Grassroots: DA-F Breaks Ground for a New Edifice

By Eyo Kelvin 

L-R: Coach Fubara Onyanabo and Baptist High School Principal, Mr Ade Jaja Josiah during the basketball court ground breaking.

The long awaited groundbreaking ceremony of the Baptist High School basketball court project took place inside the school premises in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, February 22nd 2022. The event marks the official commencement for the construction of a new sporting facility which will replace the old one.

To write on every innovative part of the Baptist High School would be exhausting, but the new basketball complex in its entirety may best be described as an arena for basketball lovers and a home for neighbourhood basketball fans.

Founder of DA-F Basketball and National Under-16 Coach, Fubara Onyanabo taking a big step toward building an arena for Baptist High School in Port Harcourt stating the idea and innovation around it is given back to his Alma-mater today with a groundbreaking ceremony for the basketball court edifice that will serve the purpose of unearthing talents.

Elated Coach Fubara Onyanabo express delight seeing the vision and dream of planting a basketball court in his school coming to reality sharing his thoughts how the journey as being for him. "I’m so elated because this means so much to me.

"I will start from firstly, Baptist High School is situated along Morehouse Street, I have my formative stage in Morehouse that's where I grew up, Secondly, I attended Baptist High School, Thirdly, I started learning of playing basketball at Baptist High School, and fourthly, I stated the DA-F basketball program at Baptist High school, so today I start a long process of given back to the school.

"I’m going to unearthed raw talents and if you know this vicinity very well, this place is crowded with waterfront and creeks, we have Enugu Waterfront, Baptist Waterfront, Ndoki, Harold Wilson, Ibadan, Bishop Johnson all those place are waterfront and we all know that lot of people from low background do sports, we are going to use this opportunity after erecting this court to catch lot of kids around here and make sure they play basketball and from there we are going to have lots of stars and above all through this basketball court, we are going to take lot of children off the street",

But the new arena will be a massive indication of how the Coach Fubara Onyanabo plan to go about his business in the future. Not only will the basketball court offer an obvious home-court advantage, but it will also make their schedule more favourable.

"For me I’m not really crazy about cost because I know I’ve done thing that are beyond this and I know that if God have ask me to do this, he’s going to provide but it’s going to cost millions’ Coach Fubara Stated.

In his appreciation remark, the Principal of Baptist High School, Mr Ade Jaja Josiah stated that it's a remarkable day for  the school getting back what the school has given out to some of its students while also commended Coach Fubara Onyanabo for coming back to erect a befitting bask court in the school.

"Today is a remarkable day in the history of Baptist High School, Port Harcourt, we are getting back what the school have given out to some of its students like Fubara has come to do today, coming to lay the groundbreaking foundation of basketball pitch, is a day of joy and all the students are happy with him and they have said to be praying for him at the chapel for the completion of the basketball project,"

"I want to call on the old boys, to whom much is given much is also expected, I know the times are hard economically in Nigeria but to those who are willing to give back to their Alma-mater, there is enough for them to do for us,"

"The school needs a lot, the school is lacking and need enough from freewill donors, those who appreciate or sympathize with the school, I want to call on the old boys not to relent, and they should come back and give back to their Alma-mater’. Principal of Baptist High School echoes.

The completion of the new court will be best geared for the development of raw talents and it's expected to take between two to three months at the most.