Archery in Nigeria

Archery in Nigeria

An Olympic sport with Nigerian roots

Archery is one of the major Olympic sports in Nigeria that was initiated in the country in 1997 through the originator Dr Niran Adeniji, the secretary general and chairman of technical of the federation, Mr Olugbenga Olatunji and Late Jim Obot after they have sent a sequence of formal letters to the World Archery severally.

Nigeria Archery Federation (NAFED) was established as a national association saddled with managing and overseeing all archery related activities. It has the sole aim of lifting the archery game from a low base and uplift it to a higher stage just as a football game in Nigeria so that everyone who has interest in the game can explore it.

Nigerian Archery Federation has conducted series of workshops, events and training to showcase the basic fundamental skills of Archery. Intensive training courses on archery to equip Nigerians who are interested in the sports. The foremost archery workshop held with the nation was a 5-day program held at the National Institute for Sports in Lagos which took place on the 26th day of June and ended on the 30th of June 1999.

Notwithstanding, the demonstration of archery game began in Nigeria few years after its initiation. At occasions such as the National Sports Festival held in Bauchi in the year 2000 and the one that took place in Benin City, Edo in 2002, archery was demonstrated.

Suspensions, recovery and growth

A temporary suspension was experienced by the federation in 2009 due to their inability to pay up the fees associated with the organization and also lack of active participation in archery programs at the national and international levels. However, the federation recuperated her affiliation in April 2012.

The federation continued progressing in her operation and management till the year 2015 when another suspension occurred; the federation was suspended by the World Archery on the 5th May of that year as a result of conflict between the president’s (Dr Adeniji) party and Dr Okugbe’s party. All efforts by the Secretary-General of Nigeria Olympic Committee to resolve the issue ended null and void.

During the course of this conflict, a mediator, Mr Al Yousof Bayjoh who was the Vice president of the World Archery Africa and the president of Mauritian Archery Federation was sent to Nigeria to help settle the conflict. He conducted series of meetings with the officials and other personalities of the federation, which after two weeks he was able to reconcile both parties before he travelled back to his country.

According to the Online SportsDay news of April 2015, the secretary general of the federation, Olugbenga Olatunji was formally suspended indefinitely by the board of Nigeria Archery Federation (NAFED) due to gross misconduct and anti-federation activities.