Nigerian, Togolese win Olumide Oyedeji basketball camp’s $45,000 scholarship

Thirteen-year-old Osun State indigene, Olawuyi Adenike and 14-year-old Togolese, Mubarak Bote have bagged scholarships worth $45,000 each to further their education in U. S. following the outstanding skills and discipline they displayed at the just concluded 19th Olumide Oyedeji Basketball Camp in Lagos. Bote, who is six feet 11 inches, and Adenike will attend the Florida Air Force Academy in U.S. to get quality education and enhance their basketball skills.

The scholarship will cover tuition, boarding fees, books and other academic materials.Adenike, Bote and 12-year-old Owonubi Emmanuel, who was also named most promising player at the camp, have joined the illustrious alumni of the Olumide Oyedeji Basketball Camp that have benefited from the former D’Tigers’ captain and NBA star’s initiative, which started in 2000.
 
In the list of former national team players that have earned the scholarship in the past are Churchill Odia, Nurudeen Adepoju, Solomon Tat and Rashidat Sadiq. Stars in the Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball League, Nkechi Akashili and Uju Ugoka currently preparing to represent Nigeria at the FIBA Women World Cup in Spain later this month and Guinness Book of record holder and Dance Queen, Kafayat Shafaru (Kaffy), who was most promising player at the camp in 2000, also received the scholarship in the past.

Oyedeji, who is a former Olympian, believes there is still more work to be done to discover abundant Nigerian Basketball talents.“I am grateful to have an opportunity to do all this, but there are just too many talents in this country. I can only hope and work harder to give more opportunities to these kids and help them achieve their dreams of becoming professional athletes and giving them quality education along the way,” he said.
 
Some of the dignitaries present to motivate the children in the camp on the final day were Director General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Babatunde Bank Anthony, Managing Director, Honeywell Foods, Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola, former Super Eagles star, Waidi Akanni and former footballer, John Fashanu.  Others were former D’Tigers star, Baba Jubril, former Olympian, Juliet Negedu and Ayo Odediran. Music stars, Sound Sultan and wonder kid musician, Ozzy B all graced the camp.