Sports Planet: Could you kindly introduce
yourself?
Balogun: I’m Alhaji Kayode Balogun, the National
Secretary of the Ram Sports Promoters
Association of Nigeria.
SP: Can you tell us how ram fighting evolved into
a sport in Nigeria?
Balogun: Ram fighting has been a form of sport in
Nigeria for a very long time. It is a sport that
normally takes place during the Muslim festival.
On the morning of the festival, we take rams to
the field with other neighbours and friends to fight
each other. Ram fighting is a good traditional
sport which we’ve been able to modify to national
and international standard. And since we started
that, we’ve been progressing.
SP: Do you just pick any animal for your sport or
are there any specific traits that mark a ram as a
potential athlete?
Balogun: We don’t use just any ram. It’s just like
any other sports; you have to discover the
potential of the ram before you can say this is
going to be a very good gladiator. When you
discover the ram then you get a trainer who
trains the ram on the tactics involved in the sport.
SP: Are you telling us that you actually train
these animals to fight?
Balogun: Of course yes, my brother. The trainer
takes the ram out early in the morning for fitness.
He also takes care of the food the ram feeds on
because you must have four different feedings for
the ram in a day.
SP: Interesting. So, how would you like to
respond to those members of society who say
ram fighting is nothing but animal cruelty and
exploitation?
Balogun: You see, the thing is there has never
been any sport that has not been condemned.
Football was first condemned before it was later
accepted likewise boxing, wrestling, karate among
others. But the fact is that God created all things
in this world for a purpose and, as far as you
don’t go to the length of punishing or forcing a
ram to fight, there is no problem with it. For
example, you can’t force someone to be a boxer
rather he or she chooses boxing as his or her
hobby likewise these animals. The ram we use are
great gladiators, they like fighting and they are
well taken care of. We have officials that make
sure they don’t force any ram to fight.
Immediately they put them beside each other they
know what to do because they’ve been trained.
SP: How does the contest play out; do you allow
combatants to fight to the death or do you score
them points or what?
Balogun: In a big competition, the first round
consists of only 20 hits. If they complete 20 hits,
that’s a draw then they go for a second round. In
the second round, the hits increase to 30 and
extend to 50 at the quarter-final stage. And when
it gets to the semi-final and final stages, a winner
has to emerge before the hits reach 100. That’s
how we do it and that’s why we have men on
ground; they count points, the speed and the
fitness of the ram to discover who the winner is.
SP: What plans does your association have to
promote ram fighting as a legitimate sport in
Nigeria and possibly as a tourist attraction for
the country like bull fighting in other parts of the
world?
Balogun: Thank you very much. Our association is
a registered body in Nigeria. Moreover, we are
under traditional sports of Nigeria and, hopefully
at the next National Sports Festival, we are going
to showcase ram fighting there. We’ve also had
fights with Benin Republic and Cote d’Ivoire and
we are still looking beyond these countries.
SP: Really! So, ram fighting is not restricted to
Nigeria alone?
Balogun: Ram fighting is not restricted to Nigeria
alone. Many African countries like Cote d’Ivoire,
Algeria, Tunisia and Benin Republic also do it.
They also have it in Indonesia, Turkey, Japan and
China.
SP: What are your visions for this sport?
Balogun: I have a dream whereby I will be
transferring rams from Nigeria to countries like
Spain, France and England where a ram will cost
as much as £200,000 like the way they trade in
football players all over the world. And my belief
is that, with time, people will be coming to
Nigeria from all over the world to buy professional
rams so that the country will be proud that this is
one of the things we do.
SP: So, how much does a good fighting ram cost
in Nigeria?
Balogun: Well, the current record was set here in
Lagos State. The ram in question had a massive
reputation as a formidable fighter. It was sold for
N1.45m (One Million, Four Hundred and Fifty
Thousand Naira) only. But the cheapest you can
get, that is a transfer from one trainer to another
is N150,000. Otherwise, you can take a gamble
and go to the livestock market, there you can get
a rookie or amateur for as low as N20,000.
SP: There are reports that people place huge
sums as bets on these ram fights, is this true?
Balogun: My brother, it is a serious matter. In
fact, we have seen people place bets with
hundreds of thousands of naira, even millions.
Some place bets with cars, SUVs, motorcycles,
tricycles, commercial buses, etc. When we have
such situation, we apply to the area command of
the Nigerian Police to provide security and
maintain law and order. And to the glory of God,
we have never had any incidents.
SP: Thank you for sharing your time with us, sir.
Balogun: It’s my pleasure.
http://completesportsnigeria.com/ram-fighting-goes-professional/

this man is very funny. I luv this part What are your visions for this sport?
Balogun: I have a dream whereby I will be
transferring rams from Nigeria to countries like
Spain, France and England where a ram will cost
as much as £200,000 like the way they trade in
football players all over the world. And my belief
is that, with time, people will be coming to
Nigeria from all over the world to buy professional
rams so that the country will be proud that this is
one of the things we do. lwkmd

one day, you will fight with your head too.