BB4P! – Basket Ball For Peace Nigeria,
Our History

INTRODUCTION
Nigeria in the last decades had been characterized as a crises stricken country after experiencing a great variety of unrest ranging from religious to communal crises. Most of these crises usually have the youth taking the fore front of the situation. Many lives have been lost and properties worth million of naira destroyed; just because some people are interested in achieving their selfish aims. Many part of the country have witnessed these crises in one form or the other top on the chart is the Religious Crisis in Kaduna, Kano and Jos.

The communal crises in the Niger Delta region of the country; the ethnic crises in Taraba and Lagos to mention a few have all been characterized by active youth involvement. The economic situation in the country has not helped matters as the saying goes “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop” so many of the jobless youths are caught up in these crises, using it as an avenue to loot properties, kill and maim people.

WHAT IS BB4P?
BB4P is a YOUTH ORGANIZATION (NGO) established under the AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL FOUNDATION (ABUBBF); a PEACE MOVEMENT IN MOTION solving problems affecting Youth in their grassroots communities. You and all PEACE Loving people with IDEAS are the ENGINE. The PEACE ZONES (BASKETBALL COURTS) are safe areas for training and promoting PEACE, the first stage for establishing a Grassroots Community Centre or Sports Complex to address the immediate needs of the Local residents.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN GOALS OF BB4P?

1.To use BASKETBALL to attract ‘at-risk’ Youth away from violent conflict.

2.To PROMOTE PEACE, Basketball and to establish suitable facilities, provide adequate equipment, create educational and job opportunities for PEACE.

3.To create a Global Network of PEACE AMBASSADORS to mediate in CONFLICT to maintain PEACE.

4.Establish a positive forum for “Son’s-of-the-Soil” to give-back to their Communities

WHEN WAS BB4P STARTED?
BB4P was started in March 2003 in ZARIA and KADUNA to address the problems of Violence Rape and the Destruction of Lives and Property which had over the years undermined public order and security. Also to engage the youth gangs and other idle youth through BASKETBALL, so that they would not be manipulated by politicians to cause trouble during the election period.

BB4P has for years built more than thirty (30) Peace Zones in conflict areas in Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Delta and Rivers States where youth and communities have experienced violent conflicts that has destroyed many lives and properties. Around the Peace Zones, BB4P has established Peace Clubs in Secondary Schools.

From the beginning in 2003 to today BB4P has been successful according to those we service and the communities in which our PEACE ZONES exist and beyond. In recognition of the success of the BB4P Network the Parks & Recreation Department, FCT, Abuja allocated five (5) Abuja Parks to BB4P to establish the Abuja Parks BB4P Network. Another part of BB4P ‘success’ is four (4) ‘buy-in’ PEACE ZONES and requests from ten (10) other communities and 6 more States to be part of the BB4P NIGERIA Network.

The sustaining part of the BB4P network is ‘regular competition’ between the PEACE ZONES and PEACE CLUBS where participants compete in an atmosphere of PEACE and share their PEACE Making experiences; many of the BB4P success stories are yet to be told.