Ferguson Oluigbo, Head of Panamai West Africa martial arts club has remarked that Taekwondo is rapidly growing in Nigeria.
In an interview with Sports247, Oluigbo, who is an international referee and licensed instructor as well, also discussed the challenges that combat sports face in Nigeria. He said:
“Taekwondo is actually developing in Nigeria because it’s spreading all round to the grassroots. You’re going to see children doing Taekwondo, adults, men, and women doing Taekwondo in all the states as well. Even in primary schools, secondary schools, and universities. So it’s actually developing.
“The problem we’re having is the management at the top level as regards sports and international competitions.”
Oluigbo went on to talk about Nigeria’s participation in the Taekwondo Championships, which will take place in Birmingham following the completion of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“Normally, Taekwondo is not in the Commonwealth Games. Every year that there’s a Commonwealth Games, Taekwondo follows a few months after in the same city.
“So we don’t do it while they are doing the Commonwealth Games. We’re expecting that there should be Taekwondo Commonwealth coming up soon.
“How Nigeria will perform right now we may not say but I’m hoping that with the new management in the system, all hands will be on deck to ensure there’s a good outing because the last one in 2014 that we went to was superb. I was there live and we made a lot of impacts,” he concluded.
