Deaf athletes protested their exclusion from the 2026 National Sports Festival on Monday. They gathered at the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos. Adeyinka Adeboye, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Grassroots Sports Development, promised to talk to sports authorities about their concerns.
The protest was led by Badmus Nurudeen, the national deaf sports captain. Reports say they blocked the stadium gate at 7am. They wanted to highlight that deaf sports were left out of the festival, even though para sports and events for able-bodied athletes were included.
Prince Adesoji, a Nigerian Professional Sign Language Interpreter, was at the protest. He told The PUNCH that the athletes had informed the police about their demonstration and asked for security. Between 10 and 15 police officers were present, including Surulere's Divisional Police Officer, CSP Bamisaye Olalere. Adesoji said the police brought Adeboye to meet the protesters and that he knew Lagos State deaf captain Peter Nwokolobia.
Adeboye acknowledged the importance of deaf athletes, stating, “I know that deaf people are part of Nigerian citizens. I know that deaf athletes have represented Nigeria many times and won many medals, many golds. So why should deaf sports be separated? Deaf people are part of the people.” He promised to share their concerns with the Director-General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, and Sunday Odebode, the President of the Paralympic Committee of Nigeria.
Adesoji also mentioned that Adeboye proposed a meeting with deaf sports representatives at the stadium on Thursday, October 22, at 10am. However, Nurudeen reminded Adeboye that plans and schedules were already set. He urged the aide to ensure his intervention leads to a positive result. Adesoji added that Adeboye recalled a similar rally by deaf athletes four years ago and assured them he would inform President Tinubu.
The Surulere DPO asked the protesters to stay peaceful while they waited for the meeting. Emmanuel Audu, Assistant Technical Director of the Nigeria Deaf Sports Federation, called the exclusion a recurring issue. He noted this was the fourth time deaf sports had been left out of the festival, despite the federation participating since 1996.
Audu stressed that sports provide income and independence for many deaf athletes, helping them care for their families in tough economic times. He said, “Through this sport, many of them are feeding. They take care of their wives, children and school fees. You know Nigeria is hard. Even if a deaf person finishes university and goes to look for work, they say, ‘Ah, deaf, they cannot communicate. Sorry, no work.’ So, through sport, they can get money to feed themselves and their families. Now this same sport, you remove them.”
He claimed that deaf sports had been made mandatory under a previous sports minister but later classified as optional by the current administration, without explanation. Audu argued that allowing para sports while excluding deaf athletes was discrimination. “If para and deaf are both removed, fine. But para are there and only deaf are removed. That is discrimination against deaf people. Para events are very many, and no single deaf event is there,” he added.
He also stated that the Director-General of the National Sports Commission had previously assured deaf sports representatives that their events would be included after meeting them during a visit to Lagos. Still, Audu said deaf table tennis was dropped from the festival program, while hearing and para categories remained.
Lagos State deaf athletics coach and former badminton player Lanre Agboola said athletes had been training daily since January for the festival, making their exclusion even more hurtful. He said, “If they do not have passion for us, let us know. Do not just waste our time. We come here every day to train, since January till now. Nothing. They should stop removing deaf sport from the festival. They should make it compulsory and no more optional.”
Deaf table tennis player Taiwo Olatunji also shared her disappointment. She questioned why deaf athletes were treated differently from other Nigerian sportsmen and women. “We the deaf in Nigeria are also citizens of Nigeria. What makes them discriminate against us? All of us here are athletes. We have been training since January, hoping to be in the festival, and now it is only para and the able that are there. What is our sin? The para, the deaf and the able are supposed to be together because we are Nigerian citizens. We feel so disappointed,” she said.
The protest was not just in Lagos. Deaf sports stakeholders also demonstrated in Benin City, Edo State, at the secretariat of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. Meanwhile, the Nigeria Deaf Football Association will hold a separate protest in Abuja from Tuesday to Thursday, October 20 to 22, at the Presidential Villa and the National Assembly Complex. They are demanding payment of outstanding allowances and bonuses owed to the Nigeria Deaf Eagles after their participation in the 2023 World Deaf Football Championship in Malaysia.
The National Sports Festival, known as the Coal City Games, is set to take place in Enugu from November 27 to December 11, 2026.
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