Basketball in Africa

Sam Ahmedu, proprietor of Lagos-based Dodan Warriors Basketball Club said on Monday in Eket, that basketball has the potential to rival football in popularity in the country.

Ahmedu, a retired army colonel, said that the sport was making steady progress in its development in the country.
He said, however, that poor administration had adversely been affecting the fortunes of basketball.
"There is no doubt that football is the most popular sport in Nigeria. However, basketball is holding its own high.
"This is particularly against the back ground that among the sportsmen that have really lifted Nigeria in the world scene, basketball has played a very prominent role.
"Hakeem Olajuwon is a worldwide name in sports; through basketball, he has elevated our country's name to the very higher level and our teams have been doing well internationally.
Ahmedu noted that the country had won many laurels internationally in the sport.
"We have gone to the world championships so many times, we have won African championships many times.
"However, within the past three years our standard seems to be going down because the body we have in place don't seem to have the knack or the know-how to lead us in the right direction to be able to improve on what we had attained in the past, and we believe that with proper management we should be able to rival football."
Ahmedu said that poor performance of sports administrators cut across various games and sports federations including football.
He blamed the development on the involvement of politicians, who had no passion for sports in sports administration.
The Dodan Warriors proprietor said such administrators were only interested in making money at the detriment of the game, resulting in declining performance of sports.
Ahmedu, then, advised that only people with passion for sports and technical know how should be allowed to run sports in the country.