Abba Ali: Turf club committed to reviving horse racing in Kano

A member of the Board of Trustees of Kano Turf Racing Club, Alhaji Abba Kaloma Ali has said the club is fully committed to reviving horse racing in Kano State. The sports enthusiast in this interview spoke on the need to urgently resuscitate horse racing, challenges being faced and the successes recorded so far. Ali also expressed confidence that the lost glory of horse racing in Kano will return in no distant future.

Would you say the game of horse racing is still popular in Kano State?

The popularity of horse racing in Kano is dwindling every day. This is worrisome in view of the fact that the state had excelled in horse racing for so many decades in the past. If you check the history of the sport in Kano, you will definitely find this to be true. Unfortunately, horse racing is no longer popular and this is what Turf club wishes to address as soon as possible. Most of us in the Turf Club are descendants of those prominent names in horse racing across the country. We have inherited it because our predecessors have done all that they could do to preserve it for us and it will be a form of laxity on our part to let it die. Therefore, I wish to reiterate that as horse racing enthusiasts, we are fully committed to ensuring that the sport is maintained and handed over to the new generation.

In concrete terms, what are the steps the club is taking to revive horse racing in Kano?

We have already started the process with results to show for our commitment to this noble project. There is no disputing the fact that horse racing is one of the most popular and well supported sports in Kano and we are working round the clock to bring back that followership. We started by trying to awaken the interest of the youth in the game. The leadership of the Board of Trustees under Aminu Dantata knows that engaging the youths in horse racing will also have a positive impact on the social-economic development of the state. The teeming population of youths in the state need such ventures to properly channel their strength and energy. It is said an idle hand is the devil’s workshop. This is what we don’t want to witness in Kano State. Apart from positively engaging the youths, we wish to successfully preserve our heritage. Horse racing is infused with socio-cultural gains.

Are you expecting any support from the national body of the association?

What the club is currently doing is to ensure there is a synergy between the emerging sister national body of horse racing and the already existing body for effective conduct of the affairs of horse racing. We intend to harmonise the two bodies and bring out one single strong horse racing body that will bring out a realistic tournament timetable. Currently what we are working on is to have a national body that will sit down and design a one single tournament timetable that will guide the conduct of horse racing in the country. We are going to have that meeting soon and the outcome of the meeting will be communicated to the public. What is important here is that horse racing will return to Kano very soon.

Is it true the club is planning for an international tournament?

Yes, preparations towards staging an international tournament are ongoing and everything is going according to plans. Everything we are doing and will do in future to stage the tournament will be in conformity with international best practices.

What preparations are on for the international tournament?

It will interest you to know that renovation works had commenced at the Kano Race Course with the intent to upgrade the facility to conform with laid down international standards. We are also working on modalities that will allow the state sports commission to grant permission for us to embark on the construction of a club secretariat and the permission to minimize the number of entry gates into the race course for maximum security. If you visit the race course you will definitely witness a lot of changes taking place in the area. We have really gone far in preparing to host the tournament. So barring unforeseen circumstances, we would stage a hitch-free international tournament in Kano.