DODO MAYANA IS GONE
PETER RUFAI, ONE OF THE BEST GOALKEEPERS IN THE WORLD
In 2023, I received a call from the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero. He informed me that Peter Rufai had invited him to Lagos as the Royal Father of the Day at his book launch event. His Royal Highness said he had accepted the invitation and planned to attend in person.
The Emir further instructed me to prepare his speech based on my understanding of the Nigerian football terrain and my friendship with Dodo Mayana. I drafted the speech and raised several fundamental issues affecting the development of football in Nigeria. I later called His Royal Highness to ask if I could accompany him to the event. He replied, “That was why I asked you to write the speech.” I told him, “Your Highness, as much as I would love to attend, once you read that speech and people see me there, many who know me will immediately say, ‘Now we know where that speech came from.'” Without His Royal Highness’s permission, I could not share the speech here.
As I eagerly looked forward to Peter Rufai’s book launch in Lagos with the Emir of Kano, I received another call from the Emir. He informed me that Peter Rufai had called to postpone the event to a later date. I do not know if the event eventually took place, and I never asked His Royal Highness until today.
This afternoon, like many other Nigerians, I read that Peter Rufai is no more. I quickly sent a message to His Royal Highness, the Emir of Kano, who is currently in Saudi Arabia, to inform him of Dodo Mayana’s passing.
Nigeria has lost a legend and one of the safest hands in world football, Peter Rufai, also known as Dodo Mayana. His consistency in goal for Nigeria during AFCON 1994 in Tunisia and the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA earned Nigeria the title of the most entertaining national team in the world that year.
Inuwa Rigogo
Emmanuel Okala
Raymond King
Best Ogedengbe
Alloy Agu
Peter Rufai
Daniel Abdullahi
Emmanuel Babayaro
Ike Shorumu
Joseph Dosu
Abiodun Baruwa
Vincent Enyeama
These are some of the best hands I can remember from this country who manned our goalposts.
Goalkeepers are special people in football. Like referees, they often have only a few seconds, sometimes just two, to make critical decisions during a game.
The goalkeepers we produced are as good as the likes of:
Dino Zoff, Oliver Kahn, Peter Schmeichel, Iker Casillas, Dida, Van der Sar, René Higuita, Thomas N’Kono, and others.
Good night, Dodo Mayana.
Rest in peace, Legend.
