₦airaland Forum

Let me address one very funny thing that some people have written here.

They think that you need a basketball and basketball court to play basketball. You don't.

When I was a kid I played basketball with all kinds of things including:

Do you know Samco? It's a flavoured drink that children drank (we called it ice cream). It came in paper cartons. We put Samco cartons together until it had mass and we used that as a ball. We used that to play both basketball and football. That is, we used it to shoot hoops.

You also don't need an actual rim to shoot hoops. We've used buckets, the square upper part of doors (that have been broken) and all kinds of things as rims. Many people did the same.

Cc Amotolongbo and dettolgel

There's sha something called research
Nice one! Naptu2

bigpicture001:
Abeg oo.... Is naptu an Ai..?

His attention to details through history on is too apt for a human, except maybe he works in a libarai or a newspaper company...

Guy u are too much abeg!!!!

I don't know what samco is. Another mistake from you is thinking that majority of kids have the same exposure as you did. At least in Nigeria the majority of the population still leaves in rural area.

If that be the case what does that tell you about majority of the kids knowing what samco was and what an average urban kid is aware of?

I think most Nigerian kids born and raised in urban centers should travel round the country spend some time in those rural areas, maybe with that some of us will be really aware how the other halves see the world.

naptu2:
Let me address one very funny thing that some people have written here.

They think that you need a basketball and basketball court to play basketball. You don't.

When I was a kid I played basketball with all kinds of things including:

Do you know Samco? It's a flavoured drink that children drank (we called it ice cream). It came in paper cartons. We put Samco cartons together until it had mass and we used that as a ball. We used that to play both basketball and football. That is, we used it to shoot hoops.

You also don't need an actual rim to shoot hoops. We've used buckets, the square upper part of doors (that have been broken) and all kinds of things as rims. Many people did the same.

Cc Amotolongbo and dettolgel

Why are they not building seats on the court like they’re doing in football

How many public courts are in the villages (where majority of the Nigerian population reside)?

I have had the privilege to live across Nigeria and I can tell you for a fat that at least majority of the public schools and inner cities and rural area have a space for children to kick football around and not so much for basketball.

If you are in Nigeria, next time you visit your village take the pain and visit at least five community schools within your village and neighborhood villages and see how many of them have basketball space vs space for kicking football around.

naptu2:
Very simple thing. All you need is public courts and there are many public courts. In actual fact, you don't even need a public court. I have seen many primary schools and churches that don't even have space for a court, but they hung one rim up and kids from the area go there to play.

Go back and read about Murjanatu's ecperience in Kebbi.

I think it's you that is just judging based on his surroundings.

dettolgel:
I don't know what samco is. Another mistake from you is thinking that majority of kids have the same exposure as you did. At least in Nigeria the majority of the population still leaves in rural area.

If that be the case what does that tell you about majority of the kids knowing what samco was and what an average urban kid is aware of?

I think most Nigerian kids born and raised in urban centers should travel round the country spend some time in those rural areas, maybe with that some of us will be really aware how the other halves see the world.

OK, now I know that you are just trolling.

You think it's about SAMCO? Before you said that kids needed a basketball court anf ball to play, now you say kids in rural areas don't know what SAMCO is.

That's all I need to know that you are just trolling.

Anybody that's not trolling would know that it's about stuffing paper together till it becomes a ball.

Now, go ahead, tell me that kids in rural areas don't have paper.

This is so funny that it's comical.

You obviously aren't being serious so no need to continue engaging you.

Goodbye, I won't read your posts again.

He will tell you that kids in rural areas don't have access to buckets.

He will tell you that kids in rural areas don't have access to paper.

He will tell you that kids in rural areas don't have access to wood.

He will tell you that kids in rural areas don't have access to balls.

He will also ignore the real life experience of Murjanatu Musa.

That is the problem, seriously I don't know what samco is. Do you know what baran is? I doubt not because you weren't a kid maybe because we grew up in different environments with different exposure.

Most kids in rural Nigerians have a whole different exposure. Even amongst urban cities, kids that grew up in urban cities in Lagos and PH for instance have a lot different outlook from those in cities like Damaturu and Maiduguri.

