Nigeria’s most exciting football prospect talks about his journey
Kano Pillars youngster Nazifi Yahaya has been hailed by many as Nigeria’s most promising teenager at this time. The 2016 Junior All Africa Games highest goal scorer dubbed the next ‘Rashidi Yekini’ takes us through his journey from the start, the Nigerian
How did you get involved with football at the beginning?
Like most Nigerian kids I started playing with the ball at a very young age and as I grew older my love for the round leather seem to also grow. But as a teenager my earliest recollection of moving forward was while watching English Premier League side Liverpool FC and especially Steven Gerrard who to this day is my special icon.
Whenever I watched the Merseyside club play I will be dying to recreate some of the images and movements I have seen from the team. Liverpool is a team that plays with a lot of determination and desire these are the attributes I also build my game around.
From there, I began playing for a local team called Golden Stars and I made an instant impression on the first day I played, bagging a goal and notching an assist, every other thing seem to go on from there.
Were your parents supportive of your decision at first?
To be honest they weren’t at the beginning. Like most parents they’d prefer I continue schooling and also take up a trade but I made my intentions known to them from the onset that this is what I wanted to do.
After many hesitations, they bought into it and allowed me to go in full time, in fact at some point my parents were the ones giving me monies for transport fare or to buy football kits which are direct approval of my decision.
Thankfully I have never let them down, I have upheld all the amazing upbringing they have given me and I wish to continue to make them proud.
Another thing is that since their approval, I have achieved a considerable level of success and I now contribute to the overall financial well-being of the family, which is every parent’s long term dream about their children.
How would you describe your experience as a young player with Kano Pillars this season?
It has been nothing but great. The team has me accepted with open arms and I couldn’t have wished for a better team to start my professional football journey.
All the things people use to say about Pillars from the outside in terms of everybody being on his own and all that turn out not to be true. It’s like a family, with the management and older players all ready to help and support you when the need arise.
For me, I’m really enjoying my time with Kano pillars at this time and the support the club has will propel us to go on and achieve many things this season.
How helpful have senior players like Gambo Mohammed and Rabiu Ali been to you?
Very helpful I will say. Let me tell you a story, the first day I trained with the team I was placed opposite the club’s two biggest stars, Captain Gambo Mohammed and Rabiu Ali (pele) and the moment I scored for my training team, the first persons to applaud me were those guys on the opposite side.
They felt even though I was young, I was doing something right and they wanted to encourage me to continue on that path. In fact Skippo as I fondly call Gambo drew me aside during the game and told me to be fearless, don’t get angry and to maintain my hunger in order to make it, and I really appreciated his advise.
All the other players have been helpful as well and like I said earlier I feel part of a family, the Kano Pillars family that is and I’m happy.
You were highest goal scorer at the AAG how were you able to achieve that?
It was by the grace of God, the help of my teammate and the Nigerian national team coaches who believed in me. Since the start of my journey I have always proved myself anywhere I found myself.
From the Nigerian U15 team up to the Golden Eaglets where I played under Coach Emmanuel Amuneke and Manu Garba. Even when I came back to the team after the 2015 World Cup in Chile, the coaches were very receptive and were happy to see me.
Are you looking forward to more appearances for Nigerian national teams in the future?
Of course. My dream is to continue to represent my country at the biggest stages; I believe every footballer will want that. So all I can say is that I’m readily available whenever my services are needed. Be it the U17 side or the Flying Eagles, I will be ready to don the jersey of Nigeria in order to contribute to the country’s success on the pitch of play
What’s your assessment of Kano Pillars season so far?
As you know, the team is still undergoing a lot of metamorphosis with the new players and coaches but I strongly believe kano Pillars is on the right track.
Things might not be perfect now in terms of results but the season is still fresh and there are many games left to play and I believe we will be able to achieve our set targets by the end of the season.