Browsing: Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi

Above all, he can bring us together. Capital does not enter a divided house, and neither does talent. Dr. Abdullahi belongs to no camp and carries no old scores. He is accessible, he listens, and his NBBF will have room for everyone who loves this game: former internationals, state associations, coaches, referees, the diaspora, and those who contest against him next month. Nigerian basketball is too small for enemies and too big for any one group to carry alone.

Quite frankly, Dr. Abdullahi’s proposition is built around results, capacity and collective progress. His experience as a player, sponsor, grassroots developer, administrator, researcher and institutional leader gives him a broad understanding of the basketball ecosystem. As leadership scholar, Warren Bennis put it, “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” That distinction is important: leadership is tested by what is built, improved and delivered. Dr. Abdullahi’s record provides tangible examples across institutional leadership, grassroots basketball, infrastructure, sponsorship, talent development and youth engagement. 

The case for Dr. Abdullahi begins with innovation. His involvement with the DAM Foundation Championship, hosted every December in Okene, provides a practical demonstration of his ability to create and sustain initiatives around basketball. The championship has become a platform through which players and the wider basketball community can experience competition, exposure and opportunity. It is an indication of a mind that does not merely talk about development, but is willing to invest ideas, resources and energy in creating platforms that advance the game.

Nigeria’s Barefoot Renewable Energy College (BARECKS) stands out for several distinctive reasons. Firstly, it is Africa’s first government-established Barefoot Renewable Energy College. Unlike the regional Barefoot College International training centres in Tanzania (Zanzibar), Madagascar, and Senegal, BARECKS was conceived, funded, and constructed by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN).

Dr. Abdullahi made the call on Thursday while speaking at a high-level panel discussion during the NOG Energy Week at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja. He described hydrogen as a transformative energy solution that is already reshaping economies worldwide and stressed that Nigeria has the resources and strategic advantage to become a key player in the global hydrogen value chain.