The fourth edition of the annual ‘Akwanga’s strongest man’ event took place on Friday 27 December 2024 inside the premises of the Baptist High School in the ‘A.A. Koto’ area of Akwanga, a town located some 110km east of Abuja in Nigeria’s Nasarawa State. The event was established in the year 2021 as an end-of-year community celebration of physical culture amongst the able-bodied male youth of the town. The event has gained increased popularity and recognition in its short existence, and this year was graced by the presence of esteemed guests of honour including the Provost of the College of Education, Akwanga, Reverend (Dr.) Jonathan W. Thani, the Chairman of the Akwanga Local Government Area, Alhaji Safiyanu Isa Andaha, as well as the chief Magistrate of Akwanga Local Government Area, Barrister Victor Manga.
A total of eleven (11) contestants partook in this year’s edition, which featured four (4) events namely bench press, barbell squatting, deadlifting, ‘farmer's walk’ and a muscle posedown. The contestants attempted all four events and were ranked according to their performance overall. The star of the show was 24-year old Reshammah Thani alias ‘Big Shamm’, a 24-year old Plant Science & Technology graduate of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi. Thani, the three-time champion of this event, once again dominated all-comers with his physical strength and advanced posing prowess and was deservedly crowned ‘Akwanga’s strongest’ for the fourth year running, asserting his chokehold on the event. A 'five-peat' is not on Thani’s mind however, as in his words, he is “off to a bigger stage and bigger accomplishments”, meaning the national stage and a step-up in professionalism beckons in 2025 and beyond. Coming in first runner-up and second runner-up positions were Emmanuel Tanimu a.k.a. ‘Mangala’ and Paul Umar respectively.
For the first time in the event’s history, cash prizes were introduced, and sums of 50,000, 30,000 and 20,000 Naira were awarded to the top three athletes respectively. The presentation was made by the Provost of the College, who incidentally happens to be a very proud Dad to the event’s champion!
The event witnessed a sizeable crowd turnout of about 200 persons, who would no doubt have been entertained and they, as us, look forward to next year’s edition!
The NBD
