Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described the sudden demise of ex-soccer star and former national Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi, as the loss of a national hero and a pacesetter.
Atiku, in a statement released to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday by his Head of Media, Mr Paul Ibe, expressed shock and sadness at Keshi’s passing away at the age of 54.
“It saddens my heart to learn of the stunning news of the death of the golden boy of Nigerian football.
“His departure is more touching when one recalls that Keshi also lost his loving wife of 33 years, Kate, to cancer late last year, thus rendering their young children hapless orphans.
“While praying for the repose of the soul of this fallen hero, I would also beseech God Almighty to grant fortitude and grace to the mother, four children, family members and friends that the deceased compatriot left behind,” the statement said.
It recalled that Keshi was the longest serving national football captain in Nigeria, with 64 caps, and the first to win the African Cup of Nations both as a player, in 1994, and a national coach in 2013.
The statement emphasised the urgent need for governments at local and national levels to always honour the good deeds of past heroes.
“His heroic labour (and of those before and after him) should not be in vain’’, the statement further said.