Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, has congratulated Nigeria’s U18 women’s basketball team, the Junior D’Tigress, on their impressive performance at the FIBA U18 Women’s AfroBasket Championship in Abidjan, where the team emerged as African silver medallists and secured qualification for the 2027 FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in China.
Mr. Obi, former Governor of Anambra State, in an X post titled “Junior D’Tigress: Silver in Africa, World Cup Bound,” celebrating the team, however, pointed out that the preparation for the African Championship was tardy due to no fault of the team, and cautioned that such should not be allowed to continue.
While hailing the girls, Obi said: “I am particularly concerned, however, by what I have learned about the circumstances of their preparation. I understand that the complete team had only a few days together before the tournament, despite an earlier preparation programme that had envisaged a longer camping and integration period for the home-based and foreign-based players.
“For a team assembled under such circumstances to reach an African final is a remarkable testimony to the talent, resilience, and determination of the girls, as well as to the commitment of their coaches, officials, and families who worked to make the best of a difficult situation.
“But their success should not make us comfortable with the shortcomings that surrounded their preparation.”
Obi, who was the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, noted that “Nigeria has never lacked talented young people. From sports to science, technology, education, entrepreneurship, and the arts, our children continue to demonstrate that they can compete with the best anywhere in the world. Our challenge has always been whether we are prepared to build the systems that discover their talents early, develop them deliberately, and give them the support required to succeed.
“We cannot continue to depend on individual brilliance and extraordinary sacrifice to compensate for institutional weaknesses. Our young people deserve better.”
He stressed further that though the girls have earned a place at the World Cup, the lesson from Abidjan must be “that preparation for China should begin early. They should be kept together, properly trained, adequately supported, and given every opportunity to develop into a stronger and more cohesive team.”
He commended “the players, the coaching and technical crew, the basketball officials, and the parents whose sacrifices helped make this achievement possible,” noting that the team’s “effort reminds us once again that committed Nigerians are everywhere; what we need are institutions that enable their commitment to produce even greater results.”
He urged the girls to hold their heads high, counselling that “the silver medal is not the end of your journey. You have earned the opportunity to compete against the world, and I look forward to seeing you represent Nigeria with even greater distinction in China.”
