Para-powerlifting first featured at the Games at Manchester 2002 and the African nation has won all 12 gold medals contested since then.

This dominance is something Nigeria naturally hopes will continue at Birmingham 2022, and it is no surprise that Chef de Mission Simon Ebhojiaye has selected powerlifters among his athletes to watch from the country.

Lifters to look out for in the West Midlands city include Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champions Folashade Oluwafemiayo, Latifat Tijani and Bose Omolayo.

Oluwafemiayo won in Japan at 86 kilograms and is also a three-time world champion.

Tijani is the Tokyo gold medallist at under-45kg, while Omolayo won at 79kg.

The trio have broken numerous records between them but Nigeria's Para-sport story in Birmingham will not end with powerlifting.

Ebhojiaye points to track and field's Eucharia Iyiazi, who specialises in the throwing events and won bronze at Tokyo 2020 in the F57 shot put.

Iyiazi is still competing at the age of 48 and won the first of her six Paralympic medals - which include two golds - in Athens in 2004.

Nigeria first competed at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland in 1950 and has experienced stop-start participation since then.

The country did not appear in 1962, 1978 or 1986, and they were ineligible for Kuala Lumpur 1998 after Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations due to the worldwide condemnation caused by the execution of nine environmental activists. 

When counting all of its appearances, Nigeria has won 70 gold medals, the third best record in Africa after South Africa and Kenya.

In Birmingham, 100 athletes will represent the country in athletics and Para-athletics, boxing, judo, powerlifting, table tennis and Para-table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. 

Sunday Dare, Nigeria's Sports Minister, said these sports were selected after a period of analysis which determined they had the best chance of success.

This means a smaller team than what could have been expected, but Dare said Nigeria will still "compete in a big way" as focus has been placed on athletes who are ranked inside the top 10 or 15 in the world.

Sports where Nigerian athletes are low in the rankings have not been considered this time, following the spell of statistics and number crunching.

In wrestling, Odunayo Adekuoroye will be looking for a third Commonwealth Games gold medal in a row in freestyle, while Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist Blessing Oborududu will also return after topping the podium at Gold Coast 2018.

Table tennis player Quadri Aruna, the men's silver medallist in Gold Coast, is the number one men's singles player in Africa and is ranked 11th in the world.

Athletics will feature long jumper Ese Brume, who won bronze in Tokyo and was Nigeria's only other Olympic medallist in Japan alongside Oborududu.

Ebhojiaye admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted Nigeria's preparations.

"It affected the training programme of the athletes due to lockdown and restrictions," he said.

"There was the inability to attend some international competitions due to travel bans and quarantine and isolation policies.

"And it affected the world ranking of Nigerian athletes in some sports."

Away from the Commonwealth Games, Ebhojiaye works as a director of the Federations and Elite Athletes Department, in the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports development department.

When asked if the Commonwealth Games is an important event in Nigerian sport, and if he thinks Birmingham 2022 will be a success, Ebhojiaye said: "Yes indeed, yes indeed".