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SOUTH WEST NIGERIA STANDS STILL FOR TAIWO OGUNJOBI

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The final passage rites for the late Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi enters a major pahse this Wednesday as the Western Nigeria Football Forum (WNFF), headed by the First Vice president of the Nigeria Football Federation and chairman of the Lagos FA, Seyi Akinwunmi, holds a symposium in honour of the departed football administrator.

The late Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi was a former Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Association and later a board member of the NFF. His last duty post before he breathed his last was the chairmanship of the Osun State FA in South West, Nigeria.

Before taken up football administrative roles, Ogunjobi was a footballer for the Shooting Stars, which he captained to the final of the 1984 Africa Cup of Champions Clubs.

He also played for the Nigeria Academicals, which defeated Ghana 5-1 in 1974. Ogunjobi was the hero of the match as he scored three of the goals. Shortly, he left Nigeria shores to study at the Clemson University in the US.

His only cap for the Nigerian national team was the 11 February 1984 Olympic Games qualifying match with Morocco. Coincidentally, he died exactly 35 years after the match. 

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According to the 1st Vice President of the NFF and coordinator Western Nigeria Football Forum, Seyi Akinwunmi, the symposium holding in honour of Ogunjobi has the theme: ‘Celebrating the life and times of Ogunjobi.”

It will hold at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Lekan Salami Satdium, Adamasingba, Ibadan. The symposium will begin at 4pm.

He further informed that former NFF President, Alhaji Sani Lulu, the current president of the NFF Amaju Pinnick, the chairman of Shooting Stars Sports Club Gbolagade Busari, football legend Chief Segun Odegbami, veteran sports journalist, Ade Somefun as well as Gboyega Makinde, Elder Bode Oyewole among others will give tributes at the event expected to have the State Commissioners for Sports in Oyo and Osun as Special Guests of honour.

Later in the evening, there will be candle light procession. It was also gathered that there will be novelty matches involving Family United By Sports (FUBS) where he was the captain of the Lagos-based first class whatsapp group football team/ Lagos All Stars versus Ex-Shooting Stars /Osun United on Thursday.

The lying-in-state ceremony will later on Thursday take place at Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan.

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The body of the late Secretary General of the NFF will be interred to mother earth on Friday at a private cemetery.

Akinwunmi, while expressing sadness over the death of the former Osun FA chairman, said: “This.is an avenue to honour him because he did so well for football in the South West and Nigeria as a whole.

He enjoined all football stakeholders to turn out enmasse to pay their last respect to the former captain and Sole Administrator of the Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan,” he said.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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