The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, are set to arrive in Nigeria on Friday for a private 3-day visit.
The royal couple was invited by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, to interact with wounded soldiers and their families.
According to Air Vice Marshal Abidemi Marquis, Director of Sports at the Defence Headquarters, Prince Harry, founder of the Invictus Games, will spend three days in Nigeria from May 10 to 13, 2024.
The visit aims to support the recovery efforts of wounded soldiers and boost their mental health and self-esteem.
The couple’s itinerary includes a visit to the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna State, where they will meet with wounded and injured soldiers undergoing medical recovery.
“We realised that 80% of our soldiers have been involved in this recovery programme, they are getting better. Their outlook to life is positive,” AVM Marquis said.
He added that the visit will help their injured troops in their recovery “to improve their personal self-esteem to improve their mental health. Their emotional intelligence has been improved and also their families seeing them, as they used to be breadwinners who are capable of continuing living. So this engagement with Invictus is giving us the opportunity for the recovery for our soldiers.”
“So, to be specific, now, they will be arriving here tomorrow (Friday) and they will be received, and the reception will be a quiet reception because they will be traveling 14 hours to get to this place. They will be taken to the hotel,” AVM Marquis added.
“On Saturday, we’ll be having like an exhibition of novelty match. The CDS team and the Duke team will be having a volleyball match at armed forces officers mess in the morning. And this is just to engage with the wounded and injured soldiers. It’s a sitting volleyball match coming in the morning.
“So after that, we have a programme for them by 01:00 pm. A reception, where they will be interacting with families of wounded and injured soldiers and families of soldiers and officers killed in action and service members generally,” the Director said.
They will also engage in a sitting volleyball match with the CDS team at the Armed Forces Officers Mess and attend a reception to interact with families of wounded and injured soldiers, as well as families of soldiers and officers killed in action.
Additionally, the royal couple will visit Wuse Light Academy, an institution supported by their non-governmental organization, and pay a courtesy visit to Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
They will also attend a basketball exhibition match at a court supported by their NGO in Lagos.
The visit is expected to provide a morale boost to the wounded soldiers and their families, and promote the importance of supporting military personnel and their loved ones.
The royal couple’s trip will conclude on Monday with their departure from Nigeria.
