Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu welcomed the Zen Archery Lagos team to the State House in Alausa, Ikeja, during a special visit that brought sports, youth, and leadership together in a unique way.
Led by Nigeria’s national archery captain and founder of Zen Archery, Emmanuel Oyeleke, the team used the visit to thank the Governor for supporting sports in Lagos, present young archers, and show a live archery demonstration.
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Governor Sanwo-Olu also got to try his hand at archery, shooting an arrow to loud cheers from the young athletes.
During the visit, the Governor was presented with an Award of Recognition by Zen Archery for his “visionary leadership and strong support for sports development in Lagos State.”
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Mr Oyeleke told the Governor about how he began his archery journey in 2018. “Since then, I’ve been introducing people to the sport. I later got the chance to represent Nigeria at the World Youth Championships,” he said.
He added: “Because of the opportunity I got through archery, I want to help other young people achieve the same success through sports.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu asked if archery could be addictive. Mr Oyeleke replied with a smile: “It can be. But more than anything, it requires a lot of discipline, focus, patience, and consistency.”
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The governor praised the team for their efforts and encouraged the young athletes to aim high. “I’m happy for you all. It’s a global world. There are no limits. If you keep looking up, you can go as far as you want,” he said.
Later, in a Facebook post, Mr Sanwo-Olu described Emmanuel Oyeleke’s story as “inspiring.”
He praised him for moving from being a visual artist to becoming Nigeria’s archery captain and for winning a silver medal at the African Archery Championship in South Africa.
He also commended Mr Oyeleke’s efforts to grow the sport through Zen Archery Lagos.
“I’m always encouraged when I see people like Emmanuel, who use creativity, discipline, and vision to make a real impact,” the governor wrote.
The visit came after the successful Zen Archery Lagos International Open, Nigeria’s first international archery tournament, held from 18 to 21 June at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan.
The event brought together over 100 archers from Nigeria and abroad and followed official World Archery rules.
Zen Archery not only hosted the tournament but also won big. Oyeleke won gold in the Compound Men’s event and, alongside Rofiat Oyindamola, also won gold in the Compound Mixed Team event.
Other members of the team won several medals across different categories.
The tournament also launched the Zen Archery Sports Foundation, which aims to give free coaching, equipment, and support to less privileged children interested in the sport.
With more public support and encouragement from leaders like Governor Sanwo-Olu, Zen Archery hopes to grow the sport in Nigeria and help more young people achieve greatness through archery.
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