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| Ahmed Musa. Source: Inside J-Town Magazine |
No one falls from the sky. There is no heaven without the earth. Every individual has a beginning. It may be a humble beginning, but it is always there. It shocks me that our town of Bukuru and Aminci Football Club are often missing in the Musa story.
Ahmed Musa was born and raised in Bukuru, Jos
South of Plateau State. He played for Aminci Football Club, a club that
metamorphosed into a football academy. In addition to developing young players,
the club also serves Europe-based players wishing to stay fit during the
off-season. It also serves players who couldn't secure new contracts with their
teams but want to remain fit while struggling to find new clubs.
Aminci practised at the St Peter Primary School’s pitch in Bukuru, nestled by the police ‘B’ Division and the railway station. He sometimes played at the Bukuru Mini Stadium (nearly every star from Jos played at the Bukuru mini stadium at one point or the other).
In 2007, I started the magazine, Inside J-Town (which evolved to this very publication). In the magazine’s design, I created a column to feature young footballers who are good enough to play at the professional level but who haven’t found a club yet. That was how coach Akwash introduced me to Ahmed Musa. He told me that Musa’s strengths were in speed and good ball control. It was how I met with the young player who told me that his ultimate ambition was to play for Arsenal of England, as it was his favourite club, but that he was ready to play for any club that came his way at the time.
I moved on with my affair but later learned,
in 2010, of a player from Bukuru, specifically, who played for Kano Pillars at
the time and had broken a record for the highest goals ever scored in the
Nigerian Professional League, since Ishaya Jatau 1990’s record. I never knew it
was the boy from my town because, at the time he granted me an interview, he
referred to himself as Ahmadu Musa. But I longed to see if the guy was a
familiar face since he came from my town. I waited until the friendly match
between Nigeria and Argentina when he was to be introduced as a substitute. Lo
and behold, it was the boy I interviewed while he was still in the amateur
category. It made me realize that what I was doing was more important than I
thought.
So, it pains us when his story is told and
the humble beginning is brushed aside. The problem is complicated by coach Bros
who runs the Golden Boot Soccer Academy. He is not educated and, hence, refuses
to trust educated people around him. These are the people who will ensure
whatever he does is properly documented
