What should have been a conversation about basketball development in Nasarawa State has instead degenerated into a messy public spectacle, as senior basketball stakeholders blasted what they described as reckless lies, administrative ignorance and cheap social-media activism.
At the eye of the storm is former Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) board member and North Central representative, Adamu Deshi, whose name was dragged into circulating online reports accusing him of frustrating a basketball tournament in Lafia.
Deshi wasted no time dismantling the claims.
“This is nothing but a campaign of calumny designed to destroy my reputation,” he said.
In a blistering rebuke, Deshi questioned the credibility of those pushing the narrative, accusing them of hiding incompetence behind the language of youth activism.
“How can people who claim they want to take over basketball administration behave with this level of irresponsibility?” he asked.
Calling the reports false, misleading and malicious, Deshi pointed to his long-standing contributions to the game across the North Central zone.
“I have organised numerous basketball competitions. These are verifiable records, not Facebook stories,” he stated.
Deshi also issued a clear ultimatum, withdraw the publication within seven days or face civil litigation.
“We are not in a banana republic. Basketball administration follows laid-down rules, not mob pressure,” he warned.
The hammer fell harder when the Chairman of the Nasarawa State Basketball Association (NSBBA), Ayuba Tijani, stepped in, describing the reports as a toxic, poorly thought-out smear campaign that threatens to embarrass the state’s sports institutions.
The social media posts credited to Bek Jang and journalist Afiemo Obaro, claimed that tournament organisers were denied access to the Lafia Indoor Sports Hall, dragging the Nasarawa State Basketball Association (NSBBA) and Deshi into what Tijani dismissed as baseless and unprintable accusations.
According to Tijani, the story collapses almost immediately.
“Mr. Deshi does not live in Lafia and has zero control over the Indoor Sports Hall,” he said.
“To accuse him of blocking access to a facility he neither manages nor controls is either ignorance or deliberate deception.”
Tijani further revealed that no formal request was ever submitted to the NSBBA for the use of the facility, which is currently being prepared for one of the state’s flagship annual tournaments in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports.
“You don’t hijack public facilities through Facebook posts,” Tijani said.
“This is not street football. This is organised basketball, and there are protocols.”
The NSBBA chairman also tore into claims that the organisers acted on information allegedly provided by the State basketball coach, Kassim Mohammed, branding it another reckless fabrication.
“It is grossly disrespectful and administratively stupid to bypass the State Association and run to the coach,” Tijani said, adding that Mohammed has flatly denied giving any such information.
Tijani described the entire episode as desperation masked as activism, warning that the deliberate spread of falsehoods is poisoning the very system critics claim they want to fix.
“You cannot build basketball with lies,” he said.
“You cannot demand reform while undermining institutions with half-truths and propaganda.”
As the dust settles, one thing is clear, Nigerian basketball’s biggest battles are no longer on the hardwood, but in boardrooms and timelines where truth, not noise, will ultimately decide who deserves a seat at the table.
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