"Your life is measured not only by what you do, but the legacy you leave behind."
The first thought for every Nigerian right now is shock followed by sadness and then reflection. Suddenly, at a tender age of 54, Keshi left this planet. That is not an old age in world terms, and in Nigerian terms it's very young. So the news hits even harder when you hear it.
After reflection on the sadness and thoughts with the family he leaves behind, you can then take a step back and look at the legacy he left behind. If life was a game, that would be the determining factor of whether you won or lost. A lot of us lose the game as when we pass on, the world at large won't remember us. It's really those of us lucky enough to have caring famly that do the remembering.
Keshi falls into that very small bracket of people who will be remembered by the world at large. Globally, he was known as the captain and then coach of Nigeria who was successful with his nation. Reading the news outlets, those that aren't Nigerian at least respect how important he was to the country and how much of a legend Nigerians saw him as based on his achievements.
That is including the other aforementioned pieces because he deserves it. For a country so embroiled in the beautiful game, Keshi stands out as being the most successful and important Nigerian with regards to football. So it only makes sense that a football nation like Nigeria pays proper respect to one of its greats.
It's not only him being the captain of the legendary 1994 African Cup of Nations side, who went on to announce themselves to the world at the tournament in the USA that summer. Keshi's monumental achievement was succeeding as a coach, an African coach who showed that he could marry tactics with the Nigerian way of playing and still bring home the trophy. After all, what is entertaining football without the glory at the end of it all. To add, this was a feat that many Nigerians did not believe in, with the notion that only a "top" European coach could be successful with Nigeria.
That for me is why Keshi is so important, personally. He championed African coaches being given the opportunity to prove themselves, rather than get sidelined by "better" European ones. Keshi did not hold back in what he saw was an internal hatred of oneself by organizations looking first at European coaches instead of those desperate to do well in their homeland. And by Keshi making the Super Eagles play the best football they've ever played since the golden generation of the mid nineties, his stance and support for fellow African coaches was far more profound.
An African can coach and can do it well with success.
Keshi may be gone, but he's not forgotten. By no means. I must now look to Nigerians to do their part in making sure he is remembered properly. He deserves every bit of it, and it shows the quality of a nation and the strength of it by how they remember their important sons once they have passed on.
Oga Keshi...we salute you. HH
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