It was a day of mixed emotions as family, friends, teammates, and well-wishers gathered at the Catholic Church of Visitation, 1st Avenue, Festac Town, Lagos, on Friday, August 22, for the burial ceremony of former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Peter Rufai.
The ceremony was filled with tributes for the late Nigerian football legend, remembered not only for his heroics on the pitch but also for the impact he made in the lives of those closest to him.
The officiating priest, Father Simon Okezin, in his homily, charged the congregation to be mindful of their actions on earth as the time of death remains uncertain.
He also urged the government to improve the quality of living in the country by providing better basic amenities such as hospitals, stressing that such facilities are vital to improving people’s well-being and reducing preventable deaths.
Among the many tributes, Rufai’s daughter, Confidence Rufai, spoke emotionally about her late father’s character, describing him as a strict but meticulous man who valued excellence above everything else.
“He’s a disciplinarian, someone who is meticulous. I keep telling people that the man was a private man. He’s very private. He’s strict. He’s uptight. He likes things to be done and done well. If it has to be done, then it has to be done perfectly well. He doesn’t like lapses in whatever it is that he’s doing. He just likes it on point,” she said.
Confidence added that the memories of her father would be impossible to quantify.
“Things to miss are not things you can just count. They are memories. There’s a whole lot, So there are too many things to be missed. And he will be greatly missed.”
Former teammate and ex-international, Sylvanus “Quicksilver” Okpala, also shared fond memories of Rufai, recalling their early years together and how their bond grew as teammates in the national team. “I knew Peter Rufai as far back as 1978. Then I was in Green Eagles, in Flying Eagles, they call it Junior Eagles. We were camping at the National Stadium, National Institute for Sports, that was where we camped, and Peter Rufai came, we used to go and watch the Laffa League then in Suruler, whenever top teams like Storrs, NEPA, Police Officers, and Levantis were playing, they allowed us to go and watch, that was when I first saw him,” he recounted.
Okpala went on to recall their meeting in the senior national team, the Green Eagles.
“I met him finally in 1981, around November, December, when he joined us, when we went to the 1982 Nation’s Cup, he was our third goalkeeper, that was where I met him properly, we became very close, a nice guy, he was a nice guy, good goalkeeper, very good, so determined, and he has passion for the game, he doesn’t like losing, but all in all, fantastic guy, nice guy,” he said.
The ceremony drew the presence of the Stationary Stores Supporters Club, the NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, NFF Board Member Yomi Opakunle, Ganiyu Majekodunmi, along with several other stakeholders in Nigerian football.
Following the Mass, a solemn interment service was held at the Ikoyi Cemetery, where Peter Rufai was finally laid to rest.
