Rena Wakama

Rena Wakama Basic Information

Stage Name:	Rena Wakama
Real Name:	Rena Wakama
Occupation:	Former Basketball Player, Basketball Coach
Date Of Birth/Age:	April 11, 1992 (32 Years Old)
Place of Birth:	Rivers State, Nigeria
Gender:	Female
Nationality:	Nigeria, America
Marital Status:
Education:	University of North Carolina
Height:
Net Worth:

Rena Wakama Biography

Rena Wakama is a former basketball player for Nigeria at the international level. She was named the head coach of Nigeria’s international women’s basketball team, D’Tigress. The terms of her contract state that she will work with the team for two years.

Wakama is known to have represented Nigeria well while playing for the team years back. She graduated from Western Carolina with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation. She continued her studies, earning an MBA from Manhattan. After her studies, Wakama began playing basketball professionally.

Before starting her professional coaching career, Wakama competed for Nigeria’s First Bank at the FIBA Africa Champions Cup for Women. With her wealth of knowledge as a player, she transitioned to teaching and coaching the game. She also worked with Manhattan College (in her first two years after playing professional basketball) as the team’s operations director for the women’s basketball team. She was promoted to assistant coach in her third year. She also acted as the team’s academic and volunteer liaison. She also assisted the head coach at Stony Brook University in the United States.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Wakama is a former Division 1 athlete, former professional athlete, personal trainer, and Verizon Wireless Corporate Sales Representative. In August 2023 (at 31 years old), she became the first female head coach to win the Women’s Afrobasket. The Cable called her a “refreshing change to male dominance of women’s basketball in Africa after 57 years.”

Family

Rena Wakama comes from a family of five.

Parents

Rena Wakama’s parents are natives of Okirika, Rivers State, Nigeria.

Father

Rena Wakama’s father is Johnson Wakama, a Nigerian.

Mother

Rena Wakama’s mother is Rosana Oba, a Nigerian.

Siblings

Rena Wakama has two siblings.

Brother(s)

Rena Wakama does not have brothers.

Sister(s)

Rena Wakama has two sisters, Yvonne and Mina.

Her love for Basketball was inspired at a young age by her late cousin, Onimisi Aiyede, her partner in crime. Aiyede passed away in 2020. Wakama wrote a tribute to her on Instagram,

“We did it. Staying up all night playing video games, racing down the street head first on a skateboard, teaching me how to ride a bike, holding my hand on our walk to the bus stop on my first day of kindergarten, teaching me how to drive, installing my stereo system in my first car, kicking my behind in basketball,”

Children

Rena Wakama does not have children.

Husband

Rena Wakama is not married and has not made her relationships public.

Lifestyle

When Rena Wakama was announced as the new head coach for Nigeria’s female basketball team, D’Tigress FC, the NBBF praised her for her wealth of knowledge to bring into coaching the team. “Wakama played basketball professionally in the UK in addition to representing the Senior Nigerian National Team throughout her four years as a letter winner at the University of Western Carolina.” The NBBF also stated that Wakama had polished her coaching skills while assisting in the development of young players for the basketball powerhouse at Stony Brooks University in the United States. Her contract is from 2023 to 2025.

The federation also wrote about her, “The NBBF did a clear evaluation of the women coach’s experience in basketball before appointing her to handle the Nigerian national team. As a women’s coach, Wakama should be able to handle the team to success at the AfroBasket Championship. At this point, we are waiting for her to release programmes for the championship so that the team will begin preparations immediately for the African Championship.”

She said to ThisDay, “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 organizing 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.”

Net Worth

The exact estimate of Rena Wakama’s net worth is unknown. She has worked as an assistant to the head coach at Stony Brook University in the United States. Her income is reported to have risen considerably on June 30, 2023, after being named the Head Coach of Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress FC, by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). D’Tigress had been without a coach since Otis Hughley left in 2022 until Wakama was announced.

Cars

Rena Wakama does not post photos of her cars on social media.

House

There is no information about Rena Wakama’s house on the internet.

Nationality

Rena Wakama was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, to Nigerian parents. She has lived most of her life in the US.