career in the Nigerian league, was reported to be ill for an extended period of time. News media started drawing public attention to Rahidi’s deteriorating health in 2011 when he was said to suffer from a bipolar disorder, depression and some other undisclosed psychiatric conditions. His sudden disappearance from football and social life was narrated from different angles, and his mysterious death in Ibadan on May 4, 2012 at the age of 48 acerbated the stories.
One version of Yekini’s death said he was mentally unstable and his family fatally harmed him in a quest for cure from native healers. That version was initially voiced by Yekini’s neighbours and then corroborated in an interview with his lawyer, Muhammad Olarewanju. According to Olarewanju, Yekini was forcefully taken out of his house by the people who claimed to be “healers” and was kept under their watch for about three weeks. Moreover, Yekini was reported to be held in the most dehumanizing conditions.
 Untold story of Rashidi Yekini’s last days
Another version asserted that Yekini was never insane. He merely suffered from  bouts of depression as a result of financial loses. Yekini became antisocial and that fuelled the rumors about his mental state.
In general, neglect of his colleagues, the NFF and the government made matters worse. It makes no matter if Yekini actually had mental problems or he was merely depressed, there is still a lot about his death that doesn’t seem right. It is a shame after three years since Yekini’s death there has not been a deliberate and conscientious effort to unravel the circumstances surrounding his death. Yekini deserves justice, at least in the form of inquiry into his death. His numerous fans and admirers should know what and/or who killed him. Did Rahidi actually die of natural causes or the people trying to cure him made some mistakes led to his death? And what lessons might we all learn from all these?
Nigeria and Nigerians have betrayed Rashidi Yekini by their prolonged inaction. Three years after his demise no deliberate effort has been made either by the NFF, Kwara state government or the federal government to immortalize the national  soccer hero. No one, even his former colleagues, cares about his family well-being. A visit to his grave in Ira, Kwara state, showed that the whole building was not only being deserted, but was taken over by wild animals. Kwara state government betrayed the memory of Yekini. The federal  government betrayed the patriotism of Yekini and the NFF betrayed his commitment and selflessness. Even Yekini’s former colleagues and teammates are all guilty of his death. Rashidi Yekini was betrayed by everyone.