Kano Pillars coach Evans Ogenyi has opened up on the reasons behind his decision to play the club’s General Manager, Ahmed Musa, for the whole duration of the game against Abia Warriors.
Musa completed the 90 minutes in the 1-0 defeat in Abia at the Umuahia Main Stadium on Sunday after he was appointed as Kano Pillars General Manager before the start of the 2025-26 NPFL season by the state Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf in July.
The former Super Eagles captain was unable to stop the club from going down in Abia despite being on the pitch for 90 minutes.
However, Ogenyi believes Musa’s presence is a motivating factor to his teammates as an international player.
He said: “Remember, Roger Milla went to the 1990 World Cup in Italy at the age of 38 or 39 years, and he scored goals. Ahmed (Musa) is not yet up to that age.
“And when they blamed the Cameroon coach for giving Roger Milla too much time in matches, he responded that what Milla was doing on the pitch, younger players couldn’t do.
“So, the presence of Ahmed Musa, as an international star, is a motivation to the team. You can see that he’s a player who plays with his brain.
“We left him there for a reason. He had deft touches. He still has something in him; something to offer, you understand?
“Psychologically, he motivates the team. He also contributes directly to our success. He has a lot of energy in him, and that’s an indication he still has plenty to give.”
Ogenyi is confident that Kano Pillars will bounce back in their next Premier League game against Wikki Tourists on Sunday.
He concluded: “The team is gelling well, and you must remember that there is no perfect team anywhere in the world. We’ve seen both positives and negatives from today’s game, and we will go back, prepare, and approach the next match with even greater determination.”
Kano Pillars finished ninth in the 2024-2025 Nigeria Premier Football League season, and they will be hoping to improve in the new season under the tutelage of the widely-travelled Super Eagles captain.
He started his career with Kano Pillars before moving to Europe, in his first spell in Kano, he won the top scorer in the Nigeria Professional Football League with 18 goals in the 2008-09 season.
Musa returned to the club for his third spell as a player after representing the club in 2010, 2021 before rejoining in 2024.