As a kid in my village back then, just one family owned a 7 inches black and white tv. Just imagine that. You only see car once in a while when those living in city visits. I did my NYSC in a village in the North, you don't want to read that story.

On another note, have you really been or lived in any typical Nigerian village?

naptu2:
OK, now I know that you are just trolling.

You think it's about SAMCO? Before you said that kids needed a basketball court anf ball to play, now you say kids in rural areas don't know what SAMCO is.

That's all I need to know that you are just trolling.

Anybody that's not trolling would know that it's about stuffing paper together till it becomes a ball.

Now, go ahead, tell me that kids in rural areas don't have paper.

This is so funny that it's comical.

You obviously aren't being serious so no need to continue engaging you.

Goodbye, I won't read your posts again.

🤣 He's still trying, but it won't work.

Having access and having an idea of what to do with it in relation to the sport in question are two different things.

Children that are conversant with pole or long jump will use available sick for that rather doing canal jumping.

naptu2:
He will tell you that kids in rural areas don't have access to buckets.

He will tell you that kids in rural areas don't have access to paper.

He will tell you that kids in rural areas don't have access to wood.

He will tell you that kids in rural areas don't have access to balls.

He will also ignore the real life experience of Murjanatu Musa.

The fact still remains that basketball is popular in Nigeria. It is one of the top 5 sports in the country.

The most popular sports in Nigeria are (in no particular order) football, track and field athletics, basketball, table tennis and boxing. These are the sports that people participate in, watch live and watch on TV.

Back to the matter at hand.

naptu2:
🤣 He's still trying, but it won't work.

You think I am trolling you? Funny you. Not for you but for those that would want to read both sides of events.

I will tell you a short story of how some times people get side blinded. Someone once told a story of how he was shocked to find out that there were people that live without having a refrigerator. That in his entire adult life the possibility never crossed his mind until his first trip abroad ( they went on a safari and managed to visit some villages). You will be surprised how the other half lives.

Is he still wasting his time?

The op is ignorant just living in his own eco chamber. He has no understanding of what the word popular means.

More than half of Nigerian population live in the rural area, where paved road is still something foreign to them. Because basketball games have been going on for long doesn't mean it is popular.

SmartPolician:
Forget grammar. Basketball is not popular in Nigeria because of lack of government investment.

The day the government starts investing billions into basketball in Nigeria, every child will want to be a basketball player. That's how powerful government is.

From this thread, we can see that most investments in basketball come from individuals and organisations.

Next I will write about Nkem Akaraiwe who started playing basketball because she saw her elders playing it using a ring that was tied to a coconut tree.

dettolgel will tell you that people in rural areas have no access to a ring tied to a coconut tree. 🤣

naptu2:
Let me address one very funny thing that some people have written here.

They think that you need a basketball and basketball court to play basketball. You don't.

When I was a kid I played basketball with all kinds of things including:

Do you know Samco? It's a flavoured drink that children drank (we called it ice cream). It came in paper cartons. We put Samco cartons together until it had mass and we used that as a ball. We used that to play both basketball and football. That is, we used it to shoot hoops.

You also don't need an actual rim to shoot hoops. We've used buckets, the square upper part of doors (that have been broken) and all kinds of things as rims. Many people did the same.

Cc Amotolongbo and dettolgel

Egbon e sho ara yin gidi gan. 😂
Comparing your childhood and mine is sacrilegious.
What you were exposed to at age 5, I wasn’t privileged to get the exposure at age 25.
You sabi your background sir. Your background is what I’m looking forward to be a frontground.

A tun wi tan, won soro Samco when he was a kid, the same samco I have no clue of at my age approaching 40.

Please sir, always remember to come very down to our level. Omode ni wa in exposure and age.

dettolgel:
How many public courts are in the villages (where majority of the Nigerian population reside)?

I have had the privilege to live across Nigeria and I can tell you for a fat that at least majority of the public schools and inner cities and rural area have a space for children to kick football around and not so much for basketball.

If you are in Nigeria, next time you visit your village take the pain and visit at least five community schools within your village and neighborhood villages and see how many of them have basketball space vs space for kicking football around.

You are right brother.. I finished from Igbobi College Yaba in 2002 the year it was returned back to the missionaries after many years of mismanagement by the state government.

