National Carnival 2022 Polo, a way for synergy security, public, says Baba

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, said that the 2022 Carnival National Polo Tournament was a way to create synergy between security services and the general public.

It should be noted that the tournament that was held by galloping at the Nigeria Polo Resort/Guards Polo Club on December 10 ended on Sunday.

Baba, speaking to reporters after the FCT Minister’s Cup final match between the Nigerian Police Polo Team (IGP Strikers) and the Nigerian Army Polo Association (NAPA) team on Saturday , noted that both teams showed professionalism during the game.

After NAPA won the hard-fought match 5-4 goals at the end of a thrilling four-chukker, the Police Chief, however, emphasized that the main objective of the tournament was to cement and promote partnership and cooperation between the two services.

security as well as the general public.

Baba said, “Everyone has done well.

The game was perfectly matched and the rules were strictly adhered to.

The start was excellent, as was the clothing of both teams, which were a faithful representation of the two services.

“The horses were also in top form and the umpire was on top of the game.

Today, both teams met in the final after defeating so many opponents to reach this stage.

For every game, there must be a winner and a loser and I congratulate NAPA on a hard-fought victory against a formidable police team.

“I am still very proud of my team as they showed with their display that they are a team to be reckoned with anytime, any day and against any opposition.

But the real objective of participating in this tournament is to consolidate the association, the relationship, the cooperation and the understanding between us.

“If you also look at the number of spectators that came out to watch the game today, you can see that it was impressive.

So polo is also an avenue for the police to entertain and engage with the general public, which was evident today.

” On improving the quality of the team to ensure better performance in future tournaments, he said that he would continue to do everything possible to encourage the team, adding: “We can only do more and keep improving at what we are doing.

“Sport in general promotes many things in all services and in all institutions.

Even as an individual, you have to be sporty, in other words, exercise.

So polo is one of the very old games played by both the Nigerian Police and the Army to help us keep fit.

“We’ve had our teams since the early 1960s.

So we just continued and stepped up our efforts from where our predecessors left off.

The mounted troops are an integral part of the Nigerian Police where we use those of that department for operations and ceremonies.

It is also from that department that we normally choose our players and our horses”.

The IGP noted that the Police still hold the lead when it comes to sports, adding that they are working hard to ensure the pace is maintained.

“We just finished our biennial police games and we also fully participated in the National Sports Festival.

We have also sent some of our players to international competitions to represent Nigeria.

Therefore, we are still at the top of our game, whether it is in track, field events or any other sport.

” Brig. General Adamu Laka, the captain of the NAPA team, expressed his delight at the victory of his team, adding that the tournament was also a way for both security services to synchronize.

“The Nigerian military and police have always had a rivalry over the game of polo and the aim of these games is to create synergy between the security forces.

In fact, today’s match was really difficult and quite exciting and we thank God that we were victorious in the end.

“The police had a very strong and determined team.

However, they were playing on an Army field and the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya had just sponsored the Army team in Argentina and we had just returned.

“So, we learned some new skills and I think we incorporated them into our game.

Apart from the speed and quality of our mount, we applied a tactical strategy in the game that gave us the advantage,” he said.

Laka revealed that the key to the team’s victory also largely depended on the quality of their mount, adding that COAS had ensured that the team purchased new, high-quality horses before the tournament.

“COAS also bought 11 horses for the Army team, in addition to the ones we already had.

We also had a very good mount that gave us the victory because in Polo 80 percent of the game depends on the quality of your mount.

“We have a couple of Argentinian and Sudanese horses, as well as some South Africans.

So, in fact, the mount that COAS bought us really gave us an advantage over the Police equipment,” he said.