Posted by By Adebobola Alawode on
Residents of FESTAC Town, Lagos, were in a mournful mood, early today, when they heard about the sudden death of ace broadcaster, Yinka Craig.
Residents of FESTAC Town, Lagos, were in a mournful mood, early today, when they heard about the sudden death of ace broadcaster, Yinka Craig.
Craig died at 6 a.m., yesterday, at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA. Some of the residents who spoke to P.M.News at the residence of the deceased, at 321 Road, this morning, expressed shock over the sudden demise of the broadcaster, who they described as a household name in the country with his oratory and excellent presentation on Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) programmes.
A resident, Chief F.I. Adetula, who once worked for Craig, said that he was sad when he heard about the death of the father of three, Olayinka, Olamide, and Temilola, who are medical doctors.
'I'm short of words to explain how I feel about the death of this great gentleman who was loved by everybody in FESTAC. It's quite unfortunate that despite his long battle with cancer, he eventually succumbed to the cold hands of death. I'm sad,' Chief Adetula lamented.
Another resident, Mallam Sulaiman Mohammed, said: 'I still cannot believe that Mr. Yinka Craig is dead. I was shocked to hear the news of his death. We'll all miss him.'
Other grief-stricken residents who knew him also expressed shock over his death and prayed that God would grant his family the fortitude to bear the loss. Despite the N15million lifeline given to the veteran broadcaster by the Lagos state government, in May, out of the N38million needed for the treatment of the multi-talented broadcaster, he could not survive the cancer of the lymph in the United States of America.
The deceased's favourite breakfast meal was yam and egg. A striking feature is that the meal hardly last minutes on his plates. He also doesn't eat his breakfast without a cup of tea by his side.
His passion for sports stayed with him on his sickbed and this was confirmed on his website www.YinkaCraig.Org, where it was written thus ‘He was thrilled by the score line of the recent match between Man U and Barca… at least no one got bragging rights this time'.
It is also on record that the late seasoned sports journalist, until his death, was a member of the FESTAC Baft Club, where he participated actively in all the events.
Even in his immediate environment, his presence was also felt whenever he was around. His relationship with people around him was always cordial, because he didn't keep malice with any of his neighbours. It is also on record that the deceased led Lagos Sports Writer's Association (SWAN), about 30 years ago.