Nigerian basketball in stakeholders’ court

It is now an open secret that the game of basketball in Nigeria is in a near comatose state; no thanks to the endless leadership tussle. Although blessed with abundant talents, the absence of visionary and pragmatic leadership that could engender the growth of the sport has not only stalled progress but also rubbished past efforts at growing the game in Nigeria.

It is, therefore, worrisome that basketball is presently gasping for breath, desperately seeking selfless, honest and knowledgeable stakeholders who would come together to rescue it from the iron grip of self-serving administrators.

Since 2017, when the present board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) was controversially elected and inaugurated, peace has become a scarce ingredient in the sport. Sadly, the unhealthy situation has produced stakeholders who are unrelenting in pursuing personal agendas, even as the sport continues to sink deeper by the day.

Therefore, the majority of the stakeholders think that Nigerian basketball has to be reset immediately for the present decay to be arrested. Indeed it is disturbing that a country like Nigeria can’t boast of a functional domestic basketball league, leading to frustration for the teeming youth who want to play the sport professionally.

Of course, the two national teams, D’Tigers and D’Tigress have continued to fly the country’s flag at international competitions with impressive results, but the development of the sport in the real sense of it is more than just participation in continental and global tournaments.

Apart from the national teams, the only other visible basketball event in the country is the Zenith Bank Women’s league. Unfortunately, it is not played on the globally recognised home and away format. The league is usually played in a hurry in a few weeks, just to keep the contract with the commercial bank going. Therefore, there is a continuous and serious expression of dissatisfaction with the performance of the board, which had promised to create an enviable domestic league.

Against this background, most of the stakeholders in Nigerian basketball are vehemently opposed to any clandestine move by the present board of the NBBF to elongate its tenure beyond January 2026.

It would be recalled that Musa Kida, an engineer, was reelected as president of the MBBF for a second term on January 31, 2022 at the Royal Marble Hotel in Benin City of Edo State in accordance with the 2019 NBBF constitution approved by the FIBA and properly domiciled with the then Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

Although another elective congress held in Abuja produced Mr Igoche Mark as factional president, it was the Kida board that was eventually recognised by the FIBA and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

It is on record that after FIBA’s approval in March, 2022, the then Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, performed the “ceremonial” inauguration of the board in October, 2022. That event took place nearly 10 months after the board was elected and sworn into office in line with the FIBA-approved constitution.

Unfortunately, even as the constitution of the NBBF is explicit on the procedures for elective congresses and inauguration of newly elected board members, Nigerian basketball stakeholders are once again divided over the tenure of the present board.

While some argue that the tenure of the Kida-led board started in October when the then Minister of Sports, Dare inaugurated it, those who believe in the supremacy of the NBBF constitution insist that the tenure of the board would elapse on January 31, 2026 because it became functional soon after the members were elected and sworn in by a lawyer as approved by the statues.

This is the bone of contention as basketball stakeholders in Nigeria gear up for another round of leadership crisis. However, there is a glimmer of hope that if the stakeholders would be courageous enough to set aside their personal interests, this seemingly intractable leadership tussle would be resolved without much ado.

Not long ago, the Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bukola Olopade, held a peace finding parley with the warring factions in Abuja. At the end of the meeting, basketball was thrown back into the court of the stakeholders, who were asked to go back, discuss as one family and come back with a harmonious decision on the tenure of the present board.

So, right now, the ball is in the court of basketball stakeholders. How they play it will make or mar the future of the sport. They must make a judicious use of this opportunity to not only revive the game but also put it on the path of sustainable growth. To achieve this, the genuine stakeholders must unite against those who have shown by their actions that all they have is cupboard love for basketball.

While the move to resolve the problems derailing basketball in Nigeria is highly commendable, it is imperative to state here that the NSC as the regulatory body must not shy away from its oversight functions, no matter whose ox is gored. As the custodians of sports, the commission knows the exact position of the NBBF statutes on elections and tenure of board members.

Article 9.7 of the FIBA General Statute mandates the national member federations, in this case, the NBBF, to manage their affairs independently. Therefore, the NBBF board’s legitimacy comes from elective congress, not from a government inauguration ceremony. While the government through the Federal Ministry of Sports, now NSC, typically holds an “inauguration ceremony” for sports federations, the FIBA-approved constitution views this as a ceremonial formality rather than a legal requirement for the board to exercise its powers.

Moreover, since the 2019 FIBA-approved constitution has made it clear that the life of a newly elected board is considered active and legal immediately upon the conclusion of an elective congress, the tenure of the present board of the NBBF commenced on the day it was first inaugurated in Benin City in accordance with the statutes. Therefore, it will be right to say that the Kida-led board took off in January 2022 and should expire in January 2026.

Without a doubt, the NSC and the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC) are aware of the provisions of the NBBF constitution. What may be lacking is the courage to tell the board to play by the rules. However, this is a challenge all basketball stakeholders must overcome to save the sport from disintegration. Those who insist that the tenure of the present NBBF board began in October 2022 know that they are only being economical with the truth.

In conclusion, Nigerian basketball stakeholders should know that leadership is not a do-or-die affair. Furthermore, they should learn from a Senegalese footballer, Sadio Mane, who has proved to the whole world that we do not need titles or leadership positions to make a difference. At the just-concluded AFCON in Morocco, Mane became a hero because even without the captain’s armband, he provided leadership when it was needed to salvage his country’s pride and the image of football. The lesson is that those who genuinely love Nigerian basketball must not hold leadership positions to render services.

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