IF D’ TIGERS MISS THE 2015 FIBA AFRICA TOURNAMENT (QUALIFIERS FOR BOTH THE 2016 OLYMPICS AND THE 2015 ALL AFRICA GAMES) – WHOSE LOSS IS IT REALLY? IS IT TJ’S PERSONAL LOSS OR A SETBACK FOR OUR COLLECTIVE PROPERTY, NIGERIAN BASKETBALL? We need to seriously ask ourselves the above questions because most of our utterances and body language seem to indicate that we in the basketball community are confused about the correct answer. This evening, I was watching a sports program on Channels TV hosted by Frank Illaboya. As usual with nearly all sports programs, the entire discussions revolved around football. You see, the ‘Ministry of Sports’ has been replaced with the ‘Ministry of Football’ while the ‘Sports Writers Association of Nigeria’ has also been transformed to the ‘Football Writers Association of Nigeria’, and so also for most sports journalists (but that is a matter for another day). Suffice to say that I settled comfortably in my chair for what I expected to be another long boring discourse glorifying the mediocrity that has become Nigerian football. Then lo and behold, Frank mentioned another sport….BASKETBALL! I sprung to attention in my chair in anticipation, grateful for any meager few minutes accorded to my beloved sport, hungry to digest the positive information that would come forth as a validation that finally, here was a sports journalist who cared a bit for us ‘lesser sports’. And then my heart sank. The whole discussion that ensued made me wish that Mr Frank Ilaboya and his friends had never mentioned basketball at all. Because they did a total disservice to the cause of basketball and it would have been better if they had ignored us as so many other sports programs and writers seem to do. I believe the purpose of programs such as that hosted by Mr Ilaboya is to inform the public, enlighten them and bring about positive attitudes for sports. Certainly not to project any sport in a negative light, or as undeserving of support, or attack personalities at the helms of affairs at such a sports federation. Consider some of the proceedings: 1) Mr Ilaboya mentioned that the NBBF President Tijjani Umar was complaining that the NSC had not given him any money since last year for his programs. As a result, Nigeria may not be able to participate in the qualifiers for this year’s FIBA Africa Tournament (which is the qualifiers for both the Olympics and the All Africa Games). 2) The first contribution from the lady on his left side was to ask why Tijjani Umar needed NSC money? According to her, afterall she could remember that he had campaigned for election as NBBF President based on his claim that he would raise private funds? So why was he looking for money from government? 3) The rejoinder from the man on his right was that Tijjani Umar was the typical ‘lazy’ Federation President who did not want to work for their federation’s progress. Please I am not exaggerating; ‘LAZY’ was the exact word used by them. 4) The whole discussions closed on that note, without any appeal to the NSC on behalf of basketball, and without any discussion of the need to help the NBBF from any sources so that Nigerian Basketball would not suffer the harrowing penalties, which were looming. It all ended on these sour and negative notes listed above. The unspoken summary was: “Don’t mind those unserious basketball people” I have known Mr Ilaboya personally for several years and I have the highest regard for him. I do not know the other two people and what leads them to express such contempt for basketball or its leadership. I must therefore hold Mr Ilaboya squarely responsible for the damage they have done to basketball. This is because they were on his program, and as a seasoned journalist, he has the responsibility to control them or call them to order when their contributions turn personal or unprofessional. 1) “THE PRESIDENT OF THE NBBF IS LAZY?” That is a grave insult, which is beyond the competence of anyone on that program to make. Is it based on conjecture, rumours, or facts? Have they interviewed him to balance their information (one of the ethics of journalism), before going on air to voice such condemnation or negative opinion? 2) “IN THE NBBF PRESIDENT’S ELECTION CAMPAIGN MANIFESTO, HE PROMISED TO RAISE MONEY FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR”. I am not personally aware of this manifesto that this lady refers to, and with all sense of modesty, I believe that I am an eminently more qualified basketball stakeholder than she is. But let us for the sake of argument assume that she is not merely echoing sponsored propaganda and that the President has not ‘kept his campaign promises’. What relevance was that to the issue being discussed on that program, which was how to help Nigerian basketball generate financial support to go to its impending qualifiers? Did she have a personal agenda to sabotage that effort by attacking the President’s credibility and presenting his NBBF administration as undeserving of assistance? The above proceedings smirk too much of a personal attack for comfort. Look, we may have our differences with