Prince Harry and Meghan completed their three-day visit to Nigeria by going to the country's economic capital Lagos to support his Invictus Games for injured military veterans.
The Duke of Sussex and his wife arrived in Nigeria's capital Abuja on Friday and also visited a school event on mental health. During the trip, the prince met wounded Nigerian soldiers in the country's northwest.
On the third day of their visit, Prince Harry and Meghan participated in a basketball event with the Giants of Africa Foundation in Lagos, an organization that helps youth through engagement in the sport.
The prince was seen dribbling basketballs with children at the exhibition event for the foundation, which is led by Masai Ujiri, the vice-president of an NBA team.
The prince stated, “The power of sports can change lives, it brings people together and creates community and there are no barriers which is the most important thing.”
Harry, a former army captain who piloted helicopters in Afghanistan, established the Invictus Games 10 years ago to help injured veterans by involving them in sporting events to assist with their recovery.
The couple also met with Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Governor Sanwo-Olu commented, “He has seen a lot and is still taking in a whole lot,” regarding the prince’s experience in Nigeria.
Later, the couple observed a charity exhibition match at Lagos polo club and presented prizes to young participants.
– Nigerian heritage –
On Friday afternoon, Meghan attended an event for women in leadership with Nigerian-born World Trade Organization director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, where the Duchess talked about her Nigerian heritage and being a role model to women.
She expressed, “I want to start by saying thank you very much for just how gracious you’ve all been in welcoming my husband and I to this country,” before adding, “my country” to applause.
She mentioned, “It’s been really eye-opening and humbling to be able to know more about my heritage and to be able to know, this is just the beginning of that discovery.”
In Abuja, the prince had also taken part in a seated volleyball match with Nigerian veterans, some of who were missing limbs from combat in the country’s north where troops battle jihadists and heavily armed criminal gangs.
On the Duke’s volleyball 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.
Before Nigeria, Prince Harry was in London on Wednesday to mark the 10th anniversary of the games.
His trips to the UK since he moved to the United States in 2020 always prompt fresh speculation over a potential reconciliation with his family. But he did not meet with his father King Charles on this trip.
Nigeria’s military forces are battling armed groups on several fronts.
A prolonged extremist rebellion in the northeast has resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 individuals and the displacement of two million others since 2009. While militants have been pushed out of areas they once controlled, they now attack convoys with bombs placed along the roadside.
In the northwestern and central regions, heavily armed criminal groups, referred to as bandits locally, engage in widespread kidnappings for ransom and carry out raids on villages from hidden camps in remote forests.
Agence France-Presse
