Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said on Thursday that members of the British royal family, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, will commence a week-long visit to Nigeria on Friday.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, Director of Defence Sports, Air Vice Marshal Marquis Abidemi, said the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was on the invitation extended to the royals by Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa.
Disclosing the itinerary of the royal couple, Abidemi said Harry and Meghan will visit a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Light Academy, in Wuse, Abuja, and Nigerian Reference Army Hospital in Kaduna, where the wounded and injured soldiers were kept for their medical records.
Abidemi said the couple will use the opportunity to see the governor of Kaduna State.
He said the coming of the royals will also boost Nigeria’s chances of hosting Invictus games.
Invictus games relies upon sport to transform the lives of wounded soldiers and veterans.
He said, .”Nigeria is now a member of the Invictus community, so their coming will give credence to the fact that as a new part of the community, Nigeria needs to be accepted.
“That Nigeria is also looking forward to hosting an Invictus Games.”
Abidemi also emphasised the need to build a centre for the management of wounded soldiers.
He stated, “There is a need to build a state-of-the-art structure for the management of the wounded and injured soldiers, particularly, the post-traumatic seizure and the post-traumatic stress syndrome.
“This is manifesting due to their encounter with insurgency in the counterinsurgency operations.”
He stated that the visit was important in view of a recent DNA test that showed that Meghan was 13 percent Nigerian.
Abidemi said, “Prince Harry’s wife just recently did a genealogy test showing she is 13 percent Nigerian. So she is also looking forward to coming to Nigeria as part of her ancestry, lineage.”
He stated that the “reception will be quiet because the duo travelled 14 hours to get to this place”, after which they will visit the Chief of Defence Staff to discuss areas of mutual benefit.
The director said, “Then he will be back to Abuja on Saturday and will be having an exhibition, the CDS team and the Duke team will be having a volleyball match with the armed forces.”
He added, “This is just to engage with the wounded and injured soldiers. It’s a sitting volleyball.”
The director said, “There is a proposed Invictus centre that will be built in Abuja for the management of the wounded and injured soldiers, which will also have sporting facilities and a mini-hotel where their families can stay when coming to see them.”
He said, “Prince Harry, being the visionary, will motivate the wounded and injured soldiers because to some of them, these are opportunities to see him and interact with him.”
Furthermore, Adidemi said the event was a collaborative effort between the Defence Headquarters and Invictus Games Foundation to tap from their knowledge. He said this was in realisation of the fact that 80 percent of the wounded soldiers “were involved in this recovery programme. They are getting better.
“They are open to life and are positive. You know, when they engage in and you experience a permanent disability, such issues affect your mental health and also your attitude to life. But the recovery programme allows them to improve their personality to mental health and emotional intelligence.
“They have improved, their families are seeing them, they used to be breadwinners who are capable of continuing living.
“So this is giving us the opportunity for the recovery of our soldiers. Tomorrow, there will be a meeting between the CDS and the Duke where they are going to discuss extensively.”
Abidemi stated further that it was “what we need to do and also what they can do to help the wounded and injured community in Nigeria and the need to continue this collaborative effort.
“I know and I also want to put on record that the game that is coming up in Canada, CDS has approved the participation of Nigeria.”
Kingsley Nwezeh
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