Basketball

Kida Promises Brighter Future For Basketball

Published

4 years ago

October 25, 2021

By Akeem Busari

As preparations for the eargely awaited elections into a new board of Nigeria Basketball Federation hots up, the present Chairman of NBBF Caretaker Committee, Engr. Ahmadu Musa Kida, has reiterated his unflinching desires to take the game to greater heights.

While speaking with journalists in Lagos, Kida stated that his love and passion for the game, and particularly, the desire to see its rapid development at the grassroots level are reasons behind his reelection bid.

” I’m seeking reelection as the president of NBBF because basketball in Nigeria is still a work in progress. I have so much believe in the potentials of the youths playing this game and their ability to rule the world,” he enthused.

” What the world have seen so far, are just glimpses and tips of the iceberg. I believe that with concerted efforts and dedication to the game, the future of basketball in Nigeria is very bright,” he said.

It would be recalled that in his four years as the president of NBBF, Musa Kida facilitated the sponsorship of the division 1 and 2 basketball league by Total Oil. He also returned the NBBF Premier League after four years in the doldrums.

Kida was credited for his immense and selfless moral and financial support that ensured D’Tigress won the Afrobasketball championship three times in a roll; 2017, 2019 and 2021.

He also supported D’Tigers to become the first African national team to defeat the USA, in a basketball game.

Through his Ahmadu Musa Kida Foundation, he funded several grassroots basketball programmes across West Africa. As well as, supporting grassroots basketball programmes in Rivers State, leading to their winning of gold medals in three National Sports Festival for both male and female.

He added conclusively, “Together, we can achieve more. Therefore, I remain committed to the development of the game in Nigeria. I want to reassure lovers of basketball of my selfless drives to secure a brighter future for the game in the country

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Basketball

Senate Set to Endorse 30% Value Addition Requirement for Raw Materials

Published

2 weeks ago

May 20, 2025

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Nigerian Senate has assured Nigerians and Africans that the 30% raw materials bill would be passed this week and transmitted to the House of Representatives for concurrence.
Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio gave the assurance on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of the inaugural Africa Raw Materials Summit 2025, held on Tuesday in Abuja, with the theme, “Shaping the Future of Africa’s Resource Landscape.”

Speaking through the Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Sen. Aminu Abbas, Akpabio said, “I can assure you that the 30% value addition bill before the Senate will be passed this week and transmitted to the House Representatives for concurrence.”

Earlier in his speech, he said, “In the Nigerian Senate, we have resolved to be proactive in addressing this structural imbalance. It is in this spirit that I reaffirm our full legislative backing for the 30% Minimum Value-Addition Bill, currently under consideration. This groundbreaking bill mandates that no raw material of Nigerian origin shall be exported without undergoing a minimum of 30% local value addition—whether through processing, refining, packaging, or industrial transformation.

“This legislation is not intended to stifle trade; rather, it is designed to ignite domestic enterprise, create jobs, attract capital, and build resilient value chains that benefit our people.”

“We must reject the historic pattern in which Africa merely supplies inputs while others reap the benefits of innovation, branding, and global market control.” he added.

“It is my hope that this model will be replicated across African nations, with regional centres of excellence established to share data, technologies, and best practices in raw material development.”

He used the opportunity to call on African countries to replicate the legislation in their countries to boost their economies.

“Permit me, therefore, to echo the call for the adoption of an Abuja Declaration on Raw Materials and Industrial Transformation in Africa. Let this declaration not merely reside in summit communiqués but become a living charter—a reference for executive action, legislative alignment, and investment mobilisation.

“Let it guide our representations at the African Union, the G20, and global trade forums where Africa’s voice must no longer be that of a supplier, but that of a producer,” he said.

The Minister of Science Innovation and Technology, Chief Geoffrey Innaji, speaking through the Minister of Transport, said “We are deploying digital tools, traceability infrastructure, and research-to-industry pathways to strengthen intra-African trade under AfCFTA. This is how Africa moves from extraction to transformation—from potential to prosperity.

“Let this summit send a clear message: Africa will no longer export its future in raw form. Our minerals will power industries, our crops will feed global markets, and our youth will drive innovation,” he said.

On his part, the Minister of State for Industry, John Owen, in his speech noted that, “with African continental free trade area, I believe that a lot of opportunities are already being opened to see how we can do much more than we are currently doing, and the statistics in terms of export trade should be less in terms of exporting raw materials and more in terms of exporting finished goods.”

Commenting on the Summit, the Director General Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Mounso, in his speech said, “Today, in the heart of Africa, we gather not merely for a summit, but for a solemn declaration: Africa shall no longer be the warehouse of raw potential, but the workshop of refined prosperity.”

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