By Jacob Ajom

A member of the Paris Olympic gold medal-winning French Rugby Sevens national team, Aaron Edidiong Grandidier Nkanang, has expressed readiness to play his part in seeing to the development of rugby in Nigeria.

Aaron, 25, who was born in Britain to a Nigerian father, Aniefiok Nick Nkanang, visited Nigeria for the first time recently and said he was overwhelmed by the degree of enthusiasm, joy and love he received from Nigerians during his short but memorable stay in the country.

On the sidelines of a cocktail reception organised by AllianceFrancaise at the Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos, Aaron told Sports Vanguard, “It has been very special for me to discover this part of my heritage. Unfortunately, I haven’t been so close to it, but I hope this trip is only the start of reconnecting with my roots.”

His first mission, according to him, was to prepare ground for a robust relationship with the Nigeria Rugby Federation so that he can contribute ideas, time, material and possibly, money to the development of the sport in Nigeria.

“Before my departure back to Europe, we had arranged for me to meet with as many kids as I could. In subsequent visits, we will arrange for clinics, and this weekend, I am the ambassador of a local Rugby tournament.

“I think it is important for them to see someone with a Nigerian name, someone they can relate to; someone they can associate with Nigeria and success in rugby. In the future, the next step is developing our relationship with the Nigerian Rugby Federation and trying to come up with ways of raising funds and raising awareness about rugby, especially at the grassroots level.”

Aaron, who returned to France last weekend, was in Nigeria with his father and was hosted by the AllianceFrancaise, Lagos.

The Deputy Director AllianceFrancaise Lagos, Betty Lonkuta, expressed joy at the event, adding, “We are very grateful to host them here and happy to bring Aaron home. For us, it shows how good the relationship between Nigeria and France is. We at AllianceFrancaise have quite a number of events lined up that will help deepen the Nigeria and France relationship, not only in sports, but also in other activities, including musical shows, and French classes.”