By Akeem Busari
The recent statement by Masai Ujiri, the Co-Founder of Giants of Africa, advising the stakeholders in the Nigerian basketball to step down from the administration of the game in Nigeria, has continued to generate reactions from the basketball community.
In his reaction, renowned sports administrator, Emmanuel Zira, in a strongly worded statement, Zira remarked that Masai is incapable and bereft of facts to speak on the issue as it concerns the recent happenstances in Nigeria basketball.
“Masai is ill informed, incapable of speaking on the issue at hand because he is not equipped with the facts,” he began.
“In his Toronto Raptors, do they withdraw from NBA when they have misunderstanding in the team? As the Director, has he been feeding his team with lies and blaming the lies on the captain of his team?” he asked rhetorically.
“The first thing he should have done, as a responsible leader of an NBA team is to call the leadership of the NBBF and find out what the problems are and how he can help.
Zira continued, “Don’t worry, he has never in any way come to the aid of Nigeria Basketball Federation despite the enormous respect that is acccorded to him as one of Nigerias highest place persons in in the NBA.
“It is wrong to jump into an ocean without knowing the history of the ocean, that is infested with crocodiles. Ofcourse, he will claim to know, but trust me, he is thoroughly ill-informed. He should have asked why Nigeria did not take a ban during Tijani Umar’s time, or Gyang Buba’s time or even UK Bello’s time? When Nigeria was at the wrong end of basketball ladder in Africa and the world? Or didn’t he know anything about basketball then?
“Now that he is seeing Nigeria becoming a very dominant force globally, that is not pleasing to him. His argument is so hallow and very myopic. It is so unprofessional and shameful. Masai’s calls smirks of pure jealousy and unpatriotic. This fellow stays in Canada and do not follow the true happenings in Nigerian basketball,” Zira added.
