Prince Harry Engages in Volleyball Match with Wounded Veterans During Visit to Nigeria
Written by Jerry Alomatu on May 11, 2024
Prince Harry, on a three-day visit to Nigeria to promote his Invictus Games, participated in a seated volleyball match with army veterans, many of whom sustained injuries in battles against the country’s Islamist insurgency.
Arriving in Abuja on Friday alongside his wife Meghan, the Duke of Sussex visited a school for an event centered on mental health. Additionally, he met wounded Nigerian soldiers in the northwest region during the trip.
At an officer’s mess complex in Abuja, Harry’s team, donned in yellow, took part in an exhibition match against a team led by Nigeria’s chief of defence staff. The venue echoed with cheers of “Team Harry, Team Harry” as the prince’s team initially took the lead, despite some players being seated on foam mats and others missing limbs.
However, they were ultimately defeated 25-21 by the commander’s squad, Team CDS.
Among those playing on the Duke’s team was former Nigerian soldier Peacemaker Azuegbulam, who lost his leg in combat in the northeast and became the first African to win gold at the Invictus Games in Germany last year.
Azuegbulam expressed, “It’s an honor for Nigeria and for Africa to have Prince Harry over,” to AFP before the match.
Before his visit to Nigeria, Prince Harry was in London on Wednesday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the games. While speculation about a reconciliation with his family arose, as with previous trips to the UK, he did not meet with his father, King Charles.
Harry, a former army captain who served as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, founded Invictus in 2014. The games have since grown, promoting rehabilitation through sports.
His visit to Nigeria was at the invitation of Nigeria’s military command, with Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa commending the experience of Nigerian troops at the Invictus Games.
On Friday, Harry traveled to Kaduna in Nigeria’s northwest without his wife to visit a military hospital and speak with troops wounded in combat.
On Sunday, the couple will travel to Lagos, the country’s economic capital, to participate in a basketball event and a fundraiser.
Nigeria’s military forces are currently engaged in battles against armed groups on multiple fronts. In the northeast, a jihadist insurgency has claimed over 40,000 lives and displaced millions since 2009. Additionally, heavily armed criminal gangs, locally known as bandits, operate in northwestern and central states, conducting mass kidnappings for ransom and raiding villages from hidden camps in remote forests.
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Author: Jerry Alomatu
Astute communicator
