Deji Elumoye in Abuja
The Nigerian Navy has won the Paintball Combat Competition, beating the Nigerian Army at a sporting event organised at the weekend to commemorate the 2023 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration (AFRDC).
The paintball, which is a simulated combat situation to develop strategy, skills and team work minus the danger of live munitions fire helps a player to make strategic decisions within seconds to remain in the game.
Speaking at the maiden event in Abuja, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, commended the organisers, Forest Hunters, for the idea and pledged to continue to partner the organisation to make paintball combat competition an annual event.
According to him, the armed forces would do further modification to the game to suit the Nigerian environment going forward.
Irabor congratulated members of the armed forces particularly the veterans for the good work they had done to keep the nation united saying the fallen and living heroes deserved to be celebrated for their sacrifice for the nation.
According to him, the nation has set aside January 15 of every year to remember and honour serving and fallen heroes.
His words: “For us in the armed forces, we also thought as a prelude to the wreath laying event, that there has to be series of events that will indeed lead to the climax.
“The paintballing festival is one of such innovations. Two days ago and yesterday, we had golf tournament packaged to honour our veterans and I am glad to say that they were there in numbers.
“The event that we have witnessed tonight is to further honour them and to let them know that their services were never forgotten.
“I am glad that we have been able to put this together in partnership with the Forest Hunters who came up with the idea and suggested that we partner with them,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of Forest Hunters, Bayo Omoboriowo, who is the official photographer to President Muhammadu Buhari, said the collaboration between the military and the civilians showed the need to embrace togetherness in order to build a better Nigeria for younger generation.
According to him, the first edition of the Paintballing Festival was to commemorate the fallen heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of humanity during the First and Second World Wars, the Nigerian Civil War, Internal security operations as well as Peace Support Operations around the world.
