Polo is my life
Buba Bello:
Nigeria’s number one polo player and El-Amin club inspirational player, Buba Bello has said the game considered by many to be highly risky is his life. He told Trust Sports that nothing gives him joy more than playing the game associated with royalty. Bello, a legend of the game also spoke on the challenges and future of the sport in Nigeria.
When and how did you start playing the game of polo? I started playing polo at a very tender age. I started riding horses to develop basic skills. My first appearance in a competitive polo game was in 1986 and that was in Jos. It was a memorable moment for me because it was a dream start.
There are so many other sports you could have played. Why did you choose to play polo?
Well, it just came happened. I was a footballer and I was the captain of my secondary school. It is destiny because like I said earlier I started playing football and later began to ride horses but now polo is everything to me. It is my life and everything you can think of. What are the challenges you face as a professional polo player?
There are a lot of challenges especially when you are the highest handicap in a country like Nigeria. Everybody looks up to you and you are always trying to maintain that rating. You just have to be on top of your game to prove that truly you are the best player around. The challenges are enormous.
Polo is said to be a risky game and not a few players have either died or sustained life-threatening injuries while playing it. Are you not disturbed by this?
The passion for the game does not allow you to see the risks involved. When you have passion, you don’t see the risks. Yes, there is a serious risk in the game but we also have laid down rules and regulations which help bring such risks down to the barest minimum. Actually, you are riding an animal, controlling the animal and at the same time hitting the ball, it is like driving a car. You just have to control it. There are risks but not enough to deter those of us who have a passion for the game. Have you had any serious accident playing the game?
I have not been involved in any serious accident since I started playing the game. Yes, minor incidents once in a while but there has not been any serious incident to talk about. Falling down ponies, yes but no major accidents. There has been no ugly incident to make me regret playing the game professionally.
You are a member of the famous El-Amin polo team. What makes the team formidable?
We are happy to be one of the most rated clubs in the history of polo in the country. For the past eleven to twelve years we have been playing together and the understanding is enormous. We have won many laurels. Being the highest handicapped player in Nigeria and playing for the most rated team is something special. Talking about El-Amin, you have lost a key player in Sbu Duma
of South Africa. How is this going to affect the team?
So sad, we have been playing together for close to three years. We are going to miss him a lot. We had formed a perfect understanding and missing him at this point in time is a serious setback. It is hard to believe such a monumental tragedy has hit the game of polo.
Do you believe a good replacement can be found for the South African?
A replacement can be found but as you know to get somebody else to play exactly like him is practically impossible. He was a fantastic player. Maybe gradually we may get someone but it’s hard. The guy cannot be replaced perfectly but I believe my younger brother, Hamisu can fill in there. He is a good polo player. Are you saying this based on sentiments?
No! no!! not at all. We have been playing with him already. We have won two Georgian Cups with him and it would be easy for him to blend with us. He has been playing with us. I have not nominated him because he is my brother, no, far from it. You are a member of the Nigeria national polo team. Has the team won anything at the international level? No, not yet because it is not long that we started playing in world competitions. We are still building up. It is a gradual process. We cannot get there overnight. We are looking at a situation whereby we would be able to conquer the world or get the kind of attention a country like Argentina enjoys. This is very possible. What gives you confidence?
You can see polo is rapidly
developing in the country. We now have a federation and Nigerian polo players are recognized globally. We attend international competitions. So I can confidently say polo in Nigeria has come of age.
But recently you dropped from handicap +5 to + 4. What happened?
I am not the only Nigerian polo player whose handicap has dropped. What really happened was that the Nigeria Polo Federation, NPF, decided that all players under the NPL should have their handicaps reduced by one. We want to grade our standard of playing. It meant to challenge us to put in more efforts to come back to our previous ratings. This is why from +5 I am now down to +4. But I am still the highest in the country. What individual laurels have you won?
I have won almost everything on the local scene. I have been voted the Most Valuable Player, MVP, several times, highest goals scorer, most disciplined player and the player of the decade in the country. So I have won a lot of things. How much money do you make playing polo as a professional?
We make money out of polo but not as much as people think. Most of them think that playing the ‘game of kings’, you are very rich and comfortable but it is not so in all cases. We make money out of it but you still spend a lot on the ponies. Feeding the horses, veterinary and paying the grooms. You spend a lot on the horses.
*This interview was first published by Trust Sports on May 26, 2012.*