Zuru auto drift competition and Nigeria’s motorsport industry

When the Zuru auto drift competition debuted seven years ago, no one predicted it would become one of the most anticipated events in Kebbi State.

Kebbi is known for its annual Argungu Fishing Festival, which gets national and international attention; the Uhola (end of harvest and coming of age) festival, and in recent times, a two-day motorsport event held every December in Zuru, one of the four emirates in the state.

Can the Zuru annual drift competition, in addition to the Argungu motor rally, make Kebbi the motorsport destination in Nigeria? Time will tell.

A cofounder of the Zuru annual drift competition, a lawyer, Dazi Stephen Hoke, wanted to create something that would be a fun gathering for motorsport enthusiasts to look forward to every December.

“It all began when my friend, Nagode, who happened to be a cofounder, helped me purchase my first sports car in 2012.

“We started discussing how it would be nice to organise and host an auto sport event.

“We then decided that we could start our show in Zuru,’’ Hoke, who is from Zuru Emirate said.

Hoke and his friend opted for December when schools will be closed, offices will be on break and friends and families will be back home for Christmas festivities.

The first event was held in 2013.

The local airstrip, which is often the go-to place for large events, was again saddled with another responsibility of hosting a racing event.

The other options would have been the township stadium, but it has no roads that could be used for track events.

In December 2017, at the insistence of a sibling, I attended the two-day event, which included drag race, circuit racing and drifting.

A two-wheeled variation of the race was also included.  I went for an encore in 2018.

Watching motorsport live is a thrilling experience as fans can get close to the action and see it unfold.

The Zuru auto drift competition is not different.

The fans seemed to have doubled from the previous year as the parking space was filled, leading to an overflow.

The drifting performance seems to be the most anticipated part of the event.

Hoke said the spectators loved the drift performance because “it takes a driver with an immense skill to successfully pull it off.’’

Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally over-steers, with loss of traction while maintaining control and driving the car through a corner.

A group of bikers who drove into the airstrip did a number of stunts, to the admiration of spectators.

Dr Alheri Ibrahim Senchi was one of the bikers.

Senchi, a patron of the event, who had suggested the introduction of the two-wheels to the competition, said riding was his hobby.

Isn’t this a dangerous hobby to pick up? I had asked.

“The whole of life is dangerous in itself.

“Life is full of risks. In this case, I decided to choose my kind of risk,” he replied

He, however, stressed that safety is a very critical factor of his driving life.

Overtime, Dr Senchi said he had been able to invite his riding partners from surrounding states to participate, adding that the long term objective is to get riders across the country.

He also spoke on the negative stereotype attached to motorsport: “This assumption is not peculiar to our environment.

“The world over, people have associated biking with gangsterism or irresponsibility; but over the years, we have also seen biking grow into a passion that professionals partake in.

“We have lawyers, doctors, pilots, politicians and many more that have taken biking as a hobby.”

It was almost time for the drag race for motorbikes, and among those to compete was the previous year’s winner, Mannir Muhammed Dantala.

Drag racing is a motorsport competition, usually involving two participants at a time, with the goal to be the first to cross a finish line.

Dantala, who wore a peach and black protective riding gear, holding his helmet while keeping an eye for his set to be called on, said he drove his 1000cc motorcycle from Sokoto – about 231km – to participate in the event, as well as celebrate with his friends.

He said he got a trophy and cash prize for winning the previous year. And that he was confident he would win again.

Although auto racing is a male-dominated sport, there were female participants in the Zuru annual drifting competition, albeit few.

These made them stand out.

Fatimah Naib was one of such women. The light complexioned woman, who dressed in an all-black riding getup, was easily noticeable.

However, she is not participating in any of the competitions yet because she just started riding.

Fatimah, who is still learning the ropes said, “I like attending this kind of event,’’ adding that she hoped to join the competition soon.

After a hair-raising drifting routine that gave spectators the sights, sounds and adrenaline rush they came for; and of course, plenty visuals for the ‘gram,  Mamman Abubakar Sultan, also known as Drift King, lost a rear tyre.

But he was not discouraged as he changed the tyre and got ready for another routine.

“It is expected.

‘I have been drifting for over 10 years.

‘I started really young.

“I am a businessman, so I do car racing for pleasure. I actually came from Abuja to participate in the event.

“I was told about it, so I got prepared,” he said.

Motorsport requires being prepared and constantly being on the road.

Prior to coming to Zuru, Sultan was at Ondo Rally, an event that parades some of the best road racers in the country.

To be good at drifting, you need to be one with the machine, Sultan said.

According to him, “You need to love motorsport.

“It needs to sink into your system.

“You cannot just wake up and take your car and say you want to drift.

“This is because you need to respect the car, and it needs to respect you.”

When you master it, it becomes instinct, he added.

Sultan drove his car all the way from Abuja to Zuru, a distance of 504km, through the Minna-Kontagora route, or 531Km through the Kaduna-Zaria route.

