Thursday 4th June, 2026 at The Asaa Pyramid Hotel, Kaduna witnessed the book launch of The Book Famous Nigerian Footballers written by the veteran Journalist and past council chairman of Kaduna State NUJ Chief Andrew Fadason. The event was chaired by Mr. Isaiah Benjamin the President of SWAN. The occasion which was attended by dignitaries from all work of life and the Governor was ably represented by the permanent secretary Kaduna State ministry of Sports.
The chairman of the occasion, Mr. Benjamin, welcome guests and praised the ingenuity of the author who deemed it necessary to document the achievements of the famous Footballers who left legacies. It is therefore very pertinent that our youths have a lot to learn from the activities of these great sports men.
No sooner had he declared the event open, that he called the author to offer the book review in prospect.
The author said football is a unifying sport in Nigeria and it is loved by all genders and does not have political affiliation, ethnic colouration, religious bias either. Once the game starts especially when Nigeria or a Nigerian is playing all watching become one.
He recalled his days as a desk editor with New Nigerian Newspaper in Kaduna, he took interest in following the young Nigerians who started from unknown and poor background to become famous not only in Nigeria, Africa but in the whole world. They achieved these feat by deliberate efforts to learn, unlearn and relearn their skills and kept growing through the years. He kept a journal on each of the players mentioned in the book for over (15) fifteen years so that when he eventually put them together it can serve as a reference material to upcoming athletes. He noted that these famous footballers endured hardships and training to become great men.
Important dignitaries present, commended the efforts of the author and encouraged all invited guests to patronize by purchasing the work.
The special guest of honor in respect of Hon. Amb. Yerima Shetima lauded the efforts of the author. He went down memory lane on how he loved the game of football even though he didn’t excel in it. His love for the game has not diminished even till today.
Senator Kaltung represented by Prof John Lar also applauded the efforts of the author and promised to still carry out his own review of the book in future.
The representative of the governor distinguished senator Uba Sani, the permanent secretary of Kaduna State ministry of Sports Mrs Dorcas Inti Benjamin gave the goodwill message to the author. She said she is encouraged by this work. She equally hinted that his Excellency’s love for sports made him to embark on the upgrading the Ahmadu Bello Stadium to accommodate 32 thousands spectators and make it one of the best in the country. He encouraged dignitaries to purchase the book.
The Eze Igbo of U/Yelwa Chief Anthony Tobi Chukwu a lover of football recounted how he has sponsored and organized football competition in his domain and thanked the author of the book for his great efforts. He promised to buy some copies.
After a set of goodwill messages came the actual launching which was excitingly carried out. The author Chief Andrew Fadason promised to use the proceeds from the book to produce the remaining 2 volumes very soon.
By Felix A Sha’adu
