Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has commiserated with the family, protégés and contemporaries of coach Usman Adenuja, the head coach of the defunct Kwara Academicals and the Northern Lions, who died on Wednesday, October 29.
AbdulRazaq said in a condolence statement personally signed by him that he was once a player of the Kwara state football team which Adenuja coached.
“Coach Adenuja was the football coach when I represented Kwara state at the national sports festival in Lagos in 1973. He was a great coach and a leader of men. He was great at what he did! I pray to the Almighty God to repose his soul and comfort the family he has left behind,” the governor said.
“I also commiserate with the entire sports family in Kwara and Kogi states, especially the football family, which benefited immensely from the ingenuity, patriotism and commitment of Coach Adenuja while he held sway.”
The governor recalled visiting Adenuja in his Okene country home a few years ago while he also spoke with his son, Abubakar, a week ago to inquire about the health of the coach.
Adenuja, a former head of coaching at the Kwara state sports council and Ag. Director of Sports at the Council, was from the old Kwara state before the creation of Kogi in 1991. He was also a very skillful footballer.
Top players like Moses Otolorin and Toyin Ayinla, among others, were nurtured by Coach Adenuja.
Prominent coaches who grew up under Adenuja’s tutelage included Busari Isola and Albert Adetoye.
