Former Lagos state governor, Bola
Tinubu, has mourned his nephew and late former Chairman of the Lagos State
Sports Commission, Deji Tinubu.
Deji was buried on Tuesday in
Lagos.
He was Special Adviser on
Commerce, Industry and Cooperative to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
Deji slumped and died in the Epe
area of Lagos State while playing football.
Tinubu, in a tribute, described
the deceased, as a good man whom he would miss.
Full text below…
”My nephew, Ayodeji Tinubu,
died while playing a sport he so loved from childhood. He had a zest for the
game just as he also had a special zest for the game of life itself. He was a
passionate player and teammate because he was a passionate and compassionate
person.
When he played football, he gave
it his all.
More importantly, what he did on
the field was surpassed by how he carried himself away from it. He gave his all
to his family, friends and his work. Everything he did was a labor of love and
devotion to him. As such, he was a rare and special person. I cannot even begin
to describe how deeply I shall miss him.
Deji so very close to me. I knew
him and the type of person he was. He was considerate and kind, outgoing but
thoughtful and humble. He loved people and thought more of others than he did
himself. Kind.
Thus, I could not help but love
him as if he was my son. He made me proud that he carried the name Tinubu with
respect.
I well knew his passion for
football. In my first term as governor from 1999 to 2003, I appointed him
Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Commission. I knew he would translate his
personal affinity for the game into something beneficial for the state.
As Chairman Sports Commission, he
did not let me down. As chairman, he performed with the same dedication, energy
and winning attitude as he did on the field of play. Deji did his best and his
best was to do well indeed. He recorded giant strides. No wonder my successor,
Babatunde Raji Fashola, appointed him to the same position in later years.
When Governor Akinwunmi Ambode
recently made him Special Adviser on Commerce and Industry, it opened another
vista for him in recognition of the excellent job he did for Lagos in sports
development.
He was an accomplished sports
entrepreneur with passion and bias for sports-related youth development, youth
management, administration and marketing. As a seasoned sports journalist, he
had established his own company, along with his long time school friend, Deji
Omotoyinbo.
In the field of sports, the two
friends were to become household names. They were role models for youths in
Lagos and beyond. Through sports, they taught many youths valuable and
important lessons of life, and for this fine contribution Deji shall always be
remembered by the many people whose lives he touched. This stands as a living
testament to the innate goodness and humanity of Deji. He was a rarity among
us.
For me, Deji has left us much too
soon. In this day and time, we need people of such passion and principle and
goodness to help the next generation. Yet, I cannot question God at all.
Perhaps, he wanted Deji to come home to be a bit closer to Him. All I can say
is I thank God for allowing someone like Deji to have been my nephew, my son,
and to have enriched my life as he did the lives of all who knew him.
Ayodeji lived well. There was no
doubt that he was an achiever. He was just 54 but he had accomplished a lot and
his legacies will carry on, from what he accomplished in Lagos to how he
distinguished himself as an Executive Committee member of the Nigeria Football
Federation.
I am proud of Ayodeji’s
achievements. Yet, I am even prouder of him as a person.
As scion of our patriarch, Kafaru
Tinubu’s family, Deji embodied all that his father stood for. He was humble,
humane, selfless, hard-working, intelligent and principled.
Lagos has lost a good son. I
shall mourn enough for us all. My tears have shed. I mourn with Governor Ambode
and those in the cabinet and government who were Deji’s colleagues.
As good as Deji was in his chosen
vocation and as a fan of the game, I was most proud of him for he excelled at
being a husband and father and just an exceptional human being in every way.
To his beloved and dear Yemisi as
well as his children, Oluwatamilore and Moyosoreoluwa I say please always
remember how this special and good man loved you and gave unto you his very
best. Remember how he cared for you, laughed with you and made you happy. May
God place his loving hand upon you and console you at this moment when no
earthly or human consolation can ever be sufficient.
To Alhaja Bintu Tinubu, the
matriarch of the family, may Almighty Allah comfort you. Your son lived an
excellent life and though we cry now, we must reach the place where we comfort
ourselves by remembering all the fine things that Deji was.
Let us dedicate ourselves anew to
the excellent traits that Deji personified. Let us live as the helpful and
compassionate teammates and family Deji would want us to be. Let us pray to God
and pray for ourselves during this moment of loss that there is a heavenly
recompense unto all of us who now feel the pain of Deji’s passing.
May God be with all of you and
comfort you. So long Deji, we shall always love and miss you.”
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