Former Kano Pillars Technical Adviser, Coach Ibrahim Musa, has announced that after struggling with cataracts for 10 years, he has completely lost his sight. To add insult to injury, he says he has been abandoned by both the Kano State Government and the football club he once served with utmost dedication and commitment.

Coach Musa, popularly known as “Jugunu,” spent roughly 16 years with Kano Pillars in various coaching capacities. His lengthy tenure with the four-time Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) champions was split between serving as an assistant coach for 12 years and working as the head coach for over four years.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Trust, Pillars’ longest-serving coach disclosed that the Kano State Government once donated only N7 million out of the N17 million requested by an Indian hospital that promised to perform the surgery required to restore his vision.

He said, “About a year ago, my condition deteriorated. Ahmed Musa, who was then the Team Manager, supported my medical checkup and promised to keep paying my salary for one season.

“After moving from one hospital to another, Alhaji Sani Musa Danja, the Special Assistant to the Kano State Governor on Youth and Sports, came to my house and promised to present my health challenges to His Excellency Abba Kabir for assistance.

“Two months later, I received N7 million, which he said was approved by the governor as support for my treatment.”

Musa, who led Kano Pillars to victory in the 2019 Federation Cup, stated that the financial support from the government was not enough and that, in his present condition, it is practically impossible for him to raise the remaining N10 million needed for the eye surgery.

“I want to tell the world that I am now blind and abandoned by my state government. In my present condition, I don’t know where they expect me to get the remaining N10 million. I am sorry to say this, but if I were one of their praise singers, they wouldn’t have abandoned me to go blind this way,” Jugunu said.

Similarly, the veteran coach expressed his disappointment in some of his former players—especially those playing abroad—who have not reached out to sympathise with him.

“Eighty-five percent of my friends and the players that I trained and helped secure clubs in the Nigerian League and abroad have deserted me.

“They don’t even care to call and ask about my condition. Most of them feel I may ask for their assistance. Even Ahmed Musa, whom I assisted to sign his first contract with Pillars and served as a father figure during his first marriage, is yet to render any meaningful financial assistance to me.

“When he was the Team Manager, I wrote him a letter requesting the club to pay me the remaining N3 million of the N6 million I had lent to the club in the past, but till today I have not been paid my hard-earned money,” he lamented.

Coach Musa, however, appreciated the generous assistance and sympathy he has received from the Kano Pillars Supporters Club and the Kano Professional Footballers Association, noting that they have been assisting him financially throughout his struggles.

He therefore called on public-spirited individuals, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), and foreign-based players—especially Victor Osimhen, whom he described as an uncommon philanthropist—to come to his aid so he can travel to India for the surgery.

“Somebody told me that I should try and get in touch with Victor Osimhen because he is a very kind person. Unfortunately, I don’t have anybody to link me with him. I am, therefore, using this medium to appeal to Osimhen and other good-hearted Nigerians to come to my aid. I am now blind and abandoned,” he reiterated.