By Umar Yunus
TRT Afrika, Jos - Nigeria
Auwal Khamis Umar, aka AK Nasara, sounds like any successful football coach — articulate about the game, authoritative in his plans, and unforgiving of excuses. In life, as in sport, he has lived by this philosophy.
So, when the Nigerian lost his left leg in an automobile crash just as he was contemplating a career in professional football, he didn't just give up his dream and wallow in self-pity.
A few weeks after being discharged from the hospital post-amputation, the now 43-year-old became a football coach. It's a decision that has been life-changing for Umar.
"I started by coaching kids and those with whom I would play street football before the accident. It wasn't easy, especially with my old teammates. I went from being someone who played alongside them to being treated as an intruder with an amputated leg," Umar recounts to TRT Afrika.
The lack of respect was reflected in some of the players sometimes challenging Umar's decisions as a coach.
"Any attempt by me to substitute an underperforming player would be met with stiff resistance. I was even handed suspensions. But I persisted until they succumbed," he says.
Now, the "amputee coach" is going places, living up to his nickname Nasara, which means "victory" in the Hausa language.
Humble beginnings
Like most parts of the developing world, street football is part of life in Nigeria. The pitch could be an open stretch of road, an unused plot of land, a patch of farmland, or just any abandoned space.
Umar learnt his football on a tiny patch in North Central Nigeria's city of Jos. As he grew older and his love of the game increased, he left street football for a more organised set-up called grassroots football.
His skills were just about getting noticed when fate struck a cruel blow, dashing his hopes of graduating to the professional level.
As a coach, it took Umar only a short time to realise the need to update his technical knowledge.
"I started attending training sessions of top grassroots clubs of the time to learn from the experiences of their trainers. This helped me in a big way," he recalls.
Opportunity beckons
Umar's breakthrough arrived almost a decade later when an amateur side, Dutse Uku United, hired him to save the team from disintegration. The challenge was as tough as it could get, and he initially needed to figure out how to be equal to the task.
"I was reluctant to accept the offer at first," admits Umar. "But I gave it a second thought and accepted the task of reviving the club, which was then battling internal wrangling and a litany of poor results."
The first few weeks were tough, as many first-team players had left the club by then. Umar decided to hunker down and get to work with the resources at his disposal.
"I mobilised the players, all of whom were mainly on the fringe. I somehow succeeded in restoring confidence and self-belief in them. In under three months, the result of our commitment to a new beginning started to manifest. Positive results began to trickle in," he says.
The players' newfound success under Umar's tutelage brought much attention. The plaudits coming the club's way even prompted comeback attempts by some of those who had abandoned the ship.
"l swiftly blocked them," says Umar, staying true to his take-no-prisoners philosophy.
The fight continues
Despite his success, the "amputee coach" continues to face numerous challenges in the course of doing his job, including discrimination due to his disability.
"Some fans of opposing teams will call out my name or my family members and make derogatory remarks about us," says Umar. "Also, whenever there is a pitch invasion or crowd trouble, a common occurrence in grassroots football, I find it difficult to make it to safety due to my inability to run fast."
But it's all been worth the trouble as Umar's club has made significant progress on his watch.
The hope and self-belief he succeeded in restoring have fetched the club all major trophies in grassroots football in Jos, a feat few contemporaries can boast of.
"Some of the players I have coached now play for top clubs at home and abroad. Abduljabar Sani turns out for a Portuguese club while Abdullahi Hussaini Muhammad plies his trade in the Swedish league. Both players have also represented Nigeria at the under-17 and under-20 levels, respectively," says Umar.
Muhyideen Yusuf, a club veteran, advocates support from the government and other stakeholders for para-athletes at all levels nationwide. Bello Abubakar, an upcoming player, believes Umar's success as a coach is a measure of what disabled people can achieve in sports.
So, what is Umar's next goal? "In future, I hope to coach an all-amputee team and achieve success with them," he says.
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