The Nigeria female volleyball team will not partake at the 2017 Africa Nations Cup. The Falcons were yesterday drawn alongside Tunisia, Kenya, DR Congo and Senegal in Group B in Cameroon.
According to sources, the team could not enter Cameroon on Friday due to the closure of the Nigeria-Cameroon border in Mfum, cross river state at the entry point of Cameroon by the Cameroonian authorities. For weeks there has been escalating crisis in Cameroon over moves by the Anglophone southern part of the country to secede over alleged marginalisation by the francophone north.
Some of the players described the development as inhuman and very frustrating despite plea from the Nigeria Volleyball Federation executives. The team had opted for a Nigerian airline operating in Cross River but the price tag of each athlete was tagged at over four hundred thousand naira.
President of NVBF, Engineer Musa Nimrod told the players not to be discouraged despite missing the nations’ cup. “We did everything within our power to ensure the ladies get to the tournament, but it’s unfortunate this political crisis escalated to a degree whereby borders will be shut down”
“When I got hold of the information this morning, I was sad because some of these athletes have been in camp for a period of two month. Cameroon is currently boiling and the safety of our players is paramount to us”, he said.
“I hope the organisers of the Nations’ Cup reason with us and shift the tournament”.
