'A revolution for Nigerian football' – Kano Pillars' Usman Abdallah talks up Ahmed Musa and Shehu Abdullahi NPFL return

Coach Usman Abdallah has called the return of Nigeria internationals Ahmed Musa and Shehu Abdullahi to the Nigeria Professional Football League a "revolution for Nigerian football."

The pair joined their boyhood club, Kano Pillars, on a free transfer for the remainder of the 2024-25 season after failing to secure contracts with European clubs.

While former Leicester City star and Super Eagles captain Musa has kicked off his season strongly with three goals in his first two league matches, Abdullahi made his debut during Sai Masu Gida’s exciting 4-3 win over reigning league champions, Enugu Rangers.

Kano Pillars are now seen as favorites for the NPFL title, but their coach is focused on the bigger picture, highlighting the importance of their return for the four-time Nigerian champions and the country as a whole.

"Their coming into the team is a positive move for Kano Pillars and Nigerian football. They have brought quality and also the confidence in Sai Masu Gida is rising," Abdallah spoke candidly to SportsBoo.com in an unfiltered interview.

"Ahmed Musa has scored three goals in two matches played while Shehu Abdullahi started against Enugu Rangers. 

Musa and Abdullahi’s Motivation: Benefits for Nigeria

The pair adds to the growing list of active Nigerian internationals returning to the domestic league from Europe, following 2023 Africa Cup of Nations winner Godfrey Oboabona, who made a similar move to Sunshine Stars last season.

Coach Abdallah shares insights into the motivation behind Musa and Abdullahi's return to the NPFL. For context, this marks Musa's third stint at the Sani Abacha Stadium, while it is Abdullahi's second.

He added: "This is a team where they were brought up and we can also say this is the team that has brought them to limelight.

"This is a welcome development for just for Kano Pillars but also for the Nigeria Professional Football League, because it has risen the standard of the league and this will also encourage players of the senior national team to return home so that we raise the quality and improve the local players at home.

"As you can see, 95% of the current Super Eagles squad are composed of foreign based professionals and you see the ones playing at home are sometimes not called upon, unlike what we have in North and Southern African countries.

"I will say their coming is a revolution for Nigerian football that will open the door to see and follow up so that our league can be very competitive again and where it used to be in Africa."

Can Musa lead Pillars to a fifth NPFL title?

Despite being one of Nigeria's greatest football clubs, Kano Pillars faced a setback on July 16, 2022, when they were relegated to the second tier.

With their strong start and the addition of the Nigeria internationals, they look like serious contenders for another league title. However, they will face tough competition from Rangers, Remo Stars, and Enyimba.

When asked if that possibility exists due to their depth of talent, the former Nigeria national team assistant coach refrained from making any promises, emphasizing that only time will tell.

Abdallah continued: "I took over as Kano Pillars coach two weeks before the start of the league season and at that time about 70 percent of the regular players had left.

"It is like I am trying to build the team from scratch and also to bring stability. From the first game we have played so far till date, we have not played with different players which means that we are still in a building process.