The family of late Nigerian football icon, Teslim ‘Thunder’ Balogun, has called on the federal and Lagos State governments to preserve the legacy of the legendary footballer and his late wife, Alhaja Mulikat Balogun, as they mark the 27th anniversary of her passing on Monday, PUNCH Online reports.
- +Family urges govt to preserve Teslim Balogun’s legacy
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Sunday, the family spokesman, Kayode Zegge Balogun, said while the family remained grateful that the Lagos State government had immortalised their father’s name with the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, there were concerns about the state of the facility.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Sunday, the family spokesman, Kayode Zegge Balogun, said while the family remained grateful that the Lagos State government had immortalised their father’s name with the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, there were concerns about the state of the facility.
“We are happy the Lagos State government has immortalised our father with that beautiful stadium in Surulere, but for a long time now, nothing has been happening there.
“Government must not allow it to rot away. We also believe that the family they left behind will not be forgotten, as the labour of our heroes past shall not be in vain,” he said.
His brother, Olamide Balogun, paid tribute to their mother, describing her as a pillar who held the family together after their father’s death.
“Our mother was a caring mother. She ensured all eight of us who our father left behind went to school and turned out as graduates. As a single mother, she did everything to guide us to who we are today,” he said.
Tributes also poured in from sports personalities and stakeholders across the country.
President-General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club (Worldwide), Dr Rafiu Ladipo, described the late Alhaja Mulikat as “a great lover who played a very important role in making her husband Nigeria’s greatest footballer of all time.”
Former Chairman of the Lagos Island East Local Government Council, Alhaji Mufutau Kadiku, said her contributions to Nigerian football extended beyond the home.
“Late Alhaja Mulikat Balogun left behind a legacy of immense contributions to the development of football in the country. She ensured all her children went to school and insisted all seven boys — she had one daughter too — played football,” Kadiku said.
Perhaps the most telling testament to her influence on Nigerian football history was recalled from a conversation with the late coach Adegboye Onigbinde during an earlier memorial.
The former Nigeria head coach had recounted how the then Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was determined to win the Challenge Cup for the region and identified Teslim Balogun, then playing for Queens Park Rangers in England, as the man to deliver it.
According to Onigbinde, Awolowo travelled to England and appealed to Alhaja Mulikat to persuade her husband to return home. She did. Balogun left QPR, came back to Nigeria in 1958, and led Western Nigeria to win the Challenge Cup.
Alhaja Mulikat Balogun passed away on May 25, 1998.