And I can tell you for a fact we were the only only school around the whole axis that could boast of a single basketball court due to the influence of the missionaries who built the school unlike every other government secondary school in that mainland axis..

The funny thing is, there is hardly no government secondary without a football field which tells you how popular football is in Nigeria compared to basketball..

We used to play basketball competition with the likes of Kings College, St. Gregory's college and CMS Grammar school because they all have basketball court too thanks to the missionary influence. I think the competition used to be called KIGS Cup..

All our neighbouring poorer equipped govt schools couldn't participate in the basketball competitions because of obvious reasons.. Most of them had never even seen a real life basketball before except on TV compared to different qualities of football littered everywhere.. It was that bad. I don't think there is a kid who grew up in Lagos in the 90's who did not know what "felele" was..

This shows you how "elitist" basketball was/is in comparison to football Principal's cup that every govt secondary school in Lagos was participating in during our time no matter how poorly equipped they were..

So I get your point brother..

Naptu2, I must commend you for the wonderful job you are doing.. You remain one of the remaining shining lights on Nairaland.. There is always something to learn from your legendary thread each time.. Keep remaining the legend that you are!

NKEM AKARAIWE

Nkem Akaraiwe was born in Okwe, Imo State, Nigeria on December 22nd, 1996.

She got attracted to basketball because she saw her father and elder brother playing basketball using a ring tied to a coconut tree in front of their house. She said that she also took up the sport because she wanted something to do in the evenings after school.

First Bank and Customs

She played for First Bank Basketball Club of Lagos and Customs Basketball Club in the Zenith Bank Nigerian Basketball League. She was the MVP of the league in 2018.

Video: Nkem Akaraiwe, 2018 MVP of the Nigerian League.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpwD3VS_sM0?si=OQIh08PMK1zBSh_D

She competed at the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 Basketball Africa League with First Bank. She competed at the 2023 edition with Customs and at the 2024 edition with KPA Women.

D'Tigress

She won silver for Nigeria at the 2015 All-Africa Games in Congo. She also represented Nigeria at the 2015 Afrobasket.

She won the 2021 Afrobasket with D'Tigress. She also represented Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup and the World Cup qualifying tournament in 2022

Amotolongbo, read the story of Nkem Akaraiwe above and read what she used to play basketball when she was a child (ring and coconut tree). Is that above your level?

The facts remain:

1) This is not a competition with football. Every sensible person will tell you that football is the most popular sport in Nigeria.

2) Basketball is also popular in Nigeria. It is played across the country, it is played recreationally, it is played in schools, churches and mosques. It is also played professionally.

3) The claim that people do not play basketball in Nigeria, that all players for the national team are born abroad, etc is false.

4) You do not need to have a basketball court or ball to play basketball and many kids across the country play basketball without those things.

5) The fact that basketball is popular in Nigeria does not mean that every single person must play or be interested in it. There is no sport in Nigeria that every single person plays or is interested in, not even football.

naptu2:
Amotolongbo, read the story of Nkem Akaraiwe above and read what she used to play basketball when she was a child (ring and coconut tree). Is that above your level?

Egbon Naptu2, I get the point of folks like Amotolongbo.. Cases of athletes like Nkem are the exception and not the rule based on the kind of exposure they had as kids and the background they grew up in.. It is a case of 1 in every 10,000 households if I am trying to be conservative..

Compared to football, there is a case of an Nkem in almost every household.. The football passion in Nigeria is almost equal to that of Brazil where almost every kid must have played the round soccer game as a recreation at some point..

I believe the gap between the two sports in Nigeria should not even be coming up for a debate..

naptu2:
Amotolongbo, read the story of Nkem Akaraiwe above and read what she used to play basketball when she was a child (ring and coconut tree). Is that above your level?

Egbon, I understand that you are trying to help, but you can’t cos you no sabi my level, na only me sabi.

Nkem saw her brothers playing basketball using a ring tied to coconut tree. The closest I saw my brothers doing was stoning lizards 🦎 and squirrels 🐿️ on coconut trees.

yummy001:
Egbon Naptu2, I get the point of folks like Amotolongbo.. Cases of athletes like Nkem are the exception and not the rule based on the kind of exposure they had as kids and the background they grew up in.. It is a case of 1 in every 10,000 households if I am trying to be conservative..

