Ishaya Mark Aku (died 4 May 2002) was a Nigerian Minister of Sports in the first cabinet of President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

. He died in a plane crash in Northern Nigeria.

Background

Aku was born in Bassa local government area of

Plateau State Plateau is a northern states of Nigeria, Nigerian state. It is located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and Tourism". Th ...

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.

Sports Minister

Aku was appointed Sports Minister in February 2001. He reorganized the

Nigeria Football Association The Nigeria Football Federation (known as Nigeria Football Association until 2008) is Nigeria's association football, football sports governing body, governing body. It was formally launched in 1945 and formed the first Nigerian national football ...

(NFA) to become a semi-independent body that relied less on government funding. He disbanded the

Super Eagles The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in Men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations ( AFCON) winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In Febr ...

, the National team, after they performed poorly at the

2002 African Cup of Nations The 2002 African Cup of Nations was the 23rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Mali. Just like in 2000, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. Ca ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. He was appointed head of the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa. Working with Chief Patrick Ekeji of the Sports Ministry, Aku started to reduce the emphasis on football to encourage other sports.

Death

On 4 May 2002, Aku was among 69 passengers on board an airliner that crashed minutes after take-off in

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

. The plane went into a nose dive shortly after take-off and plowed into built-up area, killing many people on the ground. Total dead were over 148. Aku was on his way from

Jos Jos is a city in the North-Central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. The city is situ ...

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

to watch a friendly match between the Nigerian and Kenyan national teams.

References

2002 deaths Federal ministers of Nigeria People from Plateau State Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Nigeria Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2002 Year of birth missing {{PlateauNG-politician-stub