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.
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