President Nigeria Olympian Association (NOA) and Chairman Nigeria Athletes Commission (NAC), Olumide Oyedeji, speaks on the crisis that has bedevilled the Nigeria Basketball Federation in the past 20 years, the state of basketball in the country, and the way forward, in this interview with FRANCIS AJUONUMA

You had a great basketball career, how did it all start?
Well, my basketball career has been a wonderful journey; tough and rough, a lot of great things, a lot of wonderful achievements. I was born and grew up in Ibadan and have never been a basketball player, basketball was the last sport I picked up in life.

I was a soccer player, played Oba of Benin’s Cup, played Ramat Cup, Lany U-13, played YSFON, I did a lot of other sports, javelin, discus, short-put, long-jump, high-jump, let me say track and field in general, volleyball, handball. I was a jack of all trades except combat sports; that was the only sport I didn’t try.

I went to Loyola College; one of the prestigious secondary schools in Nigeria, then went to Obafemi Awolowo University. So, I started playing for the national team at an early age. I played for the national team for 20 good years. I played in nine Afrobasket, six All African Games, won one Afrobasket also second and third and I did it all. All African Games won the first gold medal for Nigeria in basketball, world championship being NBA player, got drafted by NBA, and being a journeyman for my 20 years professional basketball career, I’ve played in about 19 different countries.

From your responses, you were a multi-talented athlete, so, why did you settle for basketball above other sports?
Because it was my last pick. Participating in other sports I could see that I was always the biggest and tallest among my teammates so I was not comfortable but when I went into basketball I developed a passion for it, maybe because l met big and tall players like me.

How was it like playing basketball abroad?
Well, first of all, it was a privilege, I give glory to God. Basketball gave me everything. It gave me the name, fame, security, exposure, it gave me everything, so, basketball now became my job, from the game, from interest to passion, passion to business, so, it has been wonderful, it now became business, I’ve to take care of my business, I’ve to take care of my job and I’ve to maximise my performance which will make me earn more money but basketball has done everything for me, It made me what I’m today and I give glory to God.

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You played in many leagues across the world which of these clubs do you think you made your mark?
I made my mark everywhere. I’m the first Nigerian to play in the World Cup, Olympics, Africa Games, and Commonwealth Games. Also named the first African to do that; EURO League, NBA, I mean the first African to get drafted without going to college, I did everything. As an Olympian, I won the Afrobast after nine times and I did a lot of stuff, so is just wonderful.

You spent many years with the national team, how was it like playing for Nigeria?
Playing for the Nigerian national team had been tough, rough, and a lot of great sweet memories. Basketball is not like football where when you play for the national team you got to get paid with a lot of money, no, in basketball, it was different, at times I used my money to pay for my insurance, I use my own money to buy my ticket to play for the national team, I used my money to sponsor the national team and I might give it up.

So, it’s been a kind of demanding I had all years, play all years from November up to June and when I get to June or July I had to come back home again to play for the national team again.

During qualifiers, I’ll leave my team come back, so, is always a pleasure and also a wonderful opportunity just wearing the green-white-green and having that Nigeria on your chest, is always a great memory, always a great feeling playing for the Nigerian national team and playing for 20 years for the Nigerian national team that’s a lot of achievement; I’m a kind of look back and say wow I never believed that I did play for Nigeria for 20 years.

The fact that I retired six years ago is still counting; 20 years, that’s a lot of years. So, just being a pacesetter I rallied and left university and started playing professional career right away; I played at the World University Games in the 1990s, serving after my university, so, I’m happy that I’ve got a very understanding family.

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I assume you are in your 40s and have a very young family, how were you able to manage your family with all the pressures that come from the game?
I’ve five kids (three boys and two girls) and my first son is 24, I mean he’s a grown man and he is doing great, the other one is 20 doing his own thing and they have been very supportive despite that I’m not always there when it matters because of my career, because of the national team and getting things done, to them it’s fantastic.

So, all the period you played both at the club and national levels do you have any regret?
I don’t think I have any regret playing for Nigeria national team, I could just say I feel disappointed a few times when there was no money. we never had money available for us I had to squeeze my own money for the national team many times, as I said I paid my insurance myself, I bought my ticket myself, they give you economy class even if they buy you a ticket I’ve to upgrade my ticket to business class because I can’t travel economy class and probably I’ve been the leader, everything I had was just a wonderful memory, I cannot say I’ve got a regret playing for the Nigerian national team, no, I could just say I feel disappointed in some cases but that’s life.

So, this is not all about me serving the country. Representing about 200 million Nigerians every time I step on that floor always gives me joy, is just a great opportunity.

So, if I don’t do it somebody else is going to do it. So, I have no regrets about playing for Nigeria national team rather I had wonderful memories, mean I get more exposure playing with the national team, and also playing with the national team allows me to be a mentor to all these young players; they look up to you and you don’t want to disappoint them. It’s always a great pressure, I always enjoy doing what I do and make sure that I do it right

You travelled across several countries, playing basketball, observing the way the game is run in those countries, how impressed are you with the way basketball is run in Nigeria?
Well, I’m not happy with the way basketball is being run in Nigeria. Yes, I’m also a part of it, we just have to change the narratives, come together, and look for the best interest of Nigerian basketball. We have a lot of selfish people right now that are saying they have the national interest.

