By Dipo Awojobi – Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, a former coach of the Nigerian national football team, the Super Eagles, is dead. He died at the age of 54.
According to a family source who confirmed the news of his death, the sudden demise of the former international was shocking to relatives and close associates.
“He was not ill at all, never showed any signs of illness, but we suspect he never got over the death of his wife,” the source quoted one of his close friends as saying.
Last year, Keshi lost his wife of 33 years, Kate, after a prolonged battle with cancer.
He is survived by four children and his mother.
Keshi, who was a famous and notable figure in the football industry, was popularly called the Big Boss.
He is the only Nigerian coach to have won the Africa Cup of Nations. He also became the second person in history to win the competition as a player and as a coach, when he led the Super Eagles to win the tournament in 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
