Philip Shaibu Supports Igoche Mark's Vision for Nigerian Basketball

The Director General of the National Institute for Sports (NIS), Comrade Philip Shaibu, has thrown his weight behind basketball promoter Igoche Mark, urging him to stay the course in his drive to grow the sport in Nigeria.

Shaibu delivered the message in Abuja on Monday when he hosted Mark, who visited the institute to motivate basketball coaches currently in training under his sponsorship.

“I want to thank you for stopping by to see some of our students,” Shaibu told Mark, acknowledging his backing for the programme. He noted that Mark is sponsoring “quite a number” of the trainees and expressed confidence that the partnership between the promoter and the institute will bear fruit for Nigerian basketball.

Shaibu’s appeal was clear and direct: “I thank you for what you have done for basketball, and I plead with you: do not give up on basketball.”

Mark, the Initiator of the Mark D’Ball Basketball Championship, used the visit to pay tribute to the changes he has seen at the NIS. He linked the current transformation to Shaibu’s track record in Edo State, especially in sports development.

“We were here in 2022, but coming here today and seeing the level of transformation, I am not surprised,” Mark said. “Having seen what you did in Edo, I know that excellence has always been part of you. With people like you in this country, there is hope because you turn things around.”

His mission on the day, though, was not just courtesy. Mark explained that he came to encourage the coaches in training, many of whom are former players now stepping into a new phase of their careers.

“They were once players, and now they are transitioning into coaching,” he said, stressing the importance of formal qualifications. “Without proper certification, you cannot function on the international scene because you cannot sit on the bench if you are not certified.”

For Nigerian basketball, often caught between flashes of talent and structural gaps, the scene in Abuja offered a different picture: a promoter funding education, an institute opening its doors, and a DG demanding that the work must not stop.