The Ram Sports Promoters Association of Nigeria has denied using drugs on their fighting rams, adding that it also does not encourage gambling during contests.
A national daily newspaper had recently quoted a ram owner saying that Indian hemp and snuff were used on fighting rams by owners but National Secretary of the Ram Sports Promoters Association of Nigeria, Kayode Balogun, refuted the allegations, saying the association is made up of responsible members of the society.
“I’m hearing that for the first time,” Balogun said.“Our association is full of people who are highly respected in the society. There’s no right thinking man that will do such a thing. I find it difficult to believe.
“We don’t use drugs on our rams. There is no way you can use drugs on rams for the purpose of using it to fight. How do you use narcotics on a ram? We don’t gamble, we are one family and we invite people to come and watch ram sports.
“It’s an open sport and people can come and watch how it’s done. It’s just a hobby and pride for some of us. One of our competitions was also described as ‘Death of the Season.’ There is nothing like that. We normally have two major annual competitions; there is one in January, while the other is known as Best of the Season or Best 10. We use it to test our new rams and identify the ones going into retirement.”
Balogun also called on government to invest in ram sports, saying it would help to propagate the image of the country globally.
“It’s capital intensive and that’s why we call on government for assistance because ram fighting can also put Nigeria on the world map as far as sports is concerned. In countries like Senegal and Morocco, they have ram fashion festivals. In Indonesia, they have two major tournaments yearly and their government encourages them. I call on the Nigerian government to do same too,” he added.
Title : We don’t drug our fighters –Ram sports official
Description : The Ram Sports Promoters Association of Nigeria has denied using drugs on their fighting rams, adding that it also does not encourage ga...
