The Sports world and a Harvest of Wreaths

The World was jolted recently with the death of four global sports heroes. Football lovers all around the world and boxing fans are still in terrible grief and shock over these deaths. Many people are beginning to wonder what is amiss with the recurring sad stories.
It started with Muhammad Ali, the three-time heavyweight champion who proclaimed himself “the Greatest”, defied the US government over the Vietnam war, and later became one of the most well-known – and loved – sportsmen in history who died at 74.
Ali died at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, following a respiratory problem. His being taken to the hospital was a move that was described at the time as “a precaution”. However, reports emerged 24 hours later which said he had been placed on a life support machine and his family “feared the worst”.
Ali had become increasingly frail since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984, when he was just 42, and had limited his public appearances in recent years. Earlier this month his brother Rahman Ali revealed that the condition was so advanced he could barely speak or leave his house. But in spite of all these, he died at a pretty old age.
As a sportsman he will be remembered for many classic fights – in particular beating the fearsome Sonny Liston to become champion; the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manilla against Joe Frazier, and the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974 when, at the age of 32, he surprised everyone bar himself by cutting down George Foreman in Kinshasa to regain back his title.
While his funeral was just being consummated, death again struck the football world, this time in Nigeria. Our own Stephen Keshi, former Super Eagles player, skipper and coach. He was reported to have passed away in the early hours of Wednesday, June 8, 2016 in Benin City, Edo State
Keshi’s death was quite painful. First, he was a young man and a family member who confirmed his death said: “He was not ill at all, never showed any signs of illness, but we suspect he never got over the death of his wife,” Keshi is said to have lost his wife to cancer in 2015. They were married for 33 years. He is survived by four children and his mother.
Keshi played for the Super Eagles from 1981 to his last outing in 1995, winning the African Nations Cup at Tunisia ’94. As a coach, he managed the senior teams at Togo, Mali as well as the Super Eagles of Nigeria where he won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, becoming the second person to win the trophy both as a player and a coach.

Forty-eight hours after Keshi died, Former Bayer Leverkusen coach Sascha Lewandowski was found dead at his home in Bochum, Germany. He was aged 44.
Lewandowski left his role as Union Berlin coach in March, after six months in charge, on medical advice because of acute fatigue syndrome. Club president Dirk Zingler said: “We are deeply shocked and incredibly sad. Our sincere condolences to the family.”
Lewandowski was joint head coach of Leverkusen from 2012 to 2013, and was briefly in sole charge in 2014.
Last Saturday, roughly seventy- two hours after Keshi’s demise, like a prowling demon, death again struck the Nigeria Football Federation snatching away former Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu who died at the age of 58 in Benin City, the Edo State capital. The Nigeria’s Technical Director, Amodu, had four spells as coach of the Super Eagles.
Amodu led Nigeria to qualification for the 2002 and 2010 World Cups, but was sacked before the tournaments started. Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick said: “This is another tragedy too many. We are still talking about Keshi’s death, and now Amodu is gone. I’m short of words.”
Amodu was to have replaced Sunday Oliseh, who resigned as the country’s coach in February, but he declined on health grounds. He rose to prominence when he guided BCC Lions of Gboko to win the Africa Winners’ Cup in 1991. He also coached top South African club Orlando Pirates between 1996 and 1997.
But most painful is the fact that Amodu Shaibu, was reported to have died in his sleep. The four-time Eagles gaffer was reported to have complained of chest pain late Friday after dropping off fellow coach Godwin Izilien in Benin City. Family sources said a check on him at 4am on Saturday morning discovered his lifeless body. His remains was then deposited in the same Stella Obasanjo Specialist Hospital morgue, where Steven Keshi’s body is at the moment before the finalisation of his burial formalities. He has since been buried according to Islamic rites.
For many football and sports lovers, this is a season of harvest of wreaths, a season of anomie. Many are wondering and are at a loss as to what is happening, particularly in Nigeria which is currently the hardest hit. Is it just death that has claimed these men or something is wrong somewhere? Nigerians are aware of the infighting and all sorts of despicable maneuvers by politicians and other interests in the Nigerian Football Federation. Some are wondering if there is no deployment of voodoo weapons in the on-going feud in the Nigeria Football House. Coach Sunday Oliseh may have seen all the mess there necessitating his throwing in the towel. Even Late Keshi and Amodou openly complained of the unnecessary fights going on.
But someone needs to tell Nigerians what is amiss in the football house called NFF. President Muhammadu Buhari needs to take some drastic action to quell all the deadly feud going on at the NFF. Mediocrity needs to be overthrown and excellence enthroned. The best hands should be hired to manage Nigerian football which should be largely left in the hands of the private sector. Government needs to divest its interest in the nation’s football industry and allow businesses and private sector drive our football in a way to restore confidence and hope in the industry. This is because many people appear to see the football sector as a goldmine and hot bed for corruption. The dominance of Europeans in the soccer world is a product of the corruption and infightings going on in African football and Nigeria is a typical bad example. This bad image must be redeemed and the time to act is now.