IKPO IGBINOBA
Barely two months after mounting the saddle as president of the Nigeria Wheelchair Basketball Association, NWBA, Brig-Gen. Emico Eruwa is eliciting tremendous excitement from the sport’s community.
Players and other stakeholders are full of hope that the fortunes of wheelchair basketball which had been on a downward trend would enjoy a boost.
A player who didn’t want to be named said he was convinced the new helmsman would turn the tide around for the sport.
“Unlike the previous administration which didn’t have a clear vision, Brig. Gen Eruwa has unveiled a road map that will take our sport to Olympic height”, the player told PM EXPRESS in Lagos.
He also revealed that the new president had within a few days in office “already identified the major problem of wheelchair basketball which is lack of wheelchairs.
“With his appreciation of our major problem”, the player stressed “the president has solved the problem by half.”
The player who predicted a rosy future for the sport under the current leadership however admonished stakeholders’ to be careful in their expectation.
According to him “So far, the new president looks like the messiah our sport has been waiting for, but then we have to be careful in our expectation because of the peculiar nature of Nigerian sports, vis-a-vis the politics”.
If the player was cautious in his optimism, not so for the secretary-general of the association, Mr. Ebone Omagbemi who was over the moon while reviewing the few days of Brig.Gen. Eruwa in the saddle
The secretary declared with gusto “With a few days in charge, I can confidently say that Gen. Eruwa will take wheelchair basketball to greater height”.
He said further “The new president on assumption of office hit the ground running by releasing his vision for the sport.
“And without mincing words,” the secretary gushed “Gen. Eruwa will change the story of wheelchair basketball in this country. He has the charisma and the capacity to transform the sport”.
Mr Omagbemi revealed that the new president is determined to have a “tenure of milestones which will see the sport played in all the states of the federation and the country joining the big league on the continent and beyond”.
“To give you an idea of the great vision of our new president, we will start listing this board’s achievements from his first 100 days in office.
“And Gen. Eruwa is determined from my interactions with him to sustain the story of milestones throughout his tenure”.
The secretary said plans were already in top gear by the association to get wheelchairs.
According to him “Today, only twelve states are playing wheelchair basketball because there are no wheelchairs. We are getting wheelchairs very soon and I can assure you that more states will join the train once we address the dearth of wheelchairs.”
Mr Omagbemi also spoke of plans to introduce a league to further boost the popularity of the sport.
“Very soon, we will start a national league, no matter the scale. The league is part of a strategy to popularise wheelchair basketball in the country”.
Meanwhile, the association has announced dates and venues for zonal clinics designed to create more awareness for the sport across the country.
From April 7- 13, the clinic will hold in Kano while Yola will host it from April 15-20. The clinic will hold in Abuja from April 22-27, in Enugu from April 29- May 3, from May 6- May 11 in Benin City and Lagos/Osun from May 13- 18.
With the aggressive reach-out programme to re-present wheelchair basketball across the nation and other plans by the Brig-Gen Eruwa led board,great times are here for the sport.