Five years ago, no one in Nigeria’s archery community – or the wider world – knew who Kachollom Larai Enyenihi was.
She was working a nine-to-five job as a lawyer, spending her free time running and hiking rather than standing on a shooting line.
In 2019, Enyenihi suffered a life-changing stroke that severely affected the right side of her body and forced her to step away from her usual activities for more than a year.
Archery – as it so often does in times of need – became part of her recovery. A friend recommended a club in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital – Arch Archery Club – and she has been there ever since.
As well as helping her regain a sense of routine, the sport brought her back into a competitive environment she had missed. It also offered a new lease of life for the 51-year-old compound archer, who went on to compete internationally at the Pretoria 2022 and Nabeul 2023 African Archery Championships.
On both occasions, she was the only Nigerian competing in the compound women’s category.
Now, just as she has done on the shooting line, Enyenihi is making an impact beyond it, having recently been appointed women’s development director for the archery federation of Nigeria.
“I got a little bit of hints, but I guess me being me, I just didn’t want to believe it,” she said of first hearing about the role from federation president Mohammed Baba Abdullahi. “I just said, ‘Okay, whatever happens, let’s just see.’”
“When I got the position, I was a bit excited – but then I was wondering, ‘This is new, I’ve never seen this before, so what am I supposed to do now?’”
“I think it was a good thing because it’s opened my mind to a lot of ideas, a lot of things that we would do for women in archery.”