Compared to football, there is a case of an Nkem in almost every household.. The football passion in Nigeria is almost equal to that of Brazil where almost every kid must have played the round soccer game as a recreation at some point..

I believe the gap between the two sports in Nigeria should not even be coming up for a debate..

That is exactly where the problem is.

You guys are derailing this thread because you believe that this is a competition with football. It is not.

In every country in this world there is a most popular and dominant sport, in Nigeria it is football. That's not what this thread is about.

This thread is about people that say that nobody plays or knows about basketball in Nigeria and that all national team players were born abroad. That is not true.

Basketball is played across Nigeria, there are many clubs, there are many public courts, there are many people that are interested in it, there is a home grown basketball culture, etc.

American football (gridiron) is the most popular sport in America, but there are also many places in America where it is not played (places in Alaska for example), does that mean that it is not popular in America??

Read my last post.

Amotolongbo:
Egbon, I understand that you are trying to help, but you can’t cos you no sabi my level, na only me sabi.

Nkem saw her brothers playing basketball using a ring tied to coconut tree. The closest I saw my brothers doing was stoning lizards 🦎 and squirrels 🐿️ on coconut trees.

There is no correlation. Everybody does not have to play basketball.

naptu2:
There is no correlation. Everybody does not have to play basketball.

Yes.
I was only saying the reason why I felt basketball is popular (though not as much as football).
Honestly if I had just 10% exposure to basketball as I had to football, I would choose playing basketball. I love it

Dude !!!! You "dey vex o". So much went into this write up. I could feel your energy and passion while I was reading through. Thanks so much for this. Also good to have a thread celebrate "our owns (D'Tigress)". I get mad that sometimes they don't get the respect they deserve.

Amotolongbo:
Basketball was popular and is still popular but not as football.
The reason I think it is not so popular in Nigeria like football is the more complexity in the game facility setup for recreation in our local communities. For football you could easily put two stones together on any ground with few metres between them and call it a goal post, game don start be that. It is not like that for basketball where you need smooth screed for ball to bounce and you can’t hang basket on trees for “pikins” to start aiming the inside of the basket.

I think that the problems also because of our low average height. Few people are up to 6feet which is a short height for professional basketball unlike football where the average height of 5feet5 inches is good to go.

D'Tigers honour late musician Sound Sultan with customised T-shirts.

Sound Sultan was a big supporter of basketball in Nigeria and he got involved in one of the most popular clubsides in Nigeria, the Lagos Islanders.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfy83FKa1Ws?si=yk6w4Ql3Hju0ipkv

Amotolongbo:
Basketball was popular and is still popular but not as football.
The reason I think it is not so popular in Nigeria like football is the more complexity in the game facility setup for recreation in our local communities. For football you could easily put two stones together on any ground with few metres between them and call it a goal post, game don start be that. It is not like that for basketball where you need smooth screed for ball to bounce and you can’t hang basket on trees for “pikins” to start aiming the inside of the basket.

The OP isn't arguing that basketball is more popular than football in Nigeria ,but arguing that it's popular amongst Nigerians who play it and follow the game, which is very correct.

Popularity is a relative term. The popularity of basketball in Nigeria doesn't mean it's equal to football in folllowership. It's simply means that in this country,we have a significant number of Nigerians who play and follow the game .This group of Nigerians is what is being mentioned and discussed here. Simple.

Those of you trying to derial the thread should try and make sense first of what you have read so you don't end up creating controversy out of nothing .

naptu2:
That is exactly where the problem is.

You guys are derailing this thread because you believe that this is a competition with football. It is not.

In every country in this world there is a most popular and dominant sport, in Nigeria it is football. That's not what this thread is about.

This thread is about people that say that nobody plays or knows about basketball in Nigeria and that all national team players were born abroad. That is not true.

Basketball is played across Nigeria, there are many clubs, there are many public courts, there are many people that are interested in it, there is a home grown basketball culture, etc.

American football (gridiron) is the most popular sport in America, but there are also many places in America where it is not played (places in Alaska for example), does that mean that it is not popular in America??

Read my last post.

Please ignore those derailers. They didn't take their time to read and understand what they're reacting to.

naptu2:
To be continued.

I will surely know you.