Dawule Baba: Icon of Nigerian polo departs
The death of Dawule Baba has cast a pall over the entire polo family in the country and even beyond. He died last month in Cairo, Egypt, at the age of 66. He was variously described as the teacher, the professor and Maradona of polo. No wonder, for the past weeks, tributes have been pouring […]
The death of Dawule Baba has cast a pall over the entire polo family in the country and even beyond. He died last month in Cairo, Egypt, at the age of 66. He was variously described as the teacher, the professor and Maradona of polo. No wonder, for the past weeks, tributes have been pouring in from all corners of the country where polo is played. The tributes were effusive. One called Dawule ‘one of polo’s brightest’, another said he was ‘one of its greatest’, yet another called him a ‘legendary polo icon’.
Dawule Baba has been an icon of sorts in Nigerian polo for decades, where his name continues to be revered by polo players. A player of extraordinary talents, Dawule burst into the Nigerian polo circuit in the early 1980s when, as a diploma student in Ibadan, he was immediately noticed by the polo gentry for the raw talents he exhibited. He was snapped up by Usman Amaka Dantata, a multi-millionaire and a world-class polo player, who took Dawule into his Anadariya Polo team. Amaka mentored Dawule, taking him abroad to play with some of the best teams. At home, Dawule gingered the Anadariya Polo to win some of the most prestigious cups available in the country.
Dawule later played with Senator Ahmed Aruwa’s Ranchers Stallion and Bulls polo team, helping them to win several laurels, including the Georgian and Majekodunmi cups. His brand of play was so outstanding that by 1989, Dawule had attained the polo rating of handicap +5, one of the highest in the country, which I understand he retained for the subsequent 10 years. As for laurels, he is said to have collected not less than 14 cups in his career, leading the teams he played with. Within that period, it was the highest number of cups attributable to any individual player.
Though he lived in Kaduna for most of his adult life, running the resplendent DeebeeFarms, a polo ponies resort, which he founded over 30 years ago, Dawule was a Maiduguri boy. He was born and raised in Maiduguri. His family’s house stands on Baban Layi in the Hausari ward. As to horsemanship, Dawule can be said to be to the manor born. His father, Baba Maidoki, was a Kanuri horseman of legendary reputation. In the 1950s, 60s and early 70s, when horse racing was at its heyday in Maiduguri, Baba Maidoki was the jockey to beat at every race held in the Maiduguri Racecourse, famously referred to as filin sukuwa, now renamed Ramat Square.
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My father owned racehorses, and as a kid, I used to go in tow to watch the races. At the races, one of the jockeys’ names that always used to ring around was that of Baba Maidoki. He was always smartly turned out, and kids used to come around him whenever their races were called out. And when the race was on, he was also lustily cheered.
Baba Maidoki also played polo at that time when the game was still a white man’s game. In Maiduguri, polo was played at the filin polo in the GRA. Those who watched him play say that he embraced the game with the same gusto he displayed at the race course.
Undoubtedly, Dawule was acquainted with horses from his childhood. He would have watched his father in his glory days as a famous jockey and must have imbibed a lot from him. He attended both primary and secondary schools in Maiduguri and became a forestry assistant in the Chad Basin Development Authority. He went to the Federal School of Forestry, Ibadan, for diploma courses. Ibadan was one of the famous polo spots in Nigeria, and as is said, the rest is history. Dawule found his niche there.
It looks like the Nigerian polo community will mourn the loss of Dawule Baba for a long while. Many of the clubs have already initiated means of sustaining his name and legacy. A few days ago, the Kaduna Polo Club concluded a Dawule Baba memorial Polo Tournament, where the polo ground was dedicated in his name. The club has also institutionalised a Dawule Baba Memorial Cup as one of the major prizes to be contested at major tournaments in Kaduna.
Also, at the Fifth Chukker Polo the 2025 Access Bank Championship, Clearwater Polo Farm, has dedicated the prize they won to the memory of Dawule Baba. The Clearwater Polo chairman, General Kapeh Kazir, declared after lifting the cup at the presentation ceremony that, ‘this victory is dedicated to the late, Great TEACHER, Dawule Baba. Beyond our vision and mission, he inspired the spirit of the team.’
When all is said and done, Dawule Baba has led a glorious life, and Nigerian polo is richer for it. He never really retired. He got busy in his DeeBee Farms, where he was much sought after for the elite horses he kept and the unalloyed advice and mentoring he gave to young aspiring players. He will be sorely missed.