Google map estimates the duration to be 9 hours, 2 minutes and 8 hours, 38 minutes respectively.

But in reality, this is not so.

You need to add more hours.

As one leaves Kontagora, the road, which is generally not in a good state, becomes worse, forcing one to drive at a speed of less than 20km per hour.

It is not always rosy.

According to Sultan, during his early days in drifting, lack of facilities and dedicated environment for motorsport, where they could practice, was a challenge.

And drifting in an unapproved environment could set one against law enforcement agents.

This challenge was not peculiar to Sultan.

Another participant in the competition, Maikudi Haruna, said he had also been drifting for over 10 years, “I started drifting at Wuye,” he said.

Many racers started their careers in Wuye.

Wuye, a then developing district in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was a meeting spot for motorsport racers and enthusiasts in early 2010.

The eventual development and inhabitation of the district led to constant friction with law enforcement agents, probably due to complaints from residents.

The racers then relocated to Idu, another developing district.

When I attended one of the events in January 2020, it was a shadow of itself.

Or maybe I attended at a wrong time as people had probably not returned from the yuletide break.

Haruna, like Sultan, was at the Ondo rally.

And prior to that, he was at a motorsport event in Port Harcourt.

He travels with his mechanic.

According to him, although he had made a number of wins, which came with prize money, motorsport in Nigeria does not pay enough to be a fulltime career.

He wants the relevant stakeholders to properly organise motorsport like what is obtainable in other sports in the country.

“I want motorsport to have a structure like the Nigeria Premiere League, where there will be intra, interstate and national competitions,” he said.

In Nigeria, driving one’s automobile to the location of an event seems to be the norm, but Adekola Olamilekan Richard, a cofounder of the Nigeria Auto Sport Association (NASA NG), said that’s not a standard practice.

He said, “It is due to poor funding and lack of sponsorship. Haulage is the standard practice.”

Olamilekan, alongside his cousin, had set up the NASA NG to promote amateur and professional motorsport activities in the country.

In collaboration with relevant stakeholders, they were planning to hold the first Nigerian Grand Prix earlier scheduled for April, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Olamilekan said they were projecting to hold the event in December.

He, however, added that preparations were underway to hold two other events – Drag Race Championship and Auto Cross in the FCT.

On the constant faceoff with law enforcement agents, Olamilekan, who is also the chairman of the FCT Auto Sport Association, a body set  up by the FCT Sports Council to sanction all motorsport activities within the territory, said such issues would be addressed.

He added that racers blamed the authorities because “they believe government is neglecting the sector and not creating the enabling environment for the sport to thrive.”

He said a thriving motorsport industry would open the economy and boost opportunities in many ways.

Aside providing quality entertainment, organised motorsport will boost internal and external tourism, create more employment opportunities; and most importantly, impact positively on the Nigeria automotive industry as it will encourage local manufacturing and fabrication of automotive parts.

Olamileken strongly feels that organised motorsport industry will encourage multinational brand to do more corporate social responsibilities “as these brands usually sponsor motorsport in countries where it is properly established.”

Iwona Pawluk spoke about how motorsport works in Poland where it is organised and structured.

Pawluk is a media researcher who works in a consulting firm that advises publishers around the world.

She also writes and reviews automobiles and new technology for some media houses in Poland.

Pawluk said that when writing about automobiles, aside the research and knowing the technicalities, personal experience with the product you want to write about is key.

One of the ways this is done is to participate in a product test development, where you get to drive a prototype and share your experience before it hits the market.

This is an opportunity that an organised motorsport industry in Nigeria can provide.

Pawluk, who is also a biker, said,  “Many of the careers start at an early age.”

The best way to start in motorsport for juniors is karting, While stating that Poland F1 driver, Robert Kubica and female race driver, Gosia Rdest started from karting.

Karting is an open wheeled motorsport that uses small vehicles, called karts or go-karts.

There are several go karts arenas in Nigeria, mainly in Abuja and Lagos, but they predominantly serve as a place for fun and relaxation, not a training ground for career race drivers.

She added that, “Track days are becoming popular too.

“This way, you can practise being an amateur.

‘There are driving schools that offer various levels of training, depending on your skills.

“This way, you can improve your skills.

“Also, in Poland, drifting has become more popular.”

She added that, “Being a trainer, putting on a track where others can train, organising courses, mechanical positions, rally organisers, sponsors, public relations people, car manufacturers,  journalists, social media influencers, ambassadors, really a lot of people and positions,” are some of the opportunities that having organised motorsport presents.

Motorsport racing in Nigeria has been going on for several decades, but the growth rate is almost stagnant.

However, the construction of the Motorsport Raceway Evbuobanosa (MRE) track along the Benin-Asaba highway shows that the future is not completely bleak.

Bamas contributed this piece from Abuja