THREE years ago, Peacemaker Azuegbulam lost his left leg when his Nigerian army unit came under fire from Boko Haram jihadists in the north of the country.
Now Azuegbulam is an African champion.
Last month, Azuegbulam won gold in the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany — the first Nigerian and the first African to secure the top prize in the games.
“I feel great to become the first champion in Invictus Games from Africa,” he told AFP in Abuja. “Invictus means unconquered, we are still unconquered because we are still alive.”
Started in 2014, the Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, himself a veteran, as a way to help in the rehabilitation of wounded servicemen and women through sports.
The event now involves 23 nations, and includes sports from weightlifting to volleyball and table tennis.
Azuegbulam, 27, won gold in a powerlifting category, and also competes in sitting volleyball and other sports.
It has been a painful journey for Azuegbulam.
In October 2020, he was part of an army unit fighting to dislodge terrorist in the northeast of Nigeria, where the military has been battling terrorist for more than a decade.
Gunmen opened fire with an anti-aircraft gun, wounding Azuegbulam, and forcing doctors to amputate his leg.
“After being injured, I got into a lot of things emotionally, physically, and even mentally, I was thinking a lot of things, I was not myself, it was very tough,” he said.
With the help of local organisation Nigeria Unconquered, he started to become involved in sports recovery for wounded servicemen and veterans and eventually to a team heading to the Invictus Games in September.
Bobby Ojeh, director of Invictus in Nigeria, said Azuegbulam’s gold would bring hope to others and saw more African nations joining the event.