The halo of his birthday mirth had not expired before he expired. The nation celebrated him and then he soared into eternity, into apotheosis.
Many knew him as Fabio, but that was no more than a sobriquet, a name he snatched from an 1886 romantic novel titled Vendatta by Mary Corelli about a character Fabio. He had no Italian forbears or cultural affinity in that country. But as if to predict his own romance with sports, he adopted that name, and few knew that the first name of Fabio Lanipekun was Adesola.
He was a student then at the famous Methodist Boys High School, Lagos, the first to win what came to be known as the Principals Cup that churned out not a few soccer legends in Nigeria, including mid-field sensation Haruna Ilerika.
Lanipekun died at 80, four days after fate heralded him into his eighth decade. His death drew eulogies from sports arenas and outside. President Muhammadu Buhari lamented on behalf of the nation. Soccer legend Segun Odegbami called him once as a sports encyclopaedia. Mohammed Sanusi, scribe of the Nigerian Football Federation, described him as “an oracle of the industry.” Lagos chapter of the Sports Writers’ Association of Nigeria (SWAN) chairman Debo Oshundun asked for his name to be immortalised.
His mien swathed in a visceral smile under an afro-hair style that endured to a luxuriant white in his old age. But for decades it was his knowledge, his verve, his range that enthralled fans of games. People loved games, especially soccer, and Fabio told them why. He was a commentator, an analyst, a reporter, and spanned both electronic and print. He started with print, and unlike some who veered into sports journalism after they had tried other beats, Fabio knew sports journalism all his career life. He was energetic without seeming to exert himself, he was knowledgeable without arrogance, he mentored in an avuncular way, he criticised without seeming like a gadfly, and he praised often to appreciation. He was a pioneer, but never preened about it. He wrote with the same flair with which he broadcast. He impressed without being an impresario.
He had a stint with the Daily Express in Akpongbon in Lagos in 1962 before he travelled to the United kingdom to the Regent Street Polytechnic in 1964. In his experience, he worked as news assistant with the well-known David Coleman of the BBC World Service, who was medalled with the Olympic Order, the top laurel of the Olympic Movement. He returned and learned under another master, the ace commentator Ishola Folorunsho in the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) that would become the National Television Authority.
After his Lagos experience, he moved to WNTV/WNBS, first in Africa. He anchored such programmes as Star Soccer, Sports Galore and Sports Roundup, programmes loved also for their signature tunes, he signing off with a signature line, “Am backing Sports all the way, what about you.”
Since his first commentary of the Nigeria-Ghana match on May 18, 1969, Fabio was Nigeria’s voice to cover many sports events on television from the Olympics to Africa Cup tournaments and later the World Cup. He belonged to the league of such stars as Yinka Craig, Folorusho, Earnest Okonkwo, Tolu Fatoyibo. He saw the Nigerian high and low, the sighs of losses and eclat of victories.
In a tribute to him at 79, Odegbami lamtented:
“It is very shocking that, although he was a recipient of the national sports merit award some years ago, the Federal Government has not found it worthy to give this pioneer of sportscasting on Nigerian television, this teacher and mentor of journalists, this encyclopedia of Nigerian sports history, this doyen of professional sports journalism, a national honour that could represent the country’s gratitude to a man that served sports, journalism and the country so well.”
It is not too late to memorialise this legend.
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