ABA Urges Coaches’ Unity To Revive Basketball In North-East

The President and Founder of Amateur Basketball Academies (ABA), Aliyu Lucky Abubakar, has called for greater unity among coaches and a scientific, pragmatic approach to reviving basketball in Nigeria’s North-East.

Abubakar, a former player with several Nigerian teams, made the call during a coaching development programme organised by ABA in Yola, Adamawa State.

He said the training was designed to equip coaches with the knowledge and skills required to identify and nurture young talents, particularly children who may not have direct access to ABA programmes.

The Deputy Comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Service expressed concern over what he described as the lack of commitment among some stakeholders to the development of basketball in the region.

“Basketball is fading in the North-East, and we at ABA will not allow it to die,” Abubakar said.

“Adamawa was once a force in the game of basketball but has fallen behind. Our plan is to discover talent through coaching training, nurture it, and carry it from the state level to the national team and eventually the global stage.”

Speaking on the theme of the training, “HOPE” — Harnessing Opportunity, Organising for Excellence, Promoting Players’ Development and Empowering the Next Generation, Abubakar urged coaches to see themselves as more than instructors.

“Every child you see on a basketball court has a dream, and it is our job as a coach to spot it early and give it somewhere to go,” he said.

In his lecture, titled “Who Is A Coach?”, Head Coach of FCT Basketball and former national junior team coach, Emmanuel Odah, described a coach as committed, organised, affectionate, caring and humble.

“Commitment is consistency, and consistency is the mother of progress. Humility comes first because a coach who cannot control himself can never control a game,” Odah said.

Other instructors at the programme included ABA Head of Technical, Coach Adeka Daudu, and Coach Alexander Anyebe Ujoh, who addressed the relationship between coaches and the children under their care.

Participants commended ABA for investing in coaches and creating opportunities for basketball development across the country.

They said the lessons from the training would help reshape their approach to coaching and deepen their understanding of their responsibilities beyond technical instruction, including mentoring and preparing young players for the future.

Among the guests at the event were the Acting Director of Sports in the FCT, Iyiola Ogundele, and Bayelsa-based veteran basketball administrator, Coach Tony.