From the depths of Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, specifically, Wakama Community in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State, came a beacon of excellence, blaze of glory and telling narrative of a woman of worth, wealth of experience and caches of courage on the global space.

It is the fascinating story of 31-year-old Head Coach of Nigeria’s women national basketball team, D’Tigress, Okrika born Rena Wakama who just became the first female coach to win the women’s AfroBasket, after she was hired on June 30, 2023.

Rena Wakama was born April 11, 1992, in Raleigh, North Carolina the United States of America to Johnson Wakama and Rosana Oba, natives of Okrika, Rivers state. Wakama has two sisters, Yvonne and Mina Wakama.

Wakama attended Wake Forest high school in Rolesville, North Carolina. In the course of her high school career, Wakama was named Cap-7 Most Valuable Player, McDonalds High School All-American nominee, and earned All-District First Team and All-State First Team honours.

During her time at Western Carolina University, She played as a guard and made 121 starts over her four-year career and acquired Second Team Southern Conference All-Tournament honours during her senior year after averaging 10.4 points per game.

Wakama graduated from Western Carolina in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in therapeutic recreation and attained an MBA from Manhattan College in 2019.

In 2015 after graduation from college, Wakama journeyed to Cameroon with D’Tigress for the 2015 Women’s AfroBasket competition, where Nigeria placed third. According to Wakama, her name was not listed on the Nigerian national roster for that competition because of a missed registration deadline.

She also represented Nigeria’s First Bank at the FIBA Africa Women’s Champions Cup in 2015.

Wakama did not have the lengthiest of playing days but it did not mean jack as she pursued her passion for coaching.

“I knew I wanted to be a coach. I knew that was my calling; that was what I wanted to be,

“I knew that was my journey; I knew I had more impact organising a team. Even while we were in Cameroon with the girls, I just knew exactly what I wanted to do with my career; that’s my calling, that’s my passion, and I had to follow it. When God puts something in your heart, you have to follow it. I wanted to start early.”

Despite the flying notion that Rena Wakama was inexperienced in coaching, Wakama had a wealth of experience overseeing teams.

Wakama recently joined the Stony Brook women’s basketball team as the Assistant Coach in July 2023. The Stony Brook women’s basketball head coach Ashley Langford described Rena Wakama as fierce and competitive.

Prior to her position at Stony Brook, Wakama had a six-season stint at Manhattan College where she served as the Director of Basketball Operations in her first two seasons and came to be an assistant coach in her third year at the institution, as well as a recruiting coordinator where she presided over the development of the wing/guard position players, while also leading as the team’s academics and community service liaison.

Little did she know that she was being prepared for the future, as her time as a recruiting coordinator at Manhattan College, saw her develop a keen eye for talented players which she would use to set up a winning team.

Under the tutelage of Wakama, the Jaspers (Manhattan College) achieved a 21-11 record in the 2021-22 season, which was the most wins in a single season since their 2010-2011 season, and the team’s third straight winning season, including a 14-6 record in MAAC play.

When Preparation Met Opportunity: Rena Wakama’s 2023 Women’s AfroBasket Story

Coach Rena Wakama had barely a month to the commencement of the 2023 Women’s AfroBasket Championships when she was appointed as coach of the Nigerian Team. This was not just any AfroBasket, not just any team. It was an AfroBasket that many hoped would do a four-peat and a team newly assembled.

The NBBF announced open tryouts a few weeks after Wakama’s appointment, following Otis Hughley’s exit from the team and Nigeria’s two-year ban from all international basketball competitions by the Federal Government which led to the D’Tigresses being kicked out of the FIBA World Cup 2022 in Australia.

Wakama had all the odds stacked against her but she unstacked those odds and shredded them to pieces, doing what many thought impossible, winning the AfroBasket and becoming the first female Coach to ever achieve such feat.

After defeating hosts, Rwanda, Wakama climbed a historic milestone as the first female coach to lead a team to the AfroBasket final. Two days later, she raised the bar and climbed an even bigger milestone to become the first female coach to win the competition.

“This is what happens when Preparation meets opportunity. I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life, and I’m thankful for that moment.”

When you think of Rena Wakama do not think of her as just a basketball coach. Think of her as a human who against all odds stepped up to the plate in the first time of asking and won the AfroBasket because of her fierceness and resolute nature. Think of her story as a ladder, not a rocket.