Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has expressed grief at the death of former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Peter Rufai, describing his death as another huge loss to the nation’s football ecosystem.
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, also described the passing of former Stationery Stores goalkeeper as a great loss to Nigeria, especially football fans.
Rufai was reported to have died on Thursday from a yet-to-be-disclosed ailment.
Describing Rufai’s demise as saddening, NPFL Chairman, Otunba Gbenga Elegbeleye said that he was a good ambassador of the league and an inspiration to the younger players.
‘Rufai was a gentleman who was always willing to support the league whenever he was invited to grace our events such as workshop and fixture draws.
‘To the younger players, he was the big brother they all looked up to because like them, he played in the domestic league before seeking greener pastures in Europe.
‘He returned home after retirement and has been helping our young ones learn the art of goalkeeping through his annual booth camps’, Elegbeleye recalled.
The league chairman offered commiserations to Rufai’s immediate family and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), saying that ‘the family and Nigeria has lost a legend’.
For Sanwo-Olu, the death of the football legend is painful. He sympathised with the deceased’s family, friends, colleagues, the NFF and the Nigeria Sports Commission.
In a statement on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, the governor said that Rufai (fondly called Dodomayana), is a legend who wore the Nigerian colours with passion and pride.
He said: ‘The death of Dodomayana, as Peter Rufai is fondly called, is a painful loss to our country, Lagos State and Nigeria. The country has lost a legend and national icon. He was one of the best Nigerian goalkeepers in football history.
‘Peter Rufai served Nigeria passionately, winning many laurels for the country in international competitions. He represented Nigeria as a first-choice goalkeeper at two FIFA World Cup finals in 1994 and 1998 and helped the Super Eagles win the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia.
‘On behalf of the government and people of Lagos State, I offer my heartfelt condolences to Nigerians and Lagosians in particular, especially those with fond memories of Dodomayana of the famous Stationery Stores Football Club. Peter Rufai was a good ambassador of our dear State and Nigeria. His death is a great loss to us.
‘I am saddened by his death and will be sorely missed. I pray to God for eternal peace for the late Peter Rufai. May God grant the family, friends and football fans the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss’.
Rufai first kept for the national team in a friendly match in December 1981 when the national team was known as Green Eagles, and would later be part of the squad that won Africa Cup of Nations silver medal in 1984 and 1988, before Nigeria clinched their second continental glory in Tunisia in 1994. He was the first-choice goalkeeper in the three championships.
Ever colourful, charismatic and disciplined, Rufai was also the keeper for Nigeria in the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals, and retired from the national squad in 1998.
His post-retirement years have been spent discovering and mentoring young players.
