Team Nigeria at the Commonwealth Games turned out in glamour, pomp and pageantry during the opening ceremony of the Games in Birmingham on Thursday.

Led by the flagbearers, Nnamdi Chinecherem Prosper and Oluwafemiayo Folashade as well as Mike Edwards, the athletes looked radiant and ready for the tasks ahead of them in the simple but fitting white and green attire.

Afrobeats from Nigeria rented the air inside the Alexander stadium, as the ceremony started out with drummer-percussionist Abraham Paddy Tetteh, while Indian classical vocalist and singer Ranjana Ghatak took the lead of the section intended to display the diversity of the city.

At the end of the march past by the 71 countries, to be represented by about 5,000 athletes, the Prince Charles of Wales declared the Games open to thunderous applauds and colourful fireworks.

Nigeria will start off her guest for medals on Friday, with the Men’s and Women’s Table Tennis teams in action.

Bose Omolayo has increased Team Nigeria’s medal haul at the ongoing Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan as she won gold medal in Powerlifting event.

Omolayo came out top in the women’s Powerlifting 79kg category and capped her remarkable showing with a World Record feat when she lifted 141kg, earning her a standing ovation from the spectators in the arena.

The heartwarming display also threw Team Nigeria’s camp into jubilation, raising the morale of the other athletes ahead of their events for the remaining days of the Games.

With two gold and two bronze medals, Nigeria now sits in the 27th position on the medals table, after Day Seven, as the highest placed African nation at the Games.

The duo of Lucy Ejike and Ibrahim Olaitan gave Team Nigeria a lot to cheer on Saturday when they both clinched Bronze medals in Powerlifting.

Ejike, who is the captain of Team Nigeria had only one legal lift which was her first, her subsequent lifts were disqualified. Her enthusiasm ensured a first lift of 130kg that edged out most of her opponents. The second and third attempts to lift 135kg failed. If she had pushed and successfully lifted 132kg in one of her failed attempts she would have won a gold medal.

Olaitan’s medal was in the 67kg category.

These bronze medals by Ejike and Olaitan have increased Nigeria’s medal haul at the Paralympic Games to three, a gold and two bronze medals.

The much awaited Paralympics games are set to begin as the opening ceremonies begin today.

Twenty-two athletes will be representing Team Nigeria in the Tokyo 2020 games this year. It would be recall that the last edition, at Rio 2016 in Brazil, was the most successful outing for Team Nigeria, which became Africa best team and 17th overall on the medal table with eight gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

In Tokyo, Team Nigeria Paralympics will participate in four events: Para Powerlifting, Para-Athletics, Para-Table Tennis and Para Rowing.

The first Paralympics debut for team Nigeria was far back Barcelona 92, with six athletes who came back with three gold medals. Nigeria largest contingent to the games was in Sydney 2000 with 31 Paralympics Athletes when Team Nigeria returned home with 13 medals.

The Team captain Lucy Ejike, 44, who would be featuring in her sixth Paralympics after making her debut at Sydney 2000, has promised that the contingent would surpass the record at Rio 2016.

Ejike won a medal in each of the Games she has been in, winning gold medals in 2004, 2008 and 2016 and silver medals in 2000 and 2012.

The 22 athletes on the team are:

Flora Ugwunwa – Athletics – F
Iyiazi Njideka. – Athletics – F
Lauritta Onye. – Athletics – F
Nwaozu Chituru – Athletics – F
Galadima Suwaibidu – Athletics – M
Tijani Latifat. – Powerlifting – F
Ejike Lucy. – Powerlifting – F
Ibrahim Mujinat – Powerlifting – F
Omolayo Bose. – Powerlifting – F
Obiji Lovelyn. – Powerlifting – F
Oluwafemiayo Folashade -Powerlifting- F
Okpala Pauline – Powerlifting – F
Ibrahim Dauda – Powerlifting – M
Yakubu Adesokan – Powerlifting – M
Innocent Nnamdi – Powerlifting – M
Ijeoma Kingsley – Rowing – M
Fairh Obazuaye – Table Tennis – F
Tajudeen Agunbiade – Table Tennis – M
Olufemi Alabi Olabiyi – Table Tennis – M
Ahmed Koleosho – Table Tennis – M
Ogunkunle Isau – Table Tennis – M
Farinoye Victor – Table Tennis – M

Youth and Sports Development Minster Sunday Dare is sure that Team Nigeria to the Paralympic Games in Tokyo will live up to billings and do the nation proud as games get underway on Tuesday.

Dare said, “Based on condition precedent and the resilience of our special athletes especially when on international assignments, I have no doubt in my mind that these athletes will again make Nigeria proud.

“Their ability to excel and Win medals is in no doubt. They have been consistent. They have trained long and hard.”

The Minister further said that having worked closely with the coaches and technical team of the athletes, he is sure they will give Nigeria their best in the next two weeks while praying and wishing them the best outcomes at their events in Tokyo.

