Ishaya Mark Aku (died 4 May 2002) was a Nigerian Minister of Sports in the first cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo. He died in a plane crash in Northern Nigeria.
Aku was born in Bassa local government area of Plateau State to the late paramount ruler of the Rukuba chiefdom and qualified as a water engineer. He entered the Plateau State civil service, where he held various positions, and was a permanent secretary when appointed Sports Minister. His predecessor as Sports Minister, Damishi Sango, was his kinsman.[1]
Sports Ministeredit
Aku was appointed Sports Minister in February 2001.[2] He reorganized the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) to become a semi-independent body that relied less on government funding. He disbanded the Super Eagles, the National team, after they performed poorly at the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali. He was appointed head of the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa.[1] Working with Chief Patrick Ekeji of the Sports Ministry, Aku started to reduce the emphasis on football to encourage other sports.[3]
Deathedit
On 4 May 2002, Aku was among 70 passengers on board an airliner that crashed minutes after take-off in Kano. The plane went into a nose dive shortly after take-off and plowed into built-up area, killing many people on the ground.[4] Total dead were over 148.[5] Aku was on his way from Jos to Lagos to watch a friendly match between the Nigerian and Kenyan national teams.[6]
Referencesedit
^ abConstance Ikokwu and Uzor Odigbo (2002-05-05). . ThisDay. Archived from the original on November 26, 2005. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
^"THE MINISTERS AND THEIR PORTFOLIOS". Online Nigeria. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
^Patrick Omorodion (Apr 16, 2010). "Sports development: How Bio can benefit from Ekeji". Vanguard. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
^"Plane crashes in northern Nigeria". BBC News. 4 May 2002. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
ishaya, mark, died, 2002, nigerian, minister, sports, first, cabinet, president, olusegun, obasanjo, died, plane, crash, northern, nigeria, minister, sportsin, office, february, 2001, 2002preceded, bysango, damishisucceeded, bystephen, akigapersonal, detailsdi. Ishaya Mark Aku died 4 May 2002 was a Nigerian Minister of Sports in the first cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo He died in a plane crash in Northern Nigeria Ishaya Mark AkuMinister of SportsIn office February 2001 May 2002Preceded bySango DamishiSucceeded byStephen AkigaPersonal detailsDied4 May 2002 Contents 1 Background 2 Sports Minister 3 Death 4 ReferencesBackground editAku was born in Bassa local government area of Plateau State to the late paramount ruler of the Rukuba chiefdom and qualified as a water engineer He entered the Plateau State civil service where he held various positions and was a permanent secretary when appointed Sports Minister His predecessor as Sports Minister Damishi Sango was his kinsman 1 Sports Minister editAku was appointed Sports Minister in February 2001 2 He reorganized the Nigeria Football Association NFA to become a semi independent body that relied less on government funding He disbanded the Super Eagles the National team after they performed poorly at the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali He was appointed head of the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa 1 Working with Chief Patrick Ekeji of the Sports Ministry Aku started to reduce the emphasis on football to encourage other sports 3 Death editOn 4 May 2002 Aku was among 70 passengers on board an airliner that crashed minutes after take off in Kano The plane went into a nose dive shortly after take off and plowed into built up area killing many people on the ground 4 Total dead were over 148 5 Aku was on his way from Jos to Lagos to watch a friendly match between the Nigerian and Kenyan national teams 6 References edit a b Constance Ikokwu and Uzor Odigbo 2002 05 05 The Man Aku ThisDay Archived from the original on November 26 2005 Retrieved 2010 05 04 THE MINISTERS AND THEIR PORTFOLIOS Online Nigeria Retrieved 2010 05 04 Patrick Omorodion Apr 16 2010 Sports development How Bio can benefit from Ekeji Vanguard Retrieved 2010 05 04 Plane crashes in northern Nigeria BBC News 4 May 2002 Retrieved 2010 05 04 Bootie Cosgrove Mather May 6 2002 Anger At Nigerian Crash Site CBC News Retrieved 2010 05 04 Ausbeth Ajagu 2002 05 11 The Ishaya Mark Aku I Knew ThisDay Archived from the original on 2012 08 04 Retrieved 2010 05 04 nbsp This article about a Nigerian politician is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ishaya Mark Aku amp oldid 1203927250, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
