News
SPECIAL REPORT: Why Nigerians Should Celebrate Team Nigeria’s Historic Commonwealth Games Campaign—And the Best May Still Be Yet to Come
The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games are far from over, yet Team Nigeria has already produced a campaign that deserves to be celebrated across the country.
This is not simply because of the medals won so far. It is because Nigerian athletes are breaking records, ending decades-long droughts, reaching historic finals and restoring the country’s status as one of the Commonwealth’s sporting powerhouses.
What makes the achievement even more remarkable is that Glasgow 2026 is being contested in just 10 sports—the smallest Commonwealth Games programme in more than three decades. With fewer sports comes fewer medal opportunities, making every podium finish more valuable than at previous editions.
Yet Team Nigeria has continued to shine.
The country’s weightlifters have once again reminded the world why Nigeria remains a global force in the sport. Edidiong Umoafia, Onome Didih and Rafiatu Folashade Lawal did not just win gold medals—they rewrote the record books with Commonwealth Games record-breaking performances that announced Nigeria’s dominance on the platform.
On the track, Kayinsola Ajayi ended a 20-year wait for a Nigerian medal in the men’s 100 metres by winning bronze in Glasgow. Since Olusoji Fasuba’s silver medal in Melbourne in 2006, no Nigerian male sprinter had climbed the Commonwealth Games podium in the blue-riband event. Ajayi has now revived Nigeria’s proud sprint tradition and shown that the country can once again challenge the Commonwealth’s fastest men.
Perhaps the most emotional moment of the Games came through Temitope Adeshina, whose bronze medal in the women’s high jump ended a remarkable 72-year wait for a Nigerian Commonwealth Games medal in the event. She also became the first Nigerian woman ever to win a Commonwealth Games high jump medal and only the third Nigerian in history to stand on the podium after Josiah Majekodunmi (1950) and Emmanuel Ifeajuna (1954).
History has also been made in the swimming pool.
Abduljabar Adama reached the men’s 50m butterfly final, a landmark achievement for Nigerian swimming. At a Games where countries like Australia, England and Canada traditionally dominate the pool, seeing a Nigerian contest a sprint butterfly final is another sign that the nation is making progress in sports where success has been rare.
On the basketball court, Nigeria’s women’s Wheelchair 3×3 team secured the country’s first-ever Commonwealth Games victory in the event by defeating India, earning a place in the quarterfinals and opening another exciting chapter in Nigerian para sport.
Even the athletes who narrowly missed the podium have contributed to this remarkable campaign. Seventeen-year-old Miracle Ezechukwu reached the women’s 100m semi-finals on her Commonwealth Games debut, while Favour Ashe and Nicholas Fakorede came within touching distance of the men’s 100m final, underlining the depth of Nigeria’s sprint programme.
Behind these achievements is a renewed belief within Team Nigeria.
The National Sports Commission’s athlete-first reforms—including improved welfare, better preparation and immediate financial rewards for medal winners—have created an environment in which athletes can focus on performance. The results are now evident in Glasgow, where Nigerian competitors continue to rise to the occasion against some of the Commonwealth’s best.
Most importantly, the Games are not over.
Nigeria still has athletes competing in athletics, boxing, swimming, para-athletics and other medal events. More opportunities remain, more finals are ahead, and more history could still be written before the curtain falls on Glasgow 2026.
For Nigerians at home and around the world, this is not just a successful Commonwealth Games campaign—it is a statement of resilience, preparation and renewed ambition.
From ending a 72-year medal drought in the high jump, to breaking a 20-year jinx in the men’s 100m, reaching a historic swimming final, recording a first-ever wheelchair basketball victory and rewriting the Commonwealth Games record books in weightlifting, Team Nigeria has already given the nation countless reasons to celebrate.
And if the performances so far are any indication, the biggest celebrations may still lie ahead.
Passengers using TinCity Metro buses in Plateau State will be required to wear face masks from Tuesday as authorities intensify efforts to contain a diphtheria outbreak that has killed at least 23 people.
The management of Plateau Express Services Group, which operates the state-owned mass transit service, announced a “no face mask, no entry” policy in a statement issued on Monday.
The directive takes effect on Tuesday, 8 September, and will remain in force until further notice.