Team Nigeria were the cynosure of all eyes at Tuesday’s opening ceremony of the paralympics games in Tokyo, Japan.

The team filed out in style in their Green and White uniform providing a beautiful setting for the ceremony that had only a handful of people in attendance owing to Covid restrictions.

Chef De Mission of Team Nigeria, the Acting Director of Planning, Monitoring, and Information in the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Peter Nelson who spoke with pressmen at the opening ceremony said the paralympic athletes know what is at stake in Tokyo and the aspirations of Nigerians.

“We are so glad that Team Nigeria to this Paralympics Games know what is at stake. They understand the aspirations of all Nigerians here in Tokyo, Japan. We are looking forward to a memorable outing.

“The athletes are in very high spirit ahead of their respective events. The support and prayers of Nigerians is key and the element of luck cannot be ruled out at this level.

“By God grace medals will start to roll in for Team Nigeria as soon as the different events begin,” the soft spoken Nelson concluded.

This is the second medal for team Nigeria at the ongoing World Athletics Championship in Kenya.

Nnamdi who set a National U20 record of 78.02m in qualifying on Thursday finished in the 3rd position with a throw of 74.48m.

He becomes the first Nigerian Athlete in 19 years to win a field event medal at the championship since Esther Aghatise won a medal in the long jump in 2002.

It would be recalled that he got a scholarship few days ago, by Baylor University in the US.

Team Nigeria 3 medals hopeful are women’s Favour Ofili in 200m, Imaobong Uko who set record of the fastest time in the ongoing World U20 athletics championship and Udodii Onwuzurike who has proven to be the best in the field with a new championship record of 20.1s.

The Kasarani Stadium, Nairobi is hosting athletes from over 200 countries for the championship which begins today with the final of the 4×400m mixed relay event with Team Nigeria fielding Bamidele Ajayi, Johnson Chidira (men), Oke Opeyemi, and Ofili Favour (women) in the race, this will run till August 22.

Team Nigeria will begin its chase for medals this morning with the duo of Godson Brume and Ashe Oghenetejiri Favour joining the contest for qualification tickets in the men’s 100m event.

In the women’s 100m event, Team Nigeria’s duo of Tima Godbless and Ofoku Praise will contest for qualification to the next round.

Also today, U.S.-based Nigerian junior sprinter, Dubem Amena, and Bamidele Ajayi, will compete in the 400m heat event for men, just as Oke Opeyemi and Imaobong Nse Uko will race for qualification tickets in the women’s category.

AFN President, Tonobok Okowa, said “We are hoping for medal hauls in this competition, the athletes are in high spirit ahead of the opening ceremony.”

With less than a week to the commencement of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Team Nigeria athletes have assured of an impressive outing in Tokyo.

According to Team Nigeria Paralympics Captain, Lucy Ejike, “We have been training seriously to make sure we meet up with the standard we set at previous games. Everything is going on well. We are confident we will bring glory to Nigeria. We have world records , so we hope to maintain the records and create new ones”

Speaking in similar vein, Para Powerlifter, Nnamdi Innocent expressed appreciation to the Sports Minister for motivating the team. “We are grateful to the Minister for his support and encouragement, what he did for us during the lockdown will motivate us to excel in Tokyo. We have many world records and our target is to go there and make Nigeria proud”

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics games will be Nigeria’s 8th consecutive appearance since her maiden appearance at Barcelona 1992. Nigeria had her most successful outing at Rio 2016, finishing as Africa’s best team and 17th overall in the world on the medals table with 8 golds, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals.

Nigeria will participate in 4 events at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics viz; Powerlifting, Para-Athletics, Para-Table Tennis and Para Rowing.
The team is expected to depart for Japan this week.

Here are eight amazing facts about Nigeria’s performances at the Tokyo Olympics. 

1. Nigeria got a bronze medal in long jump, 25 years after Chioma Ajunwa won gold in Atlanta 1996.
2. Nigeria won a silver medal for wrestling, first Olympic medal ever in the history of the sport.   
3. 21-year-old Enoch Adegoke became only the third Nigeria to get to the Finals of the 100 Meters Men event. 
4. Nigeria bagged 2 medals, a silver and a bronze, placing her  68 out of the 205 countries at the Tokyo Olympics and 4th in Africa. 
5. Nigerian Olympians made a record 5 finals at the Tokyo Olympics.
6. Nigerian Olympians set several new personal best PBs records in Athletics

 7. Nigeria reached the final of shot put for the first time in her history.

8. Nigeria performed better at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when compared with London 2012 Olympics with zero medal and the  Rio 2016 Olympics with one bronze medal.

There is much to hope for the future. As the Minister for Youth and Sports said, “Most of our athletes are young and debutants – experiencing Olympics for the first time. They remain committed patriots who gave their all and I have nothing but pride for their tenacity and commitment to deliver smiles to the faces on Nigerians. We have started building a new generation of Young Nigerian athletes. There is much hope.” #Olympics2020