Former Super Eagles striker Rashidi Yekini counsel, Barrister Jubril Olanrewaju Mohammed, has expressed dissatisfaction on the way the country’s football administrators and teammates of the late striker were keeping mute about him after his demise.
Barrister Mohammed, in a chat with newsmen in Ibadan, said Yekini’s teammate and football administrators ought to have corrected the wrong impression that Nigeria’s all-time highest goalscorer was a loner who did not associate with anybody.
“Many people believe that the former Vitoria Setubal striker, who died in mysterious circumstances in Ibadan, on May 4, 2012, at the age of 48, did not have any social life, but lived in seclusion.
“People’s notion of Rashidi Yekini is wrong in the sense that they didn’t know him; but his teammates and friends should be the one to come out and correct some of these negative impressions.
“You can ask his teammates like Mutiu Adepoju and Ike Shorunmu about his social life which, I believe, they can attest to because of their closeness.
“Yekini was in the national team for many years and some of his teammates revealed that he was a jovial and accommodating person, and if that is true, NFF should have come to his defence on his loner behaviour notion,” Barister Mohammed said.
Speaking further, Barrister Mohammed said many people who were close to the gangling striker before his untimely death, can testify to his generosity and that he was never an introvert.
“Some people say he was stingy, but they don’t know that Yekini gave more to people; but because of his strong Islamic belief, he didn’t want anyone to know.
“I can say authoritatively that I know of an Ibadan-based footballer, who plied his trade in Europe, who usually stayed in his house anytime he was in town on holidays because he knew that nobody could come to Yekini’s house anyhow, and another player lived with him for many years.
“Those are the people who should have came out to debunk the false allegation of unsociable, loner and other crazy notions some people had about Yekini,” he added.