“The Management of Plateau Express Services Group has directed the enforcement of a ‘No Face Mask, No Entry’ policy on all TinCity Metro buses, effective Tuesday, 8th September 2026, until further notice,” the statement said.
TinCity Metro buses operate across the Jos metropolis and neighbouring local government areas, including Jos South, Barkin Ladi and Bassa, providing daily transportation for residents within and around the state capital.
The management said a limited number of face masks would be provided at designated boarding points to ease the implementation of the directive.
However, it advised commuters to bring their own masks, warning that available supplies might not be sufficient for everyone.
The company also urged passengers to comply with the directive and cooperate with its personnel when boarding the buses.
“Management appreciates the understanding and cooperation of commuters as we work together to ensure a safer public transport environment,” it said.
The directive comes amid heightened concern over the spread of diphtheria in Plateau State, with health authorities reporting a rising number of suspected cases and deaths.
The state Commissioner for Health, Nicholas Baamlong, said on Friday that 148 suspected cases had been recorded, with 23 deaths reported in the preceding two weeks.
READ ALSO: Plateau shuts schools over suspected diphtheria outbreak
Eight patients were receiving treatment at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, while five others were being treated at the Plateau Specialist Hospital, Mr Baamlong said.
Diphtheria is a bacterial infection that spreads mainly through respiratory droplets and close contact with infected people, making crowded public spaces a potential avenue for transmission.
The Plateau State Government has already introduced other measures to contain the outbreak, including the temporary closure of public and private primary and secondary schools across the state.
The face-mask requirement on TinCity Metro buses extends the containment measures to public transportation, where thousands of residents travel daily between Jos and neighbouring communities.
Discover more from Premium Times Nigeria
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
President of the Nigeria Netball Federation, Dr. Oluwatoyin Aluko, has identified capacity building as a critical pillar in the federation’s long-term plan to reposition netball and build a stronger technical base for the sport in Nigeria.
Aluko’s position comes as the federation continues efforts to strengthen its coaching and officiating structures, with recent development programmes targeting coaches and umpires as part of a broader strategy to create a more competent workforce around the sport.
For the NNF president, developing players alone is not enough. A sustainable netball programme must also produce properly trained coaches, technically sound officials and administrators capable of taking the sport to the next level.
The federation has therefore placed considerable emphasis on training and professional development, an approach Aluko believes will ultimately strengthen Nigeria’s chances of competing successfully at international level.
“Capacity building remains one of the major pillars of our five-year strategic development plan. We need to continuously invest in our coaches and umpires because the quality of our athletes and competitions depends greatly on the people responsible for developing and officiating them.”
The focus on technical development is coming at an important stage for Nigerian netball, with the federation targeting greater international competitiveness and working towards securing Nigeria’s place among the leading netball nations in Africa.
Aluko has also spoken publicly about the federation’s ambition to secure a historic qualification for the Netball World Cup, describing the objective as achievable if the right structures and preparation are put in place.
Her administration’s approach is centred on building the sport from the foundation rather than relying solely on major competitions.
That means strengthening grassroots participation, improving coaching standards, expanding the pool of qualified officials and creating a pathway through which young Nigerians can progress from schools and grassroots programmes into elite netball.
The renewed attention to capacity development also reflects the growing recognition that technical personnel are central to the long-term growth of Nigerian sport.
Aluko, a former netball player and experienced sports administrator, was appointed President of the Nigeria Netball Federation by the National Sports Commission as part of efforts to strengthen the sport’s administration and development.
With Nigeria seeking to make greater strides internationally, the federation’s challenge will now be to convert its capacity-building initiatives into a consistent pipeline of quality coaches, officials and players.
For Aluko, the message is clear: Nigeria’s netball revival cannot be built overnight, but it can be built deliberately — one coach, one official, one player and one structured programme at a time.
And that long-term approach could prove decisive in determining how far Nigeria can go on the African and global netball stage.
-
News4 days agoWOWICCN Convention: CCN President Urges Women to Rise Above Nigeria’s Challenges
-
News3 days ago
China Approves New Brain-Tech Devices in Growing Race With Elon Musk’s Neuralink
-
News3 days ago
Peter Obi dropped money in Ekiti – Lere Olayinka dismisses ‘I don’t give shishi’ claims
-
News3 days ago
I will recall 15,000 sacked Abia workers – PDP governorship candidate, Anosike
