Who is afraid of Ahmed Musa, the new General Manager of Kano Pillars fc ?
By Abdulgafar Oladimeji
A Sports journalist that is worth the status is focused, well cut out, courageous and posses the skills on the coinage of questions and the nose for news angles that would unearth news worth stories and catchy headlines .
Journalists help to shape societal opinion, more fundamental is their critical function in unveiling the happenings behind the veil. When a dog bites a man, it is not news, but when a man bites a dog, that is news.
On 4th July, 2025, I read with curiosity the statement attributed to the incumbent Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf confirming the appointment of an new management board to run the state owned NPFL side, Kano Pillars football club.
The spokesman to the governor, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa had laid claims that the decision was targeted at the strategic adjustments required to boost the club performance.
The appointment announced by the state government wouldn’t have caught the attention of many, since the Nigerian football circle is a regular host and customer to the soja go soja come style of appointing sports administrators , but this time the announcement had heralded the arrival of a new boy in the bloc, named Ahmed Musa, OON, MON, one of Nigeria’s finest football players , as the new General Manager of Kano Pillars FC.
I was woken up to the realities attached to the appointment of the Afcon and world cup star , when Kano Pillars Media and Communications Directorate, announced that the new General Manager of Kano Pillars FC and Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa, MON, OON will address the sporting press in Kano.
What is germane for any rational thinking sports journalists is to ruminate over , if Ahmed Musa has finally retired from active football? But the press statement issued by the KPFC media team said Super Eagles captain, Ahmed is a Kano Pillars player, is he now player/general manager, further Ahmed has not announced his retirement from active football? Question no answer.
No journalists has dug further to tell the football world, if their star boy has decided to quit active football , quietly without even been celebrated, since it is a norm in Nigeria not to celebrate our football heroes, when they can no longer satisfy our football lust.
I was eagerly waiting for the outcome of the press briefing with SWAN Kano members, hoping and praying same time that my colleagues would ask Ahmed, that one simple question that would have changed the whole narratives, simply put “ Mr new GM the world would like to know, if you have retired from active football, his reply in whatever form it comes, would have changed the story lines.
Alas I was disappointed, after the press briefing the anticipated headlines did not show up, rather what I saw were headlines on how Ahmed Musa would reposition a Nigerian club side, if only wishes were horses, even beggars would owned one.
Permit me to at this juncture welcome , comrade Ahmed Musa to the abyss of Nigerian football administration, where Segun Odegbami was taught to accept that khaki no be leather, the world where Adokiye Amesiamaka with all his legal jargons added to football knowledge , simply had to say as my football lord pleases, where Mutiu Adepoju could not even comprehend, what happened to him, Finidi George woke up from the slumber of here is not Europe, ask Amuneke about Nigerian league, he would just bow his head quietly , Amokachi till date can not tell you what is wrong with Nigerian football league system, it must have almost ran him mad , go ask Garba Lawal you go hear gist tire.
I salute the optimism expressed by Ahmed Musa , but he is too mien and gentle for the system,behold Ahmed Musa , he would need to undergo the baptism of fire , to survive the murky waters of Nigerian football league mafarism , I am not with Ahmed Musa in his nine point agenda, count me out , this is Nigeria, if Ahmed has given me his words in other football climes, I will take it to the bank.
Loss no sleep that , his first frustration would be from the same state government that employed him, they will suffocate his genuine efforts, Ahmed Musa will now understand what is called bureaucracy, in its real sense , they would exercise total ignorance over what your managements needs are, they would question you, on why you need money to buy jersey s, booth, balls and other training equipment’s, and also tell you , who will supply the items even against your wish and standards, if they finally succumb to your request .
Ahmed Musa , can you imagine how they will question you on why you need a new bus for the team to travel around the bad roads and you dare not ask them to fly the players, because somebody is not ready to go and inform the governor about your needs .
Ahmed how ready are you to be treated as if somebody is doing you a favor by providing the needs of the team, or leave you entirely with the burden of running of the club simply because they believe you are a multi billionaire , who is passionate about the game and the club brand.
The same people that employed you would ask you why you need a good playing turf, the same people will ask you why you did not sign good players, even when they did not provide you with the required funds to do so , your GM table will be swimming in executive directives that you sign on their blood brothers, their in-laws , children of party loyalists , even when they are not good enough to be in the team.
Ahmed is it not going to be frustrating after all your sojourn as an international player , to now sit back and see how people desecrate the sanctuary of football best practices and to settle for less, in a club that has the fullest potentials to compete amongst the best in the world, it either you end up having your name messed up or forced to say goodbye. Now with a new NPFL rival club, Barau fc, which enjoys massive support from all cylinder , Ahmed how do you intend to contend with your new task.
Be weary not to rubbish the good football brand name you have build over years, Nigerian football ecosystem is complex ,it is an crocodile infested waters, you must learn to navigate with caution and wisdom, may Allah guide you.
The same people, who employed Ahmed Musa will direct Ahmed Musa as the GM to make sure he sells players to make money for the club, the same people will ask you to get a continental ticket, the same people, who had refused to release funds for early preparations, the same people will not give you approval for packages that will motivate the players, Ahmed Musa becareful , this has been the same story all the years, not just Kano Pillars but all NPFL clubs have the same story to tell.
Nobody in NPFL is afraid of Ahmed Musa, just like nobody is afraid of those who came before him, it is Ahmed Musa that should be afraid of those who employed him, it is Ahmed Musa that should know that the game pattern has changed, there is the sleep and death difference between Ahmed Musa the super player and Ahmed Musa the new football administrator, one of the biggest battles Ahmed Musa would face is from the press, Ahmed no doubt has selected very few friends amongst Kano sports journalists, but now he is home and he would come to face the realities that there are also heavy weight journalists in Kano, who will no spare him the rod, some of them because of their professional standards and some simply because they would want to blackmail him to snuff out some good cash from his pocket , that the club has a chairman is a non issue now , Ahmed Musa is now the centre of gravity, since he is a cheerful giver, but has never thought it good enough to be generous with certain section of the vibrant Kano media fraternity , in exception of his few friends in SWAN Kano circle, many who made efforts to have exclusive interview sessions with Ahmed Mus and were turned down will no doubt come for their pound of flesh, Ahmed welcome to your new world.
Immediately Ahmed Musa was announced as the new GM, a young pal reached out to me and said “oga Abdulgafar, do you remember when we launched SWAN calendar and Ahmed Musa donated in a ridiculous manner , now he is here, he will now understand our role and how important we are, I cautioned the young man and asked him to always be guided , I further cautioned him that the line between being a journalist and a blackmailer is very thin, a word is enough for the wise,
Yes Ahmed we are waiting to hear from you, have you retired from active football or not?
I rest my pen.
Abdulgafar Oladimeji
News editor
Sahel Sports News
