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| Ram Fighting |
Basheer Agusto, the Chairman of the Traditional SportsFederation of Nigeria, on Sunday said arrangements were in progress to feature
Ram Fighting at the 19th National Sports Festival in Calabar, Cross River
State.
Agusto told the News Agency of Nigeria on the sidelines of the
National Ram Fighting Competition holding in Lagos that the sport had
contributed immensely to the development of traditional sports in the country.
Agusto said: “We were at the EKO 2012 festival for
demonstration.
“Since then, the development of the sport has been significant,
especially among the states in the West who are also promoting ram competition.
“This is one arm of traditional sports that has gained ground,
with Lagos State setting the pace.
“Oyo, Ogun, Kwara, Plateau, Sokoto and FCT, Abuja have also
keyed in.
“Now that Calabar will be hosting the 19th edition, we are
planning to extend the sport in that region so that ram fighting competition
can grow among other traditional sports.”
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| Rams used |
Agusto explained that the rams used for the sport were specially
trained by their owners to take part in the competition organised by the RamLovers Association of Nigeria.
According to him, the sporting activity has created an avenue
for youth empowerment, as it engaged some youths who train as coaches to the
rams.
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| The rams are exclusively trained for competition |
He said: “The rams used for the competition are normal ones but
the difference is that they are exclusively trained for competition purposes
and the owners spend money and time on them.
“The RLAN is really doing well to encourage our youths who are
involved in this sport by ensuring that the competition holds annually since it
was introduced in 1997.
“Last year, the overall ram winner was given a car and there
were also tangible gifts for winners in other rams fight categories.”
Agusto expressed delight with the ongoing competition, which had
over 300 rams from various local governments’ areas of the states.
He said: “Almost all the local government areas are represented
here and it is quite commendable
“The RLAN organised the competition and it kicked off on
February 21.
“It will hold on Sundays for six weeks and popular Fuji
musicians will be invited at the grand finale on March 27.”
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