Mrs Bilikis Rasheed, one of the wives of late ex-Super Eagles striker Rashidi Yekini, has urged government to assist in catering for the education of the deceased’s children.
Bilikis, who is based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in the late ex-international’s hometown of Ira, in Kwara.
She said her daughter, three-year-old Mosidat Damilola Yekini, is the youngest of the late footballer’s children.?
“The burden of taking care of the child’s education and upkeep alone is overwhelming. ?
“Mosidat is living with me in Abidjan and is in a nursery school and financing her education all alone won’t be easy,’’ Bilikis said.
She also urged government to immortalise the deceased as a way of recognising Yekini’s contributions to Nigerian and African football.
Meanwhile, the Onira of Ira, Oba AbdulRahaman Oyetoro, has disclosed that a street had been named in the town after the late Yekini.
He said the footballer’s death was a great loss to the town, saying government should assist in catering for the family of the deceased.
Also speaking the state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Prince Tunji Moronfoye, and the Commissioner for Sports, Kayode Towoju, advised Nigerian youths to emulate the late football icon.
According to them, Yekini had a fulfilled life and used his talent to serve his fatherland by bringing glory to the country.
They said the state government decided to give him a befitting burial because of his contribution to the state and the nation.
NAN reports that the state government donated N1.5 million to the Yekini family and organised the eighth day Fidau prayers with another N500,000.?
At the end of the prayers, a football statue was unveiled at the junction to the family house named after the late 1993 African Footballer of the Year.
Those present at the Fidau prayers included Yekini’s former teammates, NFA officials, representatives of the Kwara government, and ex-international Taiwo Ogunjobi who represented the Osun government.(NAN)
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