Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) president, Francis Orbih has advocated a standardised system that would see achievers for the country from other sports events get presidential rewards, not just football and basketball.
Sports247 reports that, against the backdrop of recent federal government largesse for the female football and basketball national teams, Orbih wants the federal government to come out with a policy that would encompass all events in a fair and regulated manner.
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Orbih added, “I think the government should look at it more from the angle of a policy statement. Let it be standardised, so that it would be fair.
“Some people are claiming that football is the one that is getting everything. For me, that’s where the government needs to look at it critically.”
He went on to point at Mariam Eniola Bolaji, who at Paris 2024 Paralympics became the first African to get an Olympic Games medal in badminton, when she won bronze in the women’s singles SL3 category, and is currently ranked number three in the world.
In making a case for her and other achievers in the racquet sport, the badminton federation boss declared, “There’s Eniola Bolaji, who we cannot say has been recognised.
“She has achieved so much by putting Nigeria and Africa on the world map. (That’s why) there should be rewards for achievers in all sports events.”
Sports247 recalls that a Nigerian, Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori, is the current African men’s badminton champion and his latest victory on February 16th this year made it three straight titles in a row (2023, 2024, 2025), after first winning it in 2019.
Nigeria has also previously achieved clean sweeps in the male and female singles of the African Badminton Championships, dating back to Tamuno Gibson and Oby Edoga (1988), Agarawu Tunde and Obiageli Olorunsola (1996) as well as Opeyori and Dorcas Adesokan (2019), but they all did not gain adequate government recognition.
Nigeria’s other African Badminton Championships’ achievers include solo male or female singles winners over the years – Abimbola Adegoke (2002), Dotun Akinsanya (2004), Grace Daniel (2007), Ola Fagbemi (2009), Jinkan Ifraimu (2010 and 2011), as well as Grace Gabriel (2012 and 2013).
Other badminton legends from the country include those who joined singles’ champions in winning doubles in various editions of the championships, among whom were Fatai Tokosi, Dayo Oyewusi, Danjuma Fatauchi, Olamide Adebayo, Kayode Akinsanya, Grace Daniel, Greg Okuonghae, Mary Gideon and Deborah Ukeh.
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