Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang is an English-French-Nigerian professional rugby player who plays for the French National team. He won a gold medal as part of the France national rugby sevens team at the 2004 Paris Olympics. Coming to Nigeria for the first time, he tells TOBI AWODIPE what this means for him and how he intends to inspire the next generation of Nigerian rugby players.

This is your first time in Nigeria, what does this visit mean to you personally and why did it take you so long to come?

It means a lot to me personally because this year, I truly understood the importance of having multiple cultures I’ve, grown up with what you might call a triple culture: English, French, Nigerian. Last year, when I was invited to the presidential state dinner when President Bola Tinubu came to the Elysée, I understood truly that I am Nigerian and I need to explore my roots.

How have you been able to successfully navigate this triple identity you speak of and which do you feel most comfortable with?
It is interesting because on paper, I am French, I grew up in London for the majority of my life so I feel most British but, France gave me the biggest opportunities professionally. At the same time, I carry a French and Nigerian name, so I think I resonate most with the two worlds that I lived with, but I’m very much aware now that I am carrying a Nigerian name with my roots in Nigeria and and that’s why I wanted to come back here to explore that.

You speak French well; do you speak any Nigerian language?
Unfortunately, we didn’t speak any Nigerian language growing up. My dad didn’t go to Nigeria often and dint speak the language, however, food was our major link to the country growing up and I ate a number of Nigerian meals. Coming to Nigeria, I am trying to discover as much as the culture as I can.

Tell us about winning a Gold Medal at the 2024 Olympics, what did it mean to you and how do you think your victory can influence rugby in Nigeria?

I think it was the biggest achievement of my life by far. The weight an Olympic medal carries is internationally known. No matter where you go, everybody knows about the Olympics and the weight of the Olympic gold is heavy and I feel very privileged to have won one.I think the fact that I’ve won one means that when I come here and I want to talk about my journey, success, determination and drive, I think the gold medal legitimises that more than anything else.

How did you start playing Rugby and why that?

I first discovered it in secondary school and it was difficult because it was the only sport that my secondary school had to offer but I was really bad in the beginning. I had no natural ability in rugby asides my physical attributes and I was so bad that I stopped playing for some years.

Eventually, I came back to it because all my close friends were playing and I didn’t wanna miss out and all it took was one coach to tell me I believe you can take this professional. I always wanted to play sports professionally, I just wasn’t sure which sport. I played basketball, athletics, gymnastics and while I was good at them all, I just wasn’t good enough to play at the highest levels and the coach telling me ‘You’re good enough and you can do this was all I needed.

From that moment on, I dedicated myself to becoming a professional athlete in the gym, with my food, training and so on.

I didn’t get an opportunity in England but got it in France. I slowly climbed the ladder until becoming a pillar of the French Olympic team.

Nigeria has a lot of untapped sporting talents; what would you say to young people that might be inspired by this and want to take up this sport or any other?

Nigeria has such a huge athletic potential and we see that all across the diaspora. I just found out that Nigeria only has three gold medals but across the diaspora, there are many more. We can see the athletic potential genetically and I think that rugby is such a good game to get involved in because the ethos and morals of the game are about respect, camaraderie, discipline and determination. These are attributes natural to Nigerians, as well as resilience.

The game itself is one of speed, power, agility, mental strength and determination. There are few sports that need you to be all of these things which makes this one so well rounded. I think there is a real potential for Nigerians in this sport and I’ll be happy to see more people embrace it.

Any plans of collaboration between you and Nigeria?

Absolutely. Over the last few days, I have collaborated with the Nigerian Rugby Football Federation (NRFF) and we ran rugby clinics at the Rugby School in Victoria Island. We ran a clinic with over two hundred kids at Surulere and I participated am attending a rugby seventh tournament organised by the Federation. All of this is to raise awareness about the sport and attach someone familiar they can relate to. I bring my gold medal everywhere  with me so that the children can see it be cause I think it has such a big impact. Hopefully when they see me, they can relate to to the sport and build a bridge there.

You also DJ by the side, tell us tell us about that?

Music has been a massive part of my life and my family.Growing up, we had musical instruments in the house always, there was always music playing.My sister is a successful artist in the U.K. and for me, the DJing was just an escape from rugby when I was injured or when the sport wasn’t going well for me.It’s important to diversify your interests. For me, it has always been rugby, music and golf. If one of them isn’t working, I still remain strong. Music and Djingtook me away from rugby when I needed to and gave me a passion outside the sport.

You studied product design in school, is this something you intend to pursue after retirement?

When I think about my life and the different paths that I could have taken, that was a path I was passionate about, but I later decided to follow my dreams and become a rugby player. Will I go back to product design afterwards? Probably not. I think I will stay around sports or something like that. Again, it’s important to be interested in many things outside of your livelihood.

If not rugby, what sport would you have played?

Maybe basketball. I know Nigeria has a good basketball team and the French infrastructure is amazing too.I would have loved to be in the MBA and my favourite team obviously is the Lakers because of LeBron James.

Who are your sporting mentors?

I have a couple but what I respect the most about James is his longevity He’s now 41 and in his 23rd season. I’ve never seen that kind of longevity and greatness for so long. For mentality,players like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, they were relentless and this drove them to greatness.

What are your future plans?

I’d love to defend my Olympic gold medal at the next Olympics. It is a personal objective of mine and I’d like to to foster this relationship with Nigeria and try and grow rugby in Nigeria significantly.

How do you see the future of rugby in Nigeria, does it look promising?

The problem with the future of rugby in Nigeria is just like many other things.It needs a lot of funding and infrastructure, things that won’t appear overnight. Azeez Ladipo, the NRFF Manager, is doing an incredible job of trying to build that infrastructure slowly and needs help from the government and local communities to help make the push. There is massive potential but it takes work, time and dedication.

What have you enjoyed most about being in Nigeria?

I’ve been so surprised by the love I’ve received from everyone. Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve been greeted with hugs, smiles, happiness and it’s been so refreshing to me coming here for the first time and being met with so much love.Already, I have learned how to cook jollof rice, egusi, ogbono and pounded yam and I hope to continue cooking them even when back in France. The clinic with kids, you could feel the positive energy and it made me feel special and very grateful.