I woke up Sunday morning to the shocking news of the demise of a multi-talented Nigerian, Jide Fashikun.
Fashikun was not only a former athlete but a football and handball player who represented El Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri and Zamalek of Egypt in football and handball respectively.
His death came exactly one year after the demise of another veteran sports journalist and former Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Deji Tinubu.
Unlike several of his colleagues, Fashikun did not retire from sports into oblivion. In his bid to improve the Nigerian sports sector, he took to the pen pushing profession and until his death; he was the Managing Editor of Gong News, an online platform. It was Mbaka Ambeze media aide of the Sports Minister, Barr. Solomon Dalung, who first broke the sad news on the social media around 8am. It was not until I saw similar posts on the Facebook timeline of Prince Tunji Moronfoye, the Special Adviser on Communications and Strategy to the Kwara State Governor and others that it actually dawned on me that Fashikun is no more. I quickly went to his twitter account and found out that he had been inactive there for about two weeks.
I have had the opportunity of meeting the former athlete on a number of occasions while covering sporting events across the country.ย ย He was a devoted Nigerian and a fearless individual who would go extra miles in getting his stories especially when it has to do with exposing the rot in the nation’s sports sector.
Fashikun from the little I knew about him was a journalist who had nose for โnews beyond the newsโ.ย ย He was one of the most powerful and influential sports journalists in the country and could enter any office in search of information and news. He was not just a sports journalist but a Nigerian who monitored and could analyse events from other sectors.
Fashikun’s figure cut across various chapters of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), from his home state, Kwara to Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory, where he operated until his death.
In the course of his investigative journalism, Fashikun earned the wrath of those in authorities such as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and other sports associations. The deceased through his brand of journalism was able to put most of our sports administrators on their toes.
He was never one to be deterred by threats or harassment in the discharge of his duties. I could remember sometimes in November 2011, Fashikun was arrested in Abuja by men from the office of the Inspector General of Police on the order of NFF officials.ย ย The NFF afterward, dragged him to court demanding that Fashikun must confirm the veracity of his ‘unfavourable’ reports against the Federation.
As part of his commitment to ensure Nigerian athletes do not miss out of international competitions due to funding, the former senior sports correspondent of This Day newspaper alongside former African Tracks Queen, Mary Onyali set-up the Nigeria Sports Development Fund Initiative (NSDFI).
Perhaps I would have been closer to Fashikun if I had known that he was actually from Kwara State and more importantly from the same Senatorial District (Kwara South) with me.
It is quite unfortunate that Fashikun will be buried in his home town, Obo-Aiyegunle on a day(Wednesday, January 30) that I am expected to celebrate my new age.
Jide, now that you are no more, I pray that God will grant your family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. My thoughts are with your aged mother, your wife, Bola and the kids.
Also, I am worried about what becomes of those projects you may have left behind; the Gong News and the Nigeria Sports Development Fund Initiative (NSDFI) you co-initiated with Onyali.
Now that you are no more, where are those sports journalists that will investigate the corruption and mismanagement of funds by our sports administrators?
Though it is quite unfortunate that the nation has lost one of its finest and committed sports writers, we should however take solace in the fact that Fashikun had contributed immensely to sports development as an athlete, administrator and a journalist.
