Yemi Ojo: You Remembered Us, And We Will Remember You

By Paul Lucky Okoku

There was a painful coincidence in the way the news of the passing of veteran Nigerian sports journalist 𝗬𝗲𝗺𝗶 𝗢𝗷𝗼 reached me.

I was on my way to join the family of another veteran sports journalist, 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗔𝗷𝗶𝗯𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮-𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀, in Atlanta, Georgia, as they commemorated the life of his beloved wife, 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 (𝗠𝗿𝘀.) 𝗖𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮 𝗔𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗶𝘀𝗶 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮-𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀.

It was while I was making that journey that the call came: Yemi Ojo had passed away.

The moment gave me pause. I was travelling to stand with the family of one of the pioneers of Nigerian sports journalism in their hour of bereavement when I learned that another veteran journalist—one who had documented an important part of my own football journey more than four decades earlier—had taken his final bow.

𝗬𝗘𝗠𝗜 𝗢𝗝𝗢 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟯 𝗙𝗟𝗬𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗘𝗔𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗦

For those who remember Nigerian sports journalism of that era, Yemi belonged to a distinguished generation of reporters who lived and breathed sports.

He worked with 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 and followed our 𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟯 𝗙𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀 🦅 set very closely.

Yemi wrote extensively about us. He documented our journey and treated our team and what we accomplished with genuine respect and admiration.

But what touches me most today is that more than four decades later, 𝗬𝗲𝗺𝗶 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘂𝘀.

Over the years, I remained in contact with him. As I began documenting the stories of our 1983 Flying Eagles set and the individual journeys of my teammates, I regularly shared those articles with Yemi.

I knew he appreciated them.

What I did not know until the day of his passing was just how widely he had been sharing some of those stories with others, including among his fellow Nigerian sports journalists in the diaspora.

Learning that after his death touched me deeply.

𝗡𝗦𝗝𝗜𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔 𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗦

Yemi was also a prominent member of the 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮 (𝗡𝗦𝗝𝗜𝗗), an organization bringing together active and former Nigerian sports journalists living outside the country.

I remember its inaugural convention in the Washington, D.C./Maryland area in 2022.

It was not merely a gathering of journalists. It was a reunion of people who had contributed to Nigerian sports from different directions and across different disciplines.

Footballers, journalists and personalities from other sports came together in fellowship. Among the sports figures associated with that memorable gathering were former internationals and distinguished athletes including 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗶 𝗔𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗦𝗮𝗺 𝗢𝗸𝗽𝗼𝗱𝘂 and 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗿, alongside personalities from table tennis, boxing and other areas of Nigerian sports.

Our late 1983 Flying Eagles teammate 𝗧𝗮𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘂 was also among those recognized, although he received his honor in absentia.

Several sports personalities were honored that weekend for their contributions. I was grateful to be among them through recognition of our sports and youth-development work with the Greater Tomorrow Children’s Fund, but what matters in remembering that occasion today is not any one person’s award.

It was the fellowship.

There was a bond between the journalists who chronicled Nigerian sports and the athletes whose performances gave them stories to tell. We could disagree, but there was friendship, familiarity and mutual respect.

Yemi represented that tradition.

NSJID itself was still a relatively young diaspora organization at the time. Its inaugural convention examined “The Future of Nigerian Sports,” with 𝗦𝗮𝗺 𝗢𝗸𝗽𝗼𝗱𝘂 among the guest speakers and veteran journalists and sports personalities gathering from different places. The convention also marked a leadership transition to 𝗢𝗹𝘂𝗴𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮 (𝗚𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮) 𝗕𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗿𝗲 as President.

For Yemi, that connection to his profession endured. Even after relocating to the United States, he remained connected to Nigerian sports journalism and to the people whose stories he had helped tell.

𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗦 𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥

It is painful to lose someone who remembered our 𝗙𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀 🦅 𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟯 𝘀𝗲𝘁, documented our journey, and continued to value our story more than four decades later.

Journalists are often the custodians of other people’s memories. They write the stories, record the victories and disappointments, preserve the names and document moments that might otherwise disappear with time.

But eventually, someone must remember the journalists too.

Today, it is our turn to remember Yemi.

William Shakespeare wrote:

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances.”

Yemi, you have played your part.

The curtain has closed behind you; the stage now belongs to the next players.

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗬𝗲𝗺𝗶 𝗢𝗷𝗼.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 🕯️🙏🏽

𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗢𝗸𝗼𝗸𝘂
FIFA Legend | Former Nigeria Flying Eagles Vice-Captain | Former Super Eagles International | AFCON Silver Medalist | Football Historian | Football Analyst | Investigative Football Writer | Journalist-at-Large | Founder & CEO, Greater Tomorrow Children’s Fund (GTCF).

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