By Jamilu Uba Adamu
There is no other way to start writing this piece of history than to quote something from the book written by Emeritus Prof. Adamu Baikie against all odds “We must learn to preserve history.” in the book he went on to describe the present Kano Township Stadium (present Kano Pillars Stadium) was an “open field that belonged to the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM). It was the only field available for football competitions in Kano.”
Prof. Baikie continued, “Sabon Gari (New Town ) was the abode of many Nigerians {including citizens of other African countries} who lived in Kano but were mostly of southern Nigeria origin who were there either on government service or as traders.”
As an avid follower of history, I learned that Kano State has a unique and interesting history in sports, football in particular, that needs to be narrated and shown to the world.
Scottish 2nd Division team, Queen’s Park Rangers FC in 1964
If one goes through past records on sports in Kano and catches a glimpse of what the past looks like, one will see that we have neglected everything about our glorious sporting past, including facilities and personalities, as if they didn’t exist or achieved anything.
With the above, some might feel a bit uncomfortable. But the fact is I do not intend to insult anybody or any institution, I just want to share my observation and write the previous past records with complete freedom without wearing any blinders.
A couple of months ago, I was nominated as one of the members of the Kano Pillars FC Fans’ Club Election Committee. We conduct most of our activities at the Kano Pillars Fans’ Club Secretariat, located within the Kano Pillars FC Stadium, at Sabon Gari.
In one of our sittings during the Sallah break, as I was performing ablution in front of the small open mosque situated directly opposite the back of the VIP Stand of the Stadium, the architectural design that covers the wall of the VIP Stand caught my attention.
It looked like one of those old architectural colonial houses designed in residential houses at Nassarawa and Bompai G.R.A.
The next thing that drew my attention again was the actual years of existence of the stadium.
Those curiosities led to this short piece of historical article with the intention of bringing to light (especially to the present generation of football families in Kano) the historical background of these old edifices.
In spite of the huge popularity of football among the youth of Kano, only a few among the Kano football family know about the history of the oldest soccer stadium both in Kano and by extension the entire Northern Nigeria which has hosted many historic football matches in the past.
Kano Pillars Stadium, formerly known as Kano Township Stadium, has a very robust and existing history back in the day as it was the only available open field for football competitions in Kano.
The Northern Nigeria Selected Team that played the Queen’s Park Rangers
It represents the history of the initial formation and development of organized football tournaments in Kano State.
According to historical records, before the construction of the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in 1964 in Kaduna, epic football matches were played at the Stadium, as Kano was the only city that had a spacious playground in the now defunct Northern Region.
The Stadium, according to a detailed report by one of the most respected sports writers, Clement Isaiah, in his sports article in the defunct New Nigeria Newspaper of Saturday, 5th February 1972, he wrote, “But when Mr. R.G Adams, the then Local Authority in charge of Kano, conceived the idea which gave birth to Kano Township Stadium in 1949, hardly did he know that someday, the pitch would be surrounded by tall buildings and trees “. Little did Mr. Clement know that in days leading to this day some of the stadium’s parking space has already been converted into shops.
Another interesting past record captured in the Kano township stadium was the football match encounter between Northern Nigeria Selected and a visiting Scottish 2nd Division team, Queen’s Park Rangers FC in 1964, which is almost 59 years ago.
With the above historical records, it is now clearer that Kano township stadium preceded the then Ahmadu Bello Stadium, and it’s high time the facility is revamped to meet the best standards to host mega matches again.
For those in authority today, State and Federal here are the time to wake up and rejuvenate the Kano sports edifice, a ground for talent discovery and one of the few historic sports monuments in Kano.
Adamu, a sports historian, can be reached via jameelubaadamu@yahoo.com
