Sports

Who Is Habu Gumel? An Achiever Worth Celebrating, Not To Be Bullied

Published

4 years ago

December 13, 2022

Successful people mostly face criticism because they are famous and successful, they become easy targets. Engineer Habu Gumel is not left out of this. Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, sacrifice and love of what you are doing. Habu Gumel has surely paid his dues, but critics are bent on tarnishing the image of a man that has faithfully served his country.

Habu Gumel has not only achieved in the sporting world but has also made a name for himself In Engineering.

It should be recalled that between 1977 and 1983 he was the General Manager Bauchi State Cooperatives Building Association Limited, from there he became Deputy Chief of Engineering from 1983 to 1984 and later became Director of Engineering from 1984 to 1985 of the Bauchi State Agricultural Development Program. He was Deputy General Manager of the Federal Housing Authority in Lagos, from 1985 to 1992, and then Executive Director of Operations for the Federal Housing Authority in Abuja from 1993 to 1999. He also served as President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) from 2000 to 2001, as well as President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) from 2004 to 2010. He became a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering in 2014. It is glaring that this Engineer has a passion for sports, not because he doesn’t have a second address.

Engineer Habu Gumel outdid himself in the last Commonwealth Games In Birmingham. The planning was excellent and hitch free. Such a man that has dedicated his life to Sports Development should be celebrated and not pulled down.

Critics being sponsored by oppositions are threatened by Gumel’s continuous rise and achievements.

Now is the time to support a man of vision, passion and dedication to Sports in Nigeria.

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Sports

Plateau Vipers, Benue Queens Crowned Champions at HFN North Central Division One Tourney

Published

5 hours ago

October 3, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Jibril Seidu, has said the federation will continue to intensify its grassroots talent development drive through zonal competitions across the country.

Seidu stated this on Saturday in Abuja at the finals of the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship, where Plateau Vipers defeated Suleja Shooters 29-24 to emerge champions in the men’s category.

In the women’s final, Benue Queens of Makurdi defeated City Queens of Suleja to claim the title.

The eight-day tournament featured teams from across the North Central Zone, with Plateau Vipers of Jos, Confluence Stars of Lokoja, Unity Boys of Abuja, Suleja Shooters and Nasarawa Ambassadors of Lafia competing in the men’s category.

In the women’s category, Nuela Handball Academy of Ilorin, Inikpi Babes of Idah, Benue Queens of Makurdi and City Queens of Suleja competed for honours.

At the end of the competition, four teams — two male and two female — emerged as the North Central Zone’s representatives for the national Division One league.

According to Seidu, the tournament was organised as part of the federation’s deliberate strategy to take handball development back to the regions and discover talents that might otherwise remain unnoticed.

He said the HFN board, inaugurated on October 25, 2025, resolved that grassroots development was essential to creating a sustainable pipeline of players for national and international competitions.

“All the teams you have seen here are from the North Central Zone of the country, and every state is represented with an academy or state team,” he said.

Seidu explained that the new approach marked a departure from the previous system, where talent identification was largely centred on the federation’s major league competitions.

He said taking competitions to the regions would provide young players with greater opportunities to showcase their abilities while strengthening the foundation of handball across the country.

The HFN president also linked the grassroots initiative to Nigeria’s recent achievements in international handball, stressing the need to develop younger players who can eventually replace members of the current national teams.

He noted that Nigeria had qualified for the 2027 Men’s Junior Handball World Championship in North Macedonia, describing the achievement as evidence of the potential within the country’s handball system.

“How do we replace these players with upcoming players? This is the avenue for us to get players,” he said.

Seidu added that the federation was determined to make handball more visible and accessible, describing it as one of Nigeria’s major sporting disciplines with significant potential for growth.

The North Central tournament is part of a wider zonal programme designed to decentralise handball development across Nigeria.

According to the federation, similar competitions are being organised across other zones, including the South East, North East, North West and South South, with qualifiers from each zone expected to converge at a designated venue for the next stage of the competition.

The federation also appealed for greater support from sponsors, stakeholders and state associations to sustain its grassroots development programme.

It expressed appreciation to the participating states, academies, team sponsors and other stakeholders for their support and commitment to the growth of handball in Nigeria.

The federation said the initiative would provide a platform for discovering the next generation of Nigerian handball stars while expanding the sport’s reach beyond its traditional centres.
While Speaking the elated coach of Benue Queen Godwin Tondo has promised a stronger and more tactical performance after guiding the team to victory at the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship in Abuja.
He attributed the success to the team’s long-term youth development programme, noting that the squad was built through a deliberate process of identifying and nurturing young talents.
According to him, the programme began with the selection of 92 girls from secondary schools, who were subsequently trained and developed over a four-year period.

He said the team’s success was a product of sustained hard work and commitment despite the challenges encountered during preparations for the tournament.

“I feel very pleased being a champion today. The road to this stage was very, very hard, but I am very happy that we have got the result from all the toughness of the game,” he said.

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