So, if we truly love the game we should come together look for the interest of the game, look for the interest of these young boys and girls, who are playing basketball. And for me, I may have a different feeling, different opinion because I use basketball as a means of living. For me, that gives me everything. So, we have a lot of people that also lean on this basketball, just like the people out here selling things; one way or the other they are also impacted, the children are impacted, the people working around basketball, everybody impacted.

So, is not really been a great thing but hopefully, we can change the narrative, hopefully, we’re not going to make a carpenter do a welder job. We’re going to get the right people that love the interest of the game, they can come on board, come together, be real brothers and look for the interest of the game and move this game forward.

What are the ex-international players doing towards upgrading basketball in the country?
Everybody is doing their part. If you look at all the basketball camps are doing in Nigeria now, is going to be either ex-players, Olympians or coaches are doing it here and there. But those of the younger generation let me, say my age group and downward are doing; I mean how many of the people – the older ones who are fighting for the heart and soul of Nigerian basketball are putting all these together? None, so from our side as former players, as Olympians, as people who have been around the game, I believe we are doing our best to make sure that we do the right thing, so is not easy but you have to also understand everybody’s pocket. It’s not easy. So, you can only control what you can control.

Looking at basketball in the country, for some time now the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has been bedevilled with crisis, what do you think is responsible for or causing the problem in the Nigeria basketball family and how can it be resolved?
What is causing the problem is all self, self-interest. I mean everybody is looking about power, ego, selfless. And we have a people when things don’t favour us we’re going to go the other way. So, I just want a situation we all believe to like, yes, are we real? Are we truthful? If we are, I challenge all of us to make it happen. Unfortunately, if the people that are fighting for the heart and soul of Nigerian basketball pull their experiences together; they’re over 300 years of experience collectively, how great would our basketball be. If you put those 300 years of basketball experiences together and make it one, how great will our basketball be? That’s a question.

For a while now you have been running a basketball academy in states in the South-West of Nigeria, how has the programme progressed?
Yes, I’ve been doing it for 21 years and I’ve above 40,000 youths that pass through this foundation. We hope as they are passing they will continue to move. I’ve done it all over the world; I was in Ethiopia, I was in Liberia, I was in Congo, all over everywhere. So, is it just a situation where I have to continue to grow? As a man is tuition I have to continue to sow to the heart and to all these young boys and girls that can give them hope in the future and self-confidence.

What convinced you to come into this kind of project?
Because I believed God blessed me, God gave me the opportunity and that was one of my prayers to God. I want Him to bless me so that I can bless other people. I want God to bless me, change my life so that I can impact other people’s lives. Though it’s been difficult, a lot of people never show appreciation, a lot of people abuse you, you find a lot of difficulties but anytime I feel like quitting I always remember the reasons why I started the journey. So, I started the journey to put smiles on the faces of the younger ones, hope to be a mentor, and for God to be glorified through me so I could help those and change a lot of lives.

How do you describe the state of basketball in the country?
We’re struggling, the house is divided, the home is divided, and everybody is divided. Is a shame, I feel bad, is something like a curse, honestly, I feel really bad. Well, I’m part of it because I try to be factual but I can only control what I can control; I can control myself with what I do, so that’s what I’m doing with this project, so I can control it.

You played alongside the likes of Ike Diogu and some of the players currently in the national team, how far do you think D’ Tigers can go in qualifiers for the 2023 world?
I’m sure we’re not going to go with this team again for sure, that’s typical Nigerian style. I know that at any time we’ve abundant talents that we can take up every single time, so, I must still give kudos to these players who have played because it takes commitment for you to leave what you are doing to come and play for the national team, but I’m sure that they are going to upgrade the team.

What is the future of basketball in the country?
Is for us to put our house together, bring the basketball family together and let put a smile on all those young boys’ and girls’ faces, seeing them playing this basketball game makes me happy, I feel really good. So, if you love the game let us come together and look for the best interest of the game because how many of our children, those who are fighting, how of our children play this game of basketball?

No, including myself, none of our children are playing this game of basketball. It’s going to be difficult for us to know what the players feel and what the coaches’ feel, what a technical commissioner feels, or neither the referee nor fans or the people that are selling things that they are gaining something.

The day we have peace in Nigerian basketball I’ll go to the church to go do church service. So, I’m praying and hoping that every single actor in Nigerian basketball pull these words together, look for the best interest of Nigerian basketball for the interest of these players and they should put the interest of the game first, not their selfish interest that they call the national interest, so that’s it for me.

And if I have to be the problem of Nigeria Basketball I’m ready to walk away for Nigerian basketball to have peace but one of the things that I feel bad about is that they say the young shall grow but for how long are we going to continue fighting, we’ve infighting for over 20 years now; is the same kind of people still fighting and fighting and fight.

Until the boxers of Nigerian basketball leave the ring and move away Nigerian basketball will know no peace, that’s just the truth. Hopefully, they’re going to leave in peace and not turn Nigerian basketball to pieces. So that’s what we’re doing now but it’s just really bad, so sad that we’re at the state we are now. We should be moving forward, we should look for the situation where the players will continue to improve.

But I challenge everyone if we truly love the game we should all sit around the table, sit together as a brother; that if we truly love the game we all say we love and I don’t need to like Samuel, I don’t need to like Felix but for the interest of the game we say we all love, as when we come together as one, number one thing, we need to clear our mess, we need to be together and I’m appealing to everybody to please put your swords in the pocket, put down your ego because this basketball is bigger than every single one of us, so that’s it for me but I don’t know of other people, I just want that game to grow nothing I’m gaining, rather I’m spending my money