• Late Stephen Keshi’s Nephew, Ebuka
As the sports world continues to mourn former Super Eagles captain and coach, Stephen Keshi, members of his family are still in shock and can’t believe that he is truly gone.
Naij reporters were able to speak with Keshi’s look-alike nephew Ebuka who narrated the last moments of the late tactician. Below is an excerpt from the interview:
Can you describe what happened on that fateful day?
He was happy. He was talking, he called me into his room on two separate occasions and was just getting himself ready to pray and I helped him position his pillow, he sat up, he talked.He said ‘ah oboy e be like say cold dey, help me off this fan’, and I did. He said he will rest a bit and then start his prayers.Then I left for the living room. Moments later, he called me again and was like ‘this room don dey warm again’, so I put the fan on again.And he said‘I will call you when I am done again’. We talked and there was no indication that I would not have him like that to talk to again, I will not have him around, I will not be able to smile with him, you know … laugh with him.It never just … not the slightest of clue there that that was what we were going to experience some minutes to come. He was full of life; basically full of life.
Can you confirm if he was to leave for the US that day?
Ah… I know he was supposed to take a trip out of Edo state. We did not really discuss if it was going to be an onward transition to the US, but I just know that he was getting himself for a trip to Lagos.We did not discuss if he was to go to the US afterwards, because he discusses his movement.What can we say? What can we do? He is gone, it has happened, we are grieving, we are still sore… We just have to live with it.
What will Nigeria miss about the late ‘Big Boss’?
His name as we all know is a big market anytime. Everybody wants to be associated with him. He does his thing the right way it should be done; not cutting corners.On the field as a professional footballer in his active playing days, even till retirement, it’s been the same thing. So I think Nigeria as a whole will miss the professionalism this man brings to the fore.
