Paris Olympics NBBF’s Gaffe On Why D’Tigres Were Turned Away From the Opening Ceremony
By: Chinedum Ohanusi
The Nigeria Basketball Federation yesterday offered a half-hearted reaction as to why members of the nation’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigres were bounced out of taking part in the official opening ceremony, of the 2024 Paris Olympics, on Friday.
Find below, the NBBF account, as also published by AP.
The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) said it found it necessary to react to the news making rounds in the social media over the non-participation of the Nigeria women’s basketball team, the D’Tigress, in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic games.
1. According to the NBBF, the team (D’Tigres) was not briefed by the NOC or the Sports Ministry on the schedules and modalities for the march past ceremony, before the team made the 2 hours long journey from its base in Lille to Paris.
2. The information we gathered from the NOC was that there are over 12,000 athletes at the Paris Olympics Games and only 7,000 athletes were approved for the march past by IOC and every country were given the same percentage of their total contingent size for the games for the march past.
Nigeria, with a contingent size of 88, were allotted 41 persons for the march past on the boat. The NOC/Ministry officials decided to share the 41 slots amongst the federations in Paris with the exception of Basketball and Football who were adjudged to be based away from Paris. 3. It is a known fact that the Sports Ministry had officially handed over all the individual athletes and teams representing Nigeria at the games to the NOC. Therefore, it is expected that there should not be any gap in communication between the NOC and the federations, and that would have saved the national women’s basketball team, the stress, psychological pains and the inherent fatigue of travelling from Lille to Paris, which is not necessary, and only to be denied access to participate in the opening ceremony, when they were indeed fully prepared and ready.
5.Lastly, the NBBF has, so far, done the necessary preparations for the team to have a good outing at the games, within the available time frame and resources at its disposal, and remain committed to putting in more efforts to ensure that Nigeria is proudly represented at all times.
However, the account above is shrouded with several half truths, and embedded with outright lies.
The facts of what actually transpired are listed chronologically below:
1. The basketball team (D’Tigres) went to Paris without the requisite information about whether it was free for all, or not to attend the opening ceremony.
2. 17 players made the trip adorned in their adire attire.
3. They got to the zone where the Nigerian team, and other contingents, for the opening ceremony were being prepared.
4. 7000 persons were the total figure approved for all nations.
5. Team Nigeria had 41 slots, and both the NOC and Sports Ministry allocated the 41 places to athletes from various sports.
4. D’Tigress (Basketball) and Super Falcons (Football) who were camped 2 and 3 hours away from Paris were not included.
5. The Basketball players got to the zone and their General Manager (Ahmadu) insisted that all 17 of them must take part in the opening ceremony.
6. The 41 selected persons were already issued with passes.
7. Seeing that the basketball players were adamant, they were given 5 slots, meaning 5 persons who already were given passes lost out. One slot was later added to make it 6 slots for basketball.
8. But Ahmadu who also caused the team not to be hosted by the Nigeria Embassy in Paris, kept insisting that all of them must be part of the ceremony and attempted to gate crash.
9. Security is understandably very tight in Paris and will most certainly remain so, throughout the games.
10. They were denied entrance as they do not have the special passes for the opening ceremony (different from their accreditation cards).
11. It was at that point that they cried that they have been denied participation at the opening ceremony.
This is the truth!
The whole truth!
And nothing but the truth!
AP published what they were told by one party, that’s the allegedly aggrieved party! But that was just only a version.
My credible and most impeccable source blamed this on what he called a “very useless One man NBBF Leadership, and the excesses of his overzealous cronies, now running affairs of the D’Tigres, instead of competent persons, that ought to have been appointed by the Board.
Ahmadu had also insisted that it was not enough, for an unnamed embassy staff to call his private number and inform him of their desire to host the D’Tigress. The GM retorted that only a formal letter, plus 24 hours notice would do.
A vexed French Embassy responded by calling the bluff of the “arrogant” Musa Ahmadu and the planned hosting of the reigning African Champions, was bungled!
These, and other gross mismanagement of the team, were responsible for one of the Stars of Nigeria’s last FIBA (Women’s) Afrobasket triumph, Sarah Ogoke opted not to play at the Olympics, after the 34 year old practicing medical doctor in the US took a swipe at the incompetence and indiscretions, of the Engr. Musa Kida led NBBF Board, which is now grounded, and in complete disarray.
