Mujahid Ibrahim

Striker - Kano Pillars
4 Sep 2027
Saturday
Process
57 Edition

The Kano Pillars Gazette

30 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

6 matches without a win for Kano Pillars

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Kano Pillars are no longer polite ones.

Market

Zaharaddeen Bello asks to leave Kano Pillars

“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.

Market

Mujahid Ibrahim has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kano Pillars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Market

Abdullahi Abubakar attracts admirers

The name of Abdullahi Abubakar has come up in conversations Kano Pillars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Match

Remo Stars take the points off Kano Pillars

Beaten 0-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Naphtali Mokoena

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

Back issues
52 Edition

The Kano Pillars Gazette

26 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Zaharaddeen Bello hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kano Pillars can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Muhammed Usman is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kano Pillars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Abdul Musa knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kano Pillars, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Ayuba Mukhtar

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Abdul Musa suspended

One booking too many, and Abdul Musa sits out. Kano Pillars lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.

Market

Plateau United are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Kano Pillars will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

In brief

51 Edition

The Kano Pillars Gazette

19 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Abuchi Okeke keeps Kano Pillars in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Yusuf Maigoro hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kano Pillars can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Mujahid Ibrahim has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kano Pillars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

Kano Pillars see off Shooting Stars

Three points for Kano Pillars, 1-0 the final word against Shooting Stars in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Aminu Sani

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Market

Rangers International are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Kano Pillars will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

Abdul Musa asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

Okechukwu Azubuike linked with a move away

The name of Okechukwu Azubuike keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Kano Pillars say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Abdul Musa has taken the shirt

At 28 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Kano Pillars are won quietly and lost loudly.

In brief

46 Edition

The Kano Pillars Gazette

14 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Abdullahi Musa hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kano Pillars can pretend not to have heard.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Kano Pillars

The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Market

Nafiu Abubakar has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kano Pillars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Abuchi Okeke

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Market

Muhammed Usman attracts admirers

The name of Muhammed Usman has come up in conversations Kano Pillars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Williams Yikat asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

36 Edition

The Kano Pillars Gazette

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A hiding for Kano Pillars

Beaten 0-3 by Enyimba, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Squad

Taiye Murtala signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Taiye Murtala commits to Kano Pillars for another 4 years.

Market

Mujahid Ibrahim has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kano Pillars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Abdul Musa gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Boardroom

Inquest at Kano Pillars

The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.

Squad

Costly mistake from Abuchi Okeke

An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Abuchi Okeke knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.

In brief

32 Edition

The Kano Pillars Gazette

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

8 matches without a win for Kano Pillars

The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Kano Pillars are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Naphtali Mokoena: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kano Pillars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Okechukwu Azubuike stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Okechukwu Azubuike and Kano Pillars agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

28 Edition

The Kano Pillars Gazette

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

10 unbeaten for Kano Pillars

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Kano Pillars did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Habibu Yakubu says Kano Pillars went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Match

4 matches without a win for Kano Pillars

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Kano Pillars are no longer polite ones.

Market

Mujahid Ibrahim has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kano Pillars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Chiedozie Okorie gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

Kun Khalifat expected to open talks for Muhammed Usman

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Kano Pillars will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Match

Honours even between Kano Pillars and Kun Khalifat

2-2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Squad

Paschal Durugbor knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kano Pillars, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

Paschal Durugbor finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Kano Pillars have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

In brief

26 Edition

The Kano Pillars Gazette

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Muttaka Musa asks to leave Kano Pillars

“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.

Match

8 unbeaten for Kano Pillars

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Kano Pillars did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Abuchi Okeke lets one through his hands

A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.

Squad

Abdul Musa gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

Honours even between Kano Pillars and El-Kanemi Warriors

3-3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Market

Shooting Stars are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Kano Pillars will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

Aminu Mohammed is off the mark for Kano Pillars

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

Squad

Junior Aliyu finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Kano Pillars have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Market

The Naphtali Mokoena talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kano Pillars know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

24 Edition

The Kano Pillars Gazette

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Abdulmalik Sanusi asks to leave Kano Pillars

“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.

Market

Katsina United come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Kano Pillars did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Match

6 unbeaten for Kano Pillars

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Kano Pillars did not have in the autumn.

Market

Berekum Chelsea expected to open talks for Naphtali Mokoena

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Kano Pillars will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Squad

Junior Aliyu stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Junior Aliyu and Kano Pillars agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Match

Kano Pillars see off Wikki Tourists

Three points for Kano Pillars, 2-0 the final word against Wikki Tourists in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

Taiye Murtala gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

Kano Pillars and Temple Emekayi are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Squad

Abuchi Okeke asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

4 Edition

The Kano Pillars Gazette

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Cup progress for Kano Pillars

A 0-0 win over Bayelsa United, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Squad

Mohammed Galadima decides it from twelve yards

1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.

Market

Bendel Insurance come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Kano Pillars did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Mujahid Ibrahim hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kano Pillars can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Chinedu Ozor is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kano Pillars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Abdul Musa stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Abdul Musa and Kano Pillars agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Okechukwu Azubuike gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

Kano Pillars and Barau take a point apiece

It finished 1-1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Squad

Naphtali Mokoena knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kano Pillars, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

1 Edition

The Kano Pillars Gazette

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Gabriel Ugochukwu asks to leave Kano Pillars

“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.

Squad

Ahmed Musa stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Ahmed Musa and Kano Pillars agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market

Muhammed Usman attracts admirers

The name of Muhammed Usman has come up in conversations Kano Pillars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Market

Nobody at Kano Pillars has picked up the phone to Ahmed Musa

24 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.

Squad

Usman Fahad asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

Mujahid Ibrahim is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Kano Pillars has been clear about where Mujahid Ibrahim stands, which is more than many ever get.

In brief