The ‘Night of Tributes’ was more than an event – it was a pilgrimage to the altar of Nigerian sports history. As the nation mourned Christian Chukwu, MFR; Charles Bassey, MON; Peter Rufai, MON; Obisia Nwakpa, OLY; and Moses Effiong, MON, 5 Nigerian Sports heroes that died in 2025. Dr. Olusegun Odegbami’s poignant reflections at the ‘Wall of Fame’ captured the fragile beauty of legacy. Their names, immortalized in marble and memory, remind us that true greatness never fades.
Last night….!
It is only a few minutes after the ‘Night of Tributes’.
We stroll to the ‘Wall of Fame’ just beside the auditorium.
It is exactly 2 years since he funded the construction of this magnificent monument.
We stand and look up at the ‘Wall’.
The names, all scripted in gold letters against Black and staring back at us, are etched forever on the marbled wall.
We are deep in a common thought.
‘How many are still alive?’, Allen asks me.
It is a question that reminds me, again, how fragile this life is, how we are all pilgrims on this earth living on borrowed time.
He calls out each name. I tell him the status. Dead. Alive. Alive. Dead.
Together, we go through the list of great names and super sports heroes in nostalgic recollection.
It is a humbling experience, a moment frozen in time and captured here in this photographic masterpiece.
By the way, Dr. Allen Onyema is on the right!
Dr. Olusegun Odegbami MON, OLY, AFNIIA, FNIS, GS Ambassador
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We are honoured to announce that Chief Segun Odegbami’s profound writings on sports, legacy, and Nigerian athletics will grace our platform regularly. His words—like his legacy—inspire, educate, and endure.
The wall is a good edifice to tell the stories and enable reflections on the hero’s of Nigeria.
I salute the courage for the initiative, a benefiting act that’s a legacy.
Hopefully, I will be able to visit to read this historic placard someday.