By: Timothy Aiyeku
One of Nigeria’s finest and Kogi State-born Soccer Coach, Musa Hussaini Ibrahim, has revealed how he ended up being a football coach after dreaming of becoming a Petrochemical Engineer.
Hussain who went into football coaching barely 8 years ago, noted that the best way to improve a nation is by education and empowerment.
Sharing his story he said: “I have always been one of the most intelligent student during my time in school.
“Although as a kid football has always been my number one reason is because my dad (R. I. P) has exposed us to football from a tender age.”
He added: “Aside football my other dream as a kid was to become a Petrochemical Engineer just like my dad or a Computer Scientists. But as fate would have it, I didn’t make it as a footballer and I am nowhere close to becoming a Petrochemical Engineer.
” I am here as a coach living a dream I should start dreaming towards the end of my playing career.”
Speaking on coaching at Grassroot level and on the need to for coaches to to get more education, Hussaini said; “Coaching in Nigeria is really a thing to be looked deep into especially at the grassroots level. Coaches need more support to get adequate education from the football governing body in the country.
“Imagine by now I should have obtained my ‘A License’ as a coach but I’m stuck on ‘C License’ for 5 years now just because there has been no CAF coaching course in the country since 2017 reasons best know to them.
He further revealed that there were many platform in which young coaches can now grow
He said’, Yes they are many platforms to get education as a coach but then the CAF, License is the requirement to coach top teams in the country. Without it, a coach is liable to be stuck on where he is for the rest of his life except if he can afford traveling abroad to get licensed as a coach.
”So for me we should take coaches education serious and above all coaches should be respected. We are putting in a lot to make sure young stars realise their dream for free. the least we deserve is some level of respect.
Going into the coaching career did not stop Ibrahim from gaining other knowledge that would help him grow better.
He is an IT specialist and have passed through professional economic courses. He boasts of passing the Economics development course from the IZA institute of labour economics in Germany amongst several others.