the NBBF and its President. BUT THE MAN IS OUR PRESIDENT! When we are tired of him, we will remove him constitutionally. Until that time (regardless of any personal differences some of us may or may not have with him) we demand that he be treated with the respect befitting his office. It is not acceptable to us as stakeholders in basketball, that just anyone can go on air to disrespect our President and rubbish him. And please note that this demand that you must respect our president is not borne out of mere sentiment. We are a ‘lesser sport’ struggling for relevance in the financial environment, battling almighty football and other sports for the available scarce resources. To get our share of the ‘sponsorship pie’, we need to be seen by supporters and sponsors in a positive light. We need our President to be viewed as credible along with the NBBF, which he administers. We need you to project us in basketball as deserving of support, not the opposite. It is for our own long-term good that we need you to show respect to our President. If you cannot help us, then leave us alone. Don’t fan the embers of discord among us; we are not football. I recall, and must refer us all to the recent issue concerning the NTTF and Aruna Quadri. The situation was eerily similar. The NTTF needed funding from the NSC to attend their crucial tournament in Egypt. Nobody chastised the NTTF President for asking for government money? We all lined up behind them using every skill to get the NSC to fund them. We begged, we threatened, we cajoled. I am not a Table Tennis person yet I wrote supporting articles in the newspapers, on social media; I even wrote personal letters to the NSC. Other people did even more. At the last minute, the NSC bowed to our collective pressure and provided the much-needed funds for the NTTF to execute that important program. We were all happy because we had managed to help a ‘lesser sport’. That is what we expect from Nigeria again. Save Nigerian Basketball. Back to my earlier question, the answer is this: IF NIGERIA DOES NOT GO TO THIS YEAR’S QUALIFIERS FOR THE OLYMPICS, NIGERIAN BASKETBALL WILL BE THE LOSER. Mr Tijjani Umar will still continue as NBBF President regardless of whether we participate in the qualifiers or not. But if we do not: - Nigeria will be demoted at least six to eight steps in the FIBA World rankings - We also risk a fine for pulling out of the qualifiers at this late stage. - D’ Tigers will gather ‘rust’ as they will spend the next four to five years with no activity. - Inactivity will mean loss of momentum. We will lose the interest of players and sponsors because we will be perceived as an unserious sport, and this tag will be difficult to shake off when we later want to. - We will have no chance to compete for an Olympic spot along with all the spotlight it would have given Nigerian Basketball. - ‘Lesser sports’ have their own hierarchy too. Just like in George Orwell’s book Animal Farm; ‘Some animals are more equal than others.’ Not participating in even the All Africa Games will demote us in the ranks of ‘lesser sports’ to the level of ‘Ayo’ and ‘Langa’. And yes, it is a two-way street. NBBF and Mr Umar, tell us how we can help you. There is too little information in the environment for you to receive the proper advice or support from the right quarters. You need to take advantage of Social Media as it has become an indispensible tool for organizations such as yours. Someone needs to be constantly living and breathing basketball, always talking and acting on your behalf. May I humbly suggest that perhaps you should even consider getting a credible person, with the right knowledge, skills and commitment, to serve as your Special Assistant for a while. It is not a lowly position; that person must be a highly respectable personality who will be able to look the President and the Federation in the eye and tell them the truth when necessary, while also having the personality to reach out to high net-worth individuals and assets, to encourage their gradual integration into the Nigerian Basketball Project. And with all respect to the Annual Stakeholders Meeting, it does not address this particular aspect of what is needed. That Forum has turned into largely just a venting outlet for people to get rid of some of their frustrations and to complain about areas where they think they are marginalized or excluded. And that is good politically, every system must have such a safety valve for participants to let off steam. But the quality of what you need right now is not available at that Forum. The most important stakeholders who can help basketball intellectually or materially, continue to shun it. Remember that it is one of the dirty and less pleasant jobs of the President to find a way to bring his needed assets to support him, even when they are obstinate and uncooperative. I HAVE NO OTHER SPORT I LOVE WITH SUCH A PASSION. BASKETBALL MUST BE AT THE 2015 FIBA AFRICA TOURNAMENT. LET US ALL AGREE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 23:46:03 +0000
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