Press "Enter" to skip to content

Buhari Way and the other times Solomon Dalung got it painfully wrong

Those who have followed the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung’s many escapades will testify that the Minister has, indeed, been involved in a number of controversial or controvertible situations that either sparked national reaction or popular disdain.

Dalung vs. Lalong: The War of Words in Plateau

In what may be aptly described as a misdirection of attention, the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung is locked in a war of words with Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong. The Minister has made a number of futile attempts to rubbish the Governor’s decision to name a road after President Muhammadu Buhari during the President’s two-day working visit to the State.

Solomon Dalung’s claim is that the road named Yakubu Gowon Way, after the former Head of State, who is also from the State, and which stretches from the Plateau State Specialist Hospital Roundabout and terminates at Taen Oil Junction on the Jos-Bukuru Expressway, was renamed as the Muhammadu Buhari Way.

However, the claim has been debunked and the State Government has said that the road named after the President actually starts from Taen Oil Junction and terminates at Mararaban Jema’a Roundabout on the way to the Yakubu Gowon Airport, Heipang.

In a statement communicated through his Facebook post, the minister said:

“Another disaster of the President’s visit was the renaming of Yakubu Gowon way to Muhammadu Buhari way. To say the least, it is embarrassing. Gowon was the President’s boss. How can he be stripped of a 40 year-old privilege and honour in his home state? This is the worst thing that can happen to a man like the elder statesman. I believe that General Gowon is feeling betrayed and abandoned by his own people.”

The Minister also commented on the possibility that Governor Lalong was doing these things as a means of securing 2019 for himself with the help of the President, whilst turning a blind eye to the incessant killings in the State. He wrote:

“If the visit of the president was intended to secure 2019 for Lalong, it has exposed his ambition to great risk and multiply his opponents. While re-election is the primary concern of Governor, fighting, killing, maiming of innocent people continues unabated. As to how this unfolds, no doubt, Plateau is under siege but army of praise singers and pyschophants whose only interest is the pockets. And history is on the verge of repeating itself again. We must all rise against injustice or else we will all be consumed [sic].”

The media aide to the State Governor, Mark Longyen has urged the Minister to cooperate with the governor in the task of developing the state, instead of turning himself into an opposition leader in the North Central state.

Dalung’s comments on Nigeria’s participation in World Cup: Bitter truth or misguided statement?

In an interview with BBC Hausa dated November 2016, when the Nigerian team was trying to qualify for the world cup, the Minister for Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung, said that it was futile for the Super Eagles to be trying to get into the World Cup and said that the country does not need to be in the world cup as it was a waste of resources. The Minister advised, however, that the country should focus on other sports.

“That competition stinks of corruption; Nigeria is too poor to waste money on it; and Nigeria would never win the trophy. The cup that we can win is the African Cup of Nations. There is nothing again that will take us to another man’s balcony in the name of the World Cup. We already have the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics. For these, we can attend such meets. But, I am opposed to the World Cup. We don’t agree to it. Conspiracy in the World Cup is too much.

“There is the issue of bribery and favouritism. There is also the issue of corruption before you are even given the hosting rights. We are here suffering from hunger and we don’t have money for such things.

“That is why, even if we try many times, once it gets into the politics of the game, we can never win…”

This comment sparked questions as to the capability of the Minister to lead the National team to any recognizable victory in the world cup competition coming up in Russian in June.

Dalung’s false claims with regards to meeting the Niger Delta Avengers

One more time the Minster has appeared on the news headlines for the wrong reasons was when he claimed that on the 14th July 2016, he travelled on sea for two hours to meet with the leadership of the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, in Oporoza, Delta State, adding that he received a sealed envelope for President Buhari containing their demands.

However, this was swiftly denied by the NDA and the presidency which disowned him afterward. The Niger Delta Avengers reacted to the claim in a statement:

“Niger Delta Avengers can’t stoop so low to send representatives to meet with a common Minister of Youth that doesn’t know his work. Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung has been defrauded and played by Niger Delta Fraudsters.”

Facebook Comments
ETN24 - Explaining the News is about putting News in the correct context to promote understanding and education. We believe News should educate, not agitate. Our dedication is to fighting Fake and Sensational News, as well as to keep an eye on the media to ensure our peace and sanity are not sold for traffic.
+ posts