LAGOS 鈥 Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, La-gos State governor, has affirmed his administration鈥檚 commit-ment to supporting the introduc-tion and growth of fencing as a sport in schools across the state.
He made the commitment through the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, while receiving the Secretary-General of the International Fencing Fed-eration (FIE), Gulnora Saidova, on a courtesy visit at the Deputy Governor鈥檚 official residence in Ikoyi.
He also restated his adminis-tration鈥檚 commitment to sports development, emphasising its importance for youth engage-ment and national development, while highlighting the vital role of sports in promoting human health and contributing to the ho-listic development of both young people and the nation.
The governor noted that sports are activities to be em-braced by people of all ages.
鈥淪o, I think, if we do that, we make sure that the trajectory is going well. But, we are here to support it. We believe that sport is something all our young people should be engaged in. As it used to be when we were in secondary school, you could not do without engaging in a sporting activity,鈥 he said.
He also noted that Africa, par-ticularly Nigeria, had been mak-ing significant strides in the de-velopment of fencing, reflecting the continent鈥檚 growing interest and potential in the sport.
He added that fencing, often regarded as a game for the elite, deserved the recognition and par-ticipation by all and support as other sports.
Gulnora Saidova, the Secre-tary-General of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), earli-er in her remarks, requested the support of the state government to formally promote fencing as a priority sport in Nigeria, partic-ularly Lagos, emphasising that it would contribute to the overall development of the state and its youth.
According to her, 鈥淚 see the great potential you have here and the talented athletes. Fencing is an Olympic sport, and it could be a tremendous opportunity for Nigeria to grow its presence in future Olympics. I kindly ask you to consider granting formal recognition of fencing as a prior-ity sport in Lagos State.鈥
She called for the govern-ment鈥檚 support in hosting an in-ternational fencing competition in Nigeria, adding that the feder-ation planned to involve Nigeria as a leader in the development of fencing in Africa, which would offer significant potential for the nation鈥檚 economy and boost sus-tainability.
Adeyinka Samuel, the Pres-ident, Nigeria Fencing Federa-tion, while providing insight into the sport of fencing, described it as a combat sport centred on sword fighting, emphasising that it could develop participants both mentally and physically.
Samuel noted that through fencing, many athletes had had opportunities to travel around the world to compete, winning gold, silver, and bronze medals for their countries and teams.