According to a Nigerian source on Sunday, Prince Harry and his spouse Meghan will go to Nigeria in May for discussions over the Invictus Games, an initiative he started to support the recovery of injured and ill veterans and service people.
Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, the spokesperson for Nigeria’s defence ministry, did not specify the precise date of the Duke of Sussex’s arrival in Africa, a continent he has long declared to be dear to his heart. Following a service to commemorate the games’ tenth anniversary at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, Harry is anticipated to travel.
Nigeria was one of the countries that competed in the previous year’s games; since 2009, the country’s military has been engaged in a violent conflict with Islamic militants in the northeast of the nation.
Modelled after the Warrior Games in the United States, the Invictus Games were founded by Harry in 2014 to offer wounded veterans the challenge of competing in sports events similar to the Paralympics.
Harry served in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter co-pilot gunner in 2012-2013 and has championed veterans in need of assistance.
His visit to Nigeria will include cultural activities and will “consolidate Nigeria’s stronghold at the games and the possibility of hosting the event in later years,” Gusau said.
In his recent Netflix series about the games, Harry said he didn’t have the support he needed when he returned home from combat in Afghanistan.
Speaking about post-traumatic stress disorder, he said his return from Afghanistan in 2012 triggered emotions that he suppressed after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, when he was just 12 years old.
The prince, whose troubles with the royal family have been widely chronicled, said the impact of Diana’s death was never discussed.
