It wasn't until he was thousands of feet in the air, looking out the window as the highlands and rivers of Nigeria disappeared from view, that Prince Tega Wanogho started to question his decision to leave home.

It all happened so quickly. One minute, he was practicing his jump shot in a barren gym, and the next he was pooling money to rent a van and drive seven hours to a camp where basketball coaches from the United States might be watching. He thought he was playing poorly until the camp's organizer, Eyo Effiong, pulled him aside and asked for his contact information.

His film caught the attention of Todd Taylor, a high school coach in Montgomery, Alabama, who saw beyond the rough edges. In no time, Wanogho and Taylor were chatting on Facebook and making plans for him to move in with the Taylors and spend his junior year at Edgewood Academy. When Wanogho was officially offered a scholarship, "I went crazy," he recalled. "I still didn't believe it was happening."

He went to the embassy a bundle of nerves, imagining all the ways they could turn down his visa application. When he was told he was in the clear, he screamed at the top of his lungs. His mother was sad he would be leaving, but she understood the opportunity -- "not just for myself but for the family, too," he said.

The 6-foot-5 Wanogho, the seventh of nine children from the Nigerian city of Warri, had always viewed basketball as his way out. To where, he didn't know. He couldn't locate Alabama on a map if his life depended on it. When he found out he was flying into Montgomery Airport, he immediately thought of one of Edgewood's administrators, Susan Montgomery. In what would later become a running joke, he'd ask Todd, "Does Susan own the airport?"

More than five years have passed since then, and everything has changed. He's a continent away, starring in a sport he'd only seen in the movies. Now a standout offensive lineman for Auburn, Wanogho has the potential to be an early-round NFL draft pick in 2020 and is No. 31 in Todd McShay's rankings.

"It was exciting," Wanogho said of leaving home. "I was ready for a new adventure. But, then again, as soon as I got in the plane I got low. I started thinking about my sisters, my mom. I'm leaving everybody."

Doubt washed over him. What if where I'm going they don't like me? What if I don't do what I'm supposed to?

He didn't know it at the time, but the Taylors were nervous as well. They'd never done anything like this. When Todd told his wife, Christy, his plans to house and feed a teenage boy they'd never met, she thought it was a joke.

When Wanogho arrived in August 2014, neither side let on how out of place they felt. His flight got in late, so they all went to Wendy's for hamburgers and fries, then straight home to bed. The next morning, it was off to Waffle House. Overwhelmed by the size of the menu, Wanogho copied Todd's selection: the All-Star Special. It's the only thing he has ordered since.


This is the question now, while a lot of people are leaving Nigeria slowly, I am asking, what is wrong with our country?

If I am to be corrected I saw today on ESPN that Nigerian Basketball Team is stranded due to lack of funds....Please who will salvage our dear Country, Nigeria?


JUST Imagine the number of people leaving Nigeria for Canada below _ 3rd picture..

https://medium.com/how-More-Nigerians-are-Successfully-Relocating-To-Canada-as-she-Favors-Nigeria-than-other-African-Nation

We need a redemption...Bravo to our brother from Warri.

Yes, you are right...

The story wen something like this...

Nigeria were the first country to qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, and they're on the brink of being the first team out, before the event even begins.

With less than two weeks to go, financial issues and player unrest threaten D'Tigers' participation at the basketball global showpiece in China.

Last Friday, a number of players took to social media to allege that their World Cup money had not been released by the Ministry of Sports, which is the team's only source of funding.


You can imagine that we the first to qualify. There is something really wrong with our dear country...

Hahaha. It's not a new thing na.

Some players were very annoyed.


From the same story, '

Players like Boston Celtics' Stan Okoye, Ekpe Udoh, Ike Iroegbu, and Gabe Vincent were among those who aired their grievances on social media, posting and reshaping the message.

They said: "It has been an honor and privilege to play and represent Nigeria in preparation for the FIBA World Cup.

"However, the sports commission of Nigeria refuses to release the money allocated to us for training, food, travel and equipment in order to properly prepare for the World Cup.

Should we still believe in our country?