The President of the Rowing, Canoeing, and Sailing Federation in Nigeria, Rear Admiral Festus Porbeni has expressed his desire to promote the Federation further. The federation which has over 40 Gold medals in the Olympics and Nigeria is ranked 8th in the world, and the Admiral feels the sport is treated with levity in Nigeria.
Porbeni spoke at the finals of the rowing, and canoeing competition at the Niger Delta Sports Festival in Akwa Ibom where he launched the newest Ibom Rowing, Canoeing and Sailing Club for Akwa Ibom State.
He expressed displeasure at the fact that the sports which Nigeria is performing fairly well on the continental and world stage is being treated with disdain in the country as it is not listed to feature at the next National Sports Festival coming up next month in Ogun State.
Porbeni said, “All Olympic scoring sports should be automatically included in our Nigerian Olympics which is our biennial National Sports Festival.”
He further called on the newly appointed leadership of the National Sports Commission led Malam Shehu Dikko and the Director General Chief Bukola Olopade to address these unfortunate scenario in our Country. We have been struggling at the Olympics with our king of sports football and many other sports with no medals at the last edition, whereas we can easily give other sports like the so called lesser sports like canoeing, rowing and sailing that has over 40 gold medals and Nigeria is currently ranked 8th in the world and Africa number one.
Sir Porbeni got involved in the water sports when the Federation was initially handed to the Navy and he took charge with his interest in water sports. He has since 2008 helped the Sports to be recognized and put Nigeria’s name on the world stage.
He said, “Initially we got Boats from abroad, and got expects from Brazil to come and help mark the lanes for us, but I’m proud to inform you that we are now constructing our own boats which matches international standards and our own technical personnel have been through training and are now certified to mark the lanes for the races. This event is a typical example as all the equipments here for this competition are locally produced and the marking of the lanes was done by our own lads who are now qualified technical personnel.”
Sir Porbeni was beaming with smiles and nostalgia when he showed off their pride and star girl Ayomide Bello who was discovered in one of their championship in Lekki Beach and is now one of the world beaters in the sports. She is represents Nigeria as a National and African champion.
Ayomide was born in a canoe, and now a Nigerian rowing star. Her mother actually gave birth to her inside a canoe some 20 years ago. Ayomide Bello grew up to become the first female canoeist from Nigeria to qualify for the Olympics.
Beauty Otuedo competing alongside Ayomide Bello, the Nigerian duo took just 2.24.45 seconds to seal top spot in the women’s C2 500m category on home water at Jabi Lake. They also secured an Olympic quota for Paris 2024.
Unlike most athletes who discover their niche either by introduction or by happy accident, canoeing was a part of Bello’s world from the day she was born.
“My parents were doing it (canoeing) to catch fish before they gave birth to me,” the Nigerian canoeist begins.
“I was born in a canoe, and I started paddling when I was young. So, when I got to the age of eight or nine, I started following them to catch fish, paddle the boat for them, and set the net.”
Porbeni vowed that the federation would not rest on its oars until the sports reach common Nigerians, adding that all hands must be to the pump in order for the federation to help young Nigerians become well respected individuals in the society. Porbeni added that he would want to be remembered for fully establishing water sports in Nigeria and winning an Olympic medal for Nigeria in the near future.
At 21, the young Porbeni ran away from home and boarded a boat to Lagos from Warri to join the Nigerian Defence Academy, having already sat for the examination before the Nigerian Civil War in 1967. It was a big gamble that paid off and saw him rising to the top echelon of Nigerian Navy. Among others, Porbeni commanded Nigeria’s biggest warship, NNS Aradu in the 1990s, and became the only Nigerian military man in service to be appointed an ambassador and served the country as a Minister of Transport. A sports lover, especially boating, Nigeria’s stake in boating globally has increased and this is attributed to his deft management.
Team Nigeria emerged as the overall winner of the maiden African Admiral FBI Porbeni Canoe Race championships at the Jabi Boat Club in Abuja, Nigeria in 2023. The championships also served as an Olympics pre-qualifier event. No fewer than 100 athletes from five African countries including, Ghana, Senegal, Sao Tome and Principe, Togo and hosts Nigeria took part in the four-day event.
Extrasportnigeria 
Leave a comment