By Damola Emmanuel
Again, death has sneaked into Nigeria’s house of football plucked one of the country’s priciest contributions to the sport. Tuesday evening, Chief Festus Bolaji Okubule, former FIFA referee, who dazzled and impressed anytime he was on duty, succumbed to an undisclosed ailment and quit the world stage.
As to be expected, all the who-is-who in Nigerian football, and sports in general, have been mourning the demise of the icon who bowed out at the age of 80.
Top on the list is the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, which commiserated with the Nigeria Referees Association, NRA, and the immediate family of the former FIFA referee.
In his active refereeing days, Okubule, the second Nigerian referee to officiate at the Africa Cup of Nations after Sunny Woghiren in 1974, was given the sobriquet of ‘Showboy’ for his demonstrative skills on the field of play as well as his topnotch dressing. He was one of the referees that officiated at the 1986 Africa Cup of Nations hosted by Egypt.
In his eulogy released on Wednesday, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, NFF General Secretary, wrote: “Festus Bolaji Okubule was an icon of the whistle and a man of high integrity. It is quite sad that the list of veterans and pacesetters of Nigeria football keeps depleting, steadily. We pray that God grants the late Okubule eternal rest and also grant those he has left behind the fortitude to bear the loss.”
Even after his retirement from active refereeing, Okubule never stopped serving the game that turned his name to a household name. He continued to contribute to the game as member of several committees and panels constituted with the sole aim of uplifting and developing Nigerian football.
Okubule became Nigeria’s first referee at a FIFA World Cup, when he was picked by the world-governing body for the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship (now FIFA U20 World Cup) in Mexico. That tournament was also Nigeria’s debut at a FIFA World Cup, with the Flying Eagles coming close to reaching the quarterfinals after defeating the old Soviet Union, losing to Brazil, and drawing with The Netherlands.
