Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria may incur the wrath of the Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) after President Muhammadu Buhari withdrew the country’s national basketball teams from international competition for the next two years over factional disputes.
The decision carried out to help ensure sanity directly violates the non-interference statutes set out by FIBA.
Act 9.7 of the FIBA states, “National member federations shall manage their affairs independently and with no influence from third parties. In particular, they must ensure that their officials are either elected or appointed under a democratic process for a term of office of four (4) years.”
On Thursday, the Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare, represented by Ismaila Abubakar, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, said a committee would be set up to oversee basketball leagues in the country.
“Following the unending crisis which have plagued and nearly crippled the development of basketball in Nigeria, President Buhari has approved the withdrawal of Nigeria from all international basketball competitions for a period of two years.
“This is with immediate effect,” he said.
The Minister added that the withdrawal of Nigeria was to concentrate efforts by the government towards revamping the sport from the grassroots as well as domestic leagues which have become moribund.
“This will also allow for the setting up of an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to oversee the management and development of the domestic basketball leagues in Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Dare also said this will further address other related issues around the development and advancement of the game in Nigeria.
He then called on stakeholders to help sustain and stabilise the game.
“In issuing the order, the Federal Government reiterates its interest and commitment to the development of the sport of basketball in Nigeria as well as huge talents of our youth domestically in an atmosphere free of rancour and squabbles.
“Government, therefore, calls on players, officials, fans and other stakeholders of the sport to remain calm as it embarks on far-reaching initiatives to reposition, sustain and stabilise the game of basketball.
“This will aid in the growth and success of the sport in the long-term interest of the country,” the minister said.
Nigeria’s basketball scene has been engulfed in a leadership crisis in the last five years.
Two parallel national federation board elections were held in 2017 (in Kano and Abuja) and 2022 (in Benin and Abuja), leading to the emergence of separate governing bodies.
If this withdrawal stands, this means that the men’s national team, D’Tigers will be out of the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers, where they currently lead their group.
The women’s side, D’Tigress, who have qualified for the World Cup scheduled for September in Australia, will also be unable to attend the tournament.
