While the Nigerian legendary goalkeeper, Peter Rufai, is often celebrated for his stellar contributions to the national team and his successful career in Europe, many knew little about Peter Rufai’s royal heritage.
Peter Rufai, hailed by admirers as ‘Dodo Mayana’ (derived from Portuguese), took his exit at 61 on Thursday, after a prolonged illness. But the revered goalie declined wearing his ancestral crown to pursue his passion for football to global fame, including wearing the Nigerian national colours with great pride and composure in-between the sticks.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that Rufai’s story is more than just goalkeeping brilliance as his life and times showed a blend of nobility and sacrifice.
Here are 10 facts about Peter Rufai’s royal heritage, and other less known facts;
1. Peter Rufai’s royal heritage is rooted in Idimu, Lagos, having been born a prince during the reign of his father, Onidimu of Idimu, Oba Saula Alabi Rufai.
2. Born on August 24, 1963, in Oshodi, Lagos, Rufai was groomed for royalty but chose the roar of the stadium over the reverence of a palace.
3. Onidimu of Idimu, Oba Saula Alabi Rufai joined his ancestors in 1998 and Rufai emerged as a candidate for the royal stool. Reports revealed that the late Oba Rufai was involved in an accident while travelling out of town for an eye treatment. The accident would eventually lead to his death.
4. Following his father’s death, he was allowed by the club he was playing for then, Deportivo La Coruña, to return to Nigeria to discuss the succession, but turned down the offer. Despite the crown bestowed on Peter Rufai’s royal heritage, it was gathered that the veteran goalkeeper let go of the royal crown to continue playing between the sticks in Europe.
5. He later retired his professional playing career in 2000 after 20 years of football. Peter Rufai earned 65 caps as a composed shot-stopper, helping the Super Eagles to win the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia after finishing runners up in 1984 and 1988. He was also part of Nigeria’s golden generation of players that represented the country at the USA 1994 World Cup. He captained the national side at the mundial. Four years later, Rufai also retained the Super Eagles’ No 1 Jersey at France 1998 and was in goal for Nigeria for a very long time.
6. But Peter Rufai had a rough childhood despite being born in a royal family. Rufai’s mother, who hailed from Port Harcourt, River State, had to smuggle him out of Lagos State during the peak period of the Nigerian civil war that broke out in 1967.
7. Rufai and his mother relocated to Port Harcourt which was under the control of Biafran soldiers. To protect her child from retaliatory attacks, Rufai’s mother dropped her son’s Yoruba name and gave him his famous first name, “Peter”.
8. Rufai started at Municipal Primary School, where his goalkeepering career began unexpectedly. He played an inter-school match as a midfielder but was later forced to become his team’s goalkeeper after members of the team were frustrated with the initial goalkeeper for conceding cheap goals.
9. This set the stage for a wonderful career as Rufai went on to become a household name in the community, and at just 11, he was selected for Rivers State’s U13 team to participate in a competition in Lagos State.
10. After years of persistent hard work, Rufai made his debut for the Green Eagles in a friendly match in December 1981. He featured for the national team at the 1984 African Cup of Nations. In 1985, Rufai became the first-ever Nigerian goalkeeper to play abroad. He signed for Dragon FC of the Republic of Benin.
