Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Salomon Chigoziem is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Collins Onovughe was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nasarawa United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Umar Ada is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Alao Dabani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasarawa United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nobody at Nasarawa United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Ameh Godwin and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Abubakar Garba and Nasarawa United agree another 5 years.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jofrank Istifanus trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sunusi Audu is on it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Nasarawa United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Nasarawa United close the window on a squad of their own making
11 in and 16 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
The deal that would have taken Sunusi Audu to Rivers United has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Nasarawa United with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Alao Dabani and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Kelechi Umar left the room before anybody could ask which.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Nasarawa United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Two goals and a mark of 8.75 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nasarawa United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bright Ihionu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ikorodu City waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Nasarawa United is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The offer from Segesta for Umar Ada was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Umar Ada was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Salomon Chigoziem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Kelechi Umar after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Successful dribbles: 12. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Sunusi Audu could not do
A brace, and Sunusi Audu takes the afternoon — 8.16
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sunusi Audu provided it, and the 8.16 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Wikki Tourists waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Nasarawa United is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Abubakar Garba did not need any: 7.76, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Calvin Ejuke has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Bright Ihionu falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Plateau United the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Nasarawa United will enjoy reviewing.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Abubakar Garba did not need any: 8.07, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bright Ihionu and Nasarawa United agree another 2 years.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Abubakar Garba has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The phone has started ringing about Sunusi Audu again, and this time the name on the line is MB Rouissat. Nasarawa United are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Bright Ihionu falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Collins Onovughe and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad3 Aug 2026
8 new faces, and Nasarawa United are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.