A university don and sports administrator, Dr. Tijani Yusuf has joined other Nigerians canvassing for the Deputy Managing Director of Total Nigeria, Engineer Ahmadu Musa-kida to lead the next board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).

As aspirants continue to strategise ahead of the 2017 sports federations elections, the Chairman of Rivers State Basketball Association and vice-president of FIBA Africa Zone 3 has also indicated his interest to vie for the NBBF presidency.

Thus, the former NFA Secretary General is of the view that the right person to take over the leadership of the NBBF is Musa-Kida who he said has paid his dues and should be given a chance to lead the sport.

He said “For Tijani Umar, we are clapping for him for what he has done for basketball but we need to move a step further. He should leave for someone with better ideas to come in.

“One of such men who can transform Nigerian basketball is Ahmadu Musa-Kida. He is a man who has paid his dues in Nigerian basketball.

“He played for the ABU basketball team when he was a student. He represented Nigeria in Africa and World University Games. He also played at the national level and with is present position in Total, he has the wherewithal to help Nigerian basketball. We have to quickly exploit his wealth of experience and passion for basketball. It will interest Nigerians to know that he has an articulated vehicle where you have two mobile international standard courts that can be taken and rolled anywhere at any time for the game to be played.”

Yusuf therefore reiterated that even as the present NBBF president has tried his best for Nigerian basketball, his best is not good enough so he should honourably pave way for the man with the required capacity to administer the game.

“We are not saying Tijani Umar has not done anything but he should give other people the chance to make more meaningful contributions for the game to move forward. 

“We don’t have to pretend. People should allow new ideas to come into the sports federations,” he stressed.

POSTED BY:OPUOMONI PRIYE

DATE:05/04/2017