Basketball

Many Positive Strides Of Ahmadu Kida In Basketball

Published

4 years ago

August 16, 2021

In the past, football has always been Nigeria’s favourite but it was evident that the coming of Ahmadu Musa Kida as the President of Nigerian Basketball Federation, NBBF, in June 2017 breaks the football dominance by his numerous initiative and achievement so far.

It’s even known to the blind that the former board of the NBBF did not hand over anything to Musa Kida, he beat every hurdle to ensure the basketball in the country breaks even.

Ahmadu, an ex- basketball player who swung into action by dusting the policies and programmes of his well meaning predecessors who had laid progressive developmental foundations for basketball, NBBF, in the country.

The current Caretaker Chairman of the Board of (NBBF) started on good notes, indeed by putting smiles on the faces of over 205 million people in the country when he guided the men’s national team to finish second to host Tunisia, at the 2017 Afro-basketball tourney.

In the same year, he led the Nigeria women’s team to win the Afro-basketball Women title in Mali. The girls didn’t lose a single game on their way to the final and picked a ticket to Nigeria’s first Women World Cup and gave the President Muhammadu Buhari government the first sports trophy.

Engr. Kida, sunk personal funds and brought to bear his connections to promote the game in Nigeria. In April 2018, the NBBF signed N60 million sponsorship deals for the Nigerian Divisions 1 and 2 male basketball leagues with Total Nigeria Limited.

In 2018, the women’s team played in the FIBA World Cup in Tenerife, Spain where they finished 8th to set an African record of emerging the first African team to reach a quarterfinal place.

Under Kida, Nigeria hosted, for the first time in 23 years, the FIBA World Cup African qualifiers. Given the organization that was put in place, FIBA granted Nigeria a second window, a rare opportunity given only to Angola after Nigeria

Against all odds, Kida has made in-roads to the Olympics for both female national teams.

Though many call it friendly, it’s on record that Nigeria’s D’Tigers made history to beat the USA for the first time in a Basketball match!

Nigeria caused a big upset, becoming the first African country to hand the USA a rare defeat in a Basketball match, beating their opposition by 90-87 points, in what was a thrilling team effort from the team.

Many people says the USA victory was a fluke but the D’Tiger under the leadership of Musa smashed Argentina 94-71

This simply means that Nigeria defeated after beating the USA, the FIBA-ranked No.1 team, D’tigers followed up that victory with another eye-catching win over the No.4-ranked Argentines.

At the FIBA General Assembly in Beijing, the Nigeria Basketball Federation was adjudged the most “Improved in Women Basketball development” and was presented with an award accordingly. Nigeria’s ranking in FIBA has been at number 1 in Africa in the last two years and got to an all-time high of 23 in the world after the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China 2019.

Unlike in the past, top-flight Nigerian players never had the opportunity to play before their families but the NBBF board under Kida not only did this for the men but also did the same for the women’s team that trained in Nigeria before heading out for competitions. The Nigeria men’s team emerged the first country to qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup outside host nation China with three matches to spare.

Having seen the accomplishment under the able leadership of Musa Kida in Basketball, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare has showered encomiums on the board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation for its continued efforts in rewriting the history of basketball in Nigeria.

Speaking recently in Lagos, Mr Dare noted that the NBBF board under the leadership of Engr Ahmadu Musa Kida has made Nigerians proud with great achievements at the national, continental and international stage.

Reeling out the achievements, the minister re-emphasized that, “Nigeria’s Men’s Team is the first in Africa and 23rd in the world. D’Tigress is the first in Africa and 14th in the world. These rankings were premised on the numerous victories and accolades by both teams at both Africa and world levels”.

Still on the unprecedented records set by the board, Minister eulogized the board for masterminding such noble achievements unrivalled in the history of African basketball.

With these achievements and many more to come, none of his predecessors has ever beaten the feat of Musa Kida in the history of basketball in the nation.

Whoever did well should be encouraged to do more and Nigerians should rally round Kida for continuity in Baseball progressive development support.

Share on Facebook

Basketball

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

Published

3 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.”

Share on Facebook