Kawo and Kakuri were crowned joint champions of the second Dawule Baba Memorial Polo Tournament, a five-day celebration held at Murtala Square that attracted more than 14 teams and honoured the late Nigerian polo legend.
Team Clearwater Yellow collected the event’s second-largest prize, the Clearwater Youth Challenge Trophy, after navigating a crowded field of contenders to secure victory.
Quick facts
- Kawo and Kakuri finished as joint champions at the second Dawule Baba Memorial Polo Tournament.
- Team Clearwater Yellow won the Clearwater Youth Challenge Trophy, the tournament’s second biggest prize.
- The event was hosted by Kaduna Polo Club and ran over five days.
- A Women in Polo Development Academy was unveiled to train young girls for professional polo careers.
- Emir of Katsina Dr. Abdulmumini Kabir Usman attended and commissioned Musaco Polo Ground.
Kaduna Polo Club, the host venue, also used the tournament to unveil the Women in Polo Development Academy, an initiative aimed at building a pipeline for young girls to pursue professional careers in the sport.
The academy comes after last year’s launch of the Clearwater Youth Challenge Cup, another programme introduced by Clearwater Polo Farm to support youth development.
Dr. Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, Emir of Katsina, attended the tournament as Father of the Tournament and commissioned a newly constructed second polo ground. The facility—named Musaco Polo Ground—was completed with a pavilion and a scoreboard.
In his remarks, he urged the club to keep Dawule Baba’s legacy at the forefront, ensuring the memorial spirit remains alive beyond the final whistle.
Among those present were Col. A.D. Umar (rtd.), a member of the Kaduna Polo Club Board of Trustees; newly elected Nigeria Polo Association chairman Suleiman Abubakar; Dawule’s widow; and a mix of supporters and associates from Nigeria and overseas.
Kaduna Polo Club president Mohammad Babangida, who also led the Kakuri team, thanked the Emir, board members, guests, patrons and players, while committing to continue honouring Dawule’s legacy through the club’s future programmes.
Before dignitaries were taken to the presentation ceremony, Babangida said: “His passion for polo, his sportsmanship, and his enduring legacy both on and off the field will be remembered with admiration and respect.”
Kaduna Polo Club first vice president Gen. Kapeh Kazir, who chairs Clearwater Polo Farm, explained that the company’s sponsorship of the Youth Challenge Cup is intended as a tribute to Dawule’s mentoring role.
“By sponsoring the Clearwater Youth Challenge Cup, we are preserving his legacies of training, mentoring and encouragement of upcoming players,” Kazir said.
Dawule Baba: from forestry to global polo
Dawule Baba was born in Maiduguri, Borno State, on February 24, 1959. His journey toward polo greatness began well outside the sport’s traditional northern strongholds, with his early education carried out locally before he travelled south to Ibadan.
In Ibadan, he obtained a diploma in forestry—an academic route that initially seemed disconnected from the polo career that would ultimately define him.
His entry into the sport came in 1982, when he first picked up a polo mallet and joined local teams in Ibadan’s polo circuit. What started as an introduction quickly developed into a genuine calling, and his abilities drew attention from Usman Dantata, a leading businessman and polo patron.
Dantata brought Dawule into professional polo, and the partnership soon became a defining chapter. Together, Dawule and Dantata’s team travelled across the world and competed on some of the game’s biggest stages.
They also made history by becoming the first Nigerian team to win polo titles in England, France, the United States and Argentina, a run of international successes that helped put Nigerian polo on the global map while strengthening Dawule’s standing as one of the country’s finest players.
Even after his playing days, Dawule remained closely linked to the sport through mentoring. He was widely known as “The Teacher” for the way he guided younger polo players, a reputation that carried into his work with Kaduna Polo Club.
He served as a Board of Trustees member there until his death last year at the age of 66. Fellow members and former teammates said he continued to offer technical advice and encouragement even in his later years, and organisers added that the Women in Polo Development Academy and the Clearwater Youth Challenge Cup are being designed to keep that influence going.
