The announcement of the reconstitution of the new management team for Kano Pillars Football Club by the state number one citizen, His Excellency Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf through his spokesperson Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa last Monday did not come as a surprise to most of us.
This is because it was only last Saturday that the state deputy governor, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam told the people of Kano state about their readiness to put the Kano Pillars Management Committee in place.
It also made us know and believe that the government of Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf is fully aware about the Pillars plight and doing something to address it.
However, now that an Interim Management Committee has again been put in place and also inaugurated, the new committee needs to put itself together and face the task before them.
But before I continue, I must first of all commend the out-gone Kabiru Baita-led committee for all they did in bringing Kano Pillars to its present position.
The efforts of Kabiru Baita and the other three gentlemen he worked with which qualified the team to the Super Eight play-off slated to take place next month in Asaba, Delta state cannot easily be forgotten.
Those that served in the Kabiru Baita’s led committee includes Abba Galadima, the former General Manager of Kano Pillars FC, Mukhtar Ahmed popularly called ZICO and Engineer Munir Ahmad Gwarzo, the Managing Director, Water Resources and Engineering Construction Authority (WRECA).
Honestly, they did their best and we commend them for all they did to bring the team to the stage it is now. And I hope that they will tell the new management all the secrets of their successes anytime the need arises or were consulted or contacted to do so.
To the new leaders, even though I am not in the picture of the office or agency you are going to operate under or report to, I want them to work as a team and take Kano Pillars back to the Premier league.
I am sure they are not unaware that the club was relegated to the lower NNL league last football season following its poor and disgraceful show in the premier league.
I am happy that the new Kano Pillars management committee is full of people of wisdom, integrity, interest in sports, interest in Kano Pillars and knowledge in sports and its politics in the country.
With this development I want Babangida Little to be honest, open and transparent to all his committee members and carry all of them along.
Little is lucky to have people of integrity and capability in his committee which if he coordinated them well, will not only qualify the team to Premier League but emerge champions and return with a trophy back to Kano state.
Naziru Aminu Abubakar Wapa is a staunch supporter of the club and has served as the Kano Pillars FC board Member twice. He is currently a leading figure in the halted elections of the Kano Pillars Football Club Supporters Club.
Ali Nayara Mai Samba is a big time supporter of Kwankwasiyya, is also a sports loving individual as he is the chairman and sole financer of Samba United Football Club, Kurna Asabe.
Sabo Chokalinka, a retired staff of the former Kano State Sports Council now Kano State Sports Commision was not new to the job as he served as secretary of the team and also various associations.
Abba Haruna (Dala FM) is a sports presenter and commentator and is known as an ardent supporter of sports and Kano Pillars in general.
Garba Umar Kwankwaso is a former Kano Pillars fc member during Gov Rabiu Kwankwanso second tenure of office between 2011 to 2014.
Rabiu Pele, was a player of Kano Pillars fc player and Nigeria International during 1998-2022.
Engr. Usman Kofar Na’isa is a member of KSFA and proprietor/chairman Skylimit FC Kano.
I am not aware about Shuaibu Ibrahim Doguwa, Muhammad Danjuma, Bashir Chilla and Yakubu Pele but I was told that they are football followers and diehard supporters of Kano Pillars FC.
For Comrade Sani Ibrahim popularly called Coach who is the board Secretary, is a former staff and sports officer of the Kano State Polytechnic and is well-known in the field of sports. He severally led Kano State Polytechnic to fame in Higher Institution Games, NIPOGA and other sporting activities the Poly participated.
More importantly, Coach Sani is anytime from now about to complete his Phd in Sports management in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria which means he will use his experience and high education and knowledge to transform the team.
Looking at the above listed personalities one by one, one must be at rest assured that Kano Pillars will God willing come back to the premier division next year if Little carry them along.
To triumph, Babangida Little should not see himself as a boss or on a mission to get rich but as a leader who must listen to all his committee members and work with them to return Kano Pillars to the Premier league next season.
Babangida Little should not see himself as superior to other members but see them all as colleagues whose task is to win all their matches and get Kano Pillars back to premier division.
The members too must be focused and cooperate with the chairman and work hard to remove Kano Pillars out of the mess its past leaders have put the team in.
The new committee should also work to block all the leakages of Kano Pillars finances which is making the team bankrupt and always run to the government for funds. This will reduce the team’s overdependence on government money.
The committee should also be vigilant in buying and selling of players, because there are a lot of discrepancies which some of the past officials used to defraud and mismanage the club’s finances.
I remembered that the first player sold and transferred abroad from Kano Pillars FC was Yahaya Gaku to Al-Shabbah of Saudi Arabia in 1992 at the whooping amount of $50,000:00, the amount was said to be paid directly to the Kano State Government coffers which equally improve the state’s IGR (Internal Generate Revenue).
The Babangida Little led committee must stop getting players on loan from academies or other teams with immediate effect because I see it as a good way of defrauding the team of a lot of money. It is the academies or teams that benefited most leaving the team (Kano Pillars) with nothing.
Babangida Little led committee must know that selling of Kano Pillars players locally or internationally too must be transparent and sanitized. The money realized from the sales whether Naira or Dollars must be accrued to government coppers, the sole owner and financier of the team.
The era of selling Kano Pillars player(s) and pocketing the outcome of the sales is over. I pray for your success.
