Ujiri, who is the vice chairman and president of Toronto Raptors in the United States’ NBA, titled a letter he wrote to stakeholders as ‘Enough is enough.’
He said: “From the Ministry of Sports to the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF), the leaders of the basketball ecosystem in Nigeria continue to rob our youth of their present and future while tearing the entire basketball community apart – this needs to stop.
“The ongoing senseless power struggle involving the NBBF has resulted in a two-year self-imposed ban by the Minister of Sports (an outgoing minister imposing a ban that in reality would have a four-year destructive implication) that prohibits Nigerian basketball teams from entering international competitions.
“This is a symptom of an issue that has permeated the sports ecosystem for years. When leaders put self-interest over national interest, the innocent suffer. It’s time for them to step aside, for the good of the game, the nation, and the athletes.
“The women’s team will be unable to compete in September’s World Cup. The men’s chances to qualify for the Paris Olympics are in peril. Nigeria’s basketball community is left feeling profoundly disappointed and deflated. This is a national shame.”
Affirming the array of talents available to the country, Ujiri said the country has risen to the top in basketball, adding, “the opening of an NBA office in Nigeria further signifies the country’s importance in the global basketball ecosystem.”
The co-founder of Giants of Africa accused international governing sports body, FIBA, of being complicit in the case, saying, “They have stood on the sidelines making a mockery of the situation. FIBA Africa has also contributed to this drama.”
He lamented that the exclusion from international basketball would drive patriotic Nigerian athletes to play for other countries, adding that administrators, who don’t know what it takes to play for the country, have always treated athletes with levity.
“The time for change is now. I know all athletes, leaders and stakeholders in African sport will not give up on Nigerian basketball, and we will not give up on the youth. It is time for us to move forward. We need a new slate and a new narrative. To do this, all the leaders that have held on to the realms of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) for the past several years must all step down.”
