Nigeria basketball will benefit from Tijjani, Kida leadership tussle
A former international and Chairman of Kaduna State Basketball Association, Pastor Skambo Morrison has said the leadership tussle between Tijjani Umar and Musa kida will benefit Nigeria basketball. The member of FIBA technical committee also applauded the steps being taken by the world basketball ruling body to restore normalcy to the Nigeria Basketball Federation.
I wouldn’t want to hold brief for anyone here. However, it is very important for me to come up with my own stand point. I am very impressed with what has happened, it not only because of the speed but because of what has been achieved. The future of a whole generation was just about to be jeopardized. It was really going down the drain.
I don’t agree with anybody who feels they discarded the law of the land. The federal government only did something to save the future, and what I mean by the future is Nigeria itself. Whether we like it or not, the people at the helm of affairs are not going to be there forever. So if they destroy what we have or what our children will enjoy tomorrow, I wonder where their future will be. In as much as we believe in the supremacy of the laws of the land, there was need for something to be done to save the situation. It does not mean that FIFA laws supersede our laws but this is the right thing to do. So I give the federal government kudos for taking a stand for the future generation of Nigerians.
To be very honest with you, the crisis in Nigeria basketball federation has gone far beyond the government. It has nothing to do with government. The situation is being handled by the world basketball ruling body, FIBA. They have since ordered for fresh election into the NBBF. For those who don’t know, after their fact finding mission in Nigeria, FIBA concluded that the elections in Abuja and Kano weren’t properly conducted. FIBA is now working with both factions based on its directions to come up with a standard NBBF statue. There is a timeline that is being followed. They have written to Kida, Umar, Gunmel, the NOC president and the minister of Sports. As it is, revising the NBBF statues shall be by FIBA based on the following deadlines; first revision of the NBBF statues will end August 31, consultation with relevant stakeholders deadline is September 14 and final revision and approval by FIBA October 15. It is after this process being guided by FIBA that a fresh election into the NBBF would be conducted. So for now, everybody’s mouth has been shut. We have to exhaust the dates first. After that a new election into the NBBF would be conducted in line with the guidelines and statues to be approved by FIBA. I don’t know about others but I want to put this on record that Tijanni Umar is not after selfish interest. He is only trying to create a future. Tijanni wants to create something that nobody has done before for Nigeria basketball. If we successfully pull through this and we become truly autonomous, Nigeria basketball would have been saved for life. This is what he is fighting for. Without apology, this is what this man is fighting for.
For me, it is better it happens now. Once election is conducted and found to be credible, everybody will know. We are all looking forward to the election and once it happens, we shall all channel our energies in supporting whoever would have been elected. It is going to be conducted openly so nobody would cry foul. So everybody should get ready.
I am confident and optimistic that Tijjani Umar will come out strong. Based on modalities on ground, he should be able to return even stronger than before. He has not gone to sleep. Once you are vying for a leadership position, you have to be optimistic till the last day. When this board returns, sorry to digress, just as the PDP people are saying that when they return in 2019, they would be stronger, it is the same thing with the Tijjani Umar led board. It will be a new ball game. He has done a lot for Nigeria basketball especially in the area of sponsorship which came up strongly. So many other things were in the pipeline before the crisis erupted.
I can tell you that significant damage has been done to Nigeria basketball. You can see that almost everything has gone quiet. The muscle of the players is quiet, the muscle of the coaches is quiet, the muscle of technical officials is quiet, the muscle of the fans is quiet, the muscle of basketball writers is also quiet. However, the situation is not irredeemable as can be seen in the positive steps being taken by FIBA for fresh election to be conducted. Once election is done, life would return to Nigeria basketball. But for now, everywhere is quiet.