Four years after the demise of one of Nigeria’s greatest footballers ever, Rashidi Yekini, his eldest daughter has called for an inquest to unravel how the 1993 African Footballer of the Year actually died. Speaking in Lagos Wednesday, UK-based Yemisi Rashidi Yekini, in company with her half sister, Yemi, and Yekini’s lawyer, Mohammed Olanrewaju Jubril, said that how her father died remains a mystery to her to date because he never complained of any ailment.
“We want to know how my father died. I asked my mom how it happened, she said she didn’t know. She said she was told that he died in a place some of his family members forcefully took him to,” observed the 21-year-old cinematography undergraduate in Leicester City, United Kingdom.
Yemisi who is planning to convert Yekini’s duplex in Ibadan to a museum to keep the memory of the gangling striker who scored Nigeria’s first goal at the World Cup alive also wants a befitting testimonial to be played for him.
“It is my dream to convert my father’s house where he lived till he died into a museum to keep his memory alive. I want the place to be where people can go to for information. In addition, I am planning a good testimonial match in his honour. I know Nigerians loved him and would wish he gets a proper send forth from football, even if it is a posthumous one,” stressed the eldest daughter of the late footballer.
Ironically, despite having a world-class footballer as a father, Yemisi is not a football freak.
“I really cannot say I love football because I was very young when my dad played football for Nigeria and did all the beautiful things that people are still talking about till today. In my high school days, I was into track and field but didn’t go beyond that after school.”
Schooling in a city whose football team, Leicester City FC against all odds, won the English Barclays Premier League for the first time, has however made Yemisi to become aware of the how important his father was to football loving Nigerians.
“It was celebration everywhere in Leicester when their team won the EPL. I just could not believe the way people carried on the celebration.” She recalled.
Yemisi also revealed how fans and officials of her late father’s former Vitorial Setubal club in Portugal celebrated her presence in one of their matches.
“When I followed my Portuguese friend to Portugal and visited Vitorial Setubal, they gave me a VIP reception. They took me round the club ground and their Hall of Fame where they have a large portrait of my father. When the officials announced my presence at the stadium their fans sang and chorused to the good memory of my father. I was moved to tears,” revealed the dashing young lady.
Earlier, Yekini’s lawyer, Jubril, cleared air on a report by an online publication which insinuated that the mother of the late football star was suffering due to neglect and was selling bread for survival.
