Former ace footballer and sports business executive, Chief Segun Odegbami, has expressed shock at the death of his friend and former Secretary General of Nigerian Football Federation known as Nigerian Football Association (NFA), Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi.
Odegbami, who is the governorship candidate of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) in Ogun State, said he had to cancel all his appointments on Monday when he got “the very sad and shocking news of the passage of my friend of over 46 years – Taiwo Ogunjobi.”
To Odegbami, who went back on memory lane on how he and the late Ogunjobi started their friendship as fellow players of the round leather game, said “His passage is a reminder of our mortality as well as the vanity of the pursuit of materialism and even scoring cheap political points at the expense of genuine friendship and unconditional love.
“We are all ageing and getting slowly and steadily to the gates of our earthly terminus, waiting for our turn to return to our Creator when the knell tolls.
“Taiwo was a great administrator and master of the political game. He served football, Oyo and Ogun States, and the country very well.
He will live in our hearts for as long as we live. His place in the annals of Nigerian football is assured.”
Odegbami sadly noted that the passing of Taiwo has literally destabilised him, “I have been unable to function properly as I recall the early days and years of a fascinating relationship that only became temporarily chilled later in adult life when the political struggle in Nigerian football stretched our friendship without ever been able to destroy it.
“Nothing could have damaged the foundation of a friendship that we built at the point of evolving into adulthood together, getting an education, playing football, having our families and ageing in recent years,” Odegbami said.
