Other Sports
OPINION: Solomon Dalung, a Man Misunderstood
BY NNEKA IKEM ANIBEZE, SA MEDIA
The name Solomon Selcap Dalung is a household name. From religion, politics, activism, youths and now sports, Dalung is the man they love to ‘hate’.
When he assumed office as Minister of Youth and Sports on 11th November, 2015, nobody gave him a chance of succeeding. His administration had been declared ‘dead on arrival’!
According to armchair analysts and big wigs in the industry, Dalung was a novice! A nobody, and therefore, a misfit for the position. Some went a step further to condemn his choice of clothing; the popular red beret and neatly starched and ironed khaki.
Others called him the cattle rarer from Jos! I never heard of any other minister so consistently maligned with a barrage of insults heaped at his doorsteps at every opportunity available.
If anyone had told them he’ll still be in office by now, considering the torrents of derogatory remarks targeted against him, they wouldn’t have believed. But Dalung’s case is that of God’s ordained.
When God chose David the shepherd, it wasn’t because he was the most intelligent. It was because of one of those mysterious ways which God uses to prove that He alone is God.
Barrister Dalung, as I always refer to him, has managed to steer the ship to where it is at the moment. Our last port was the National Sports Federations elections.
He had promised to leave a legacy of credible and democratically elected federations’ boards.
According to him, ” Even if I don’t know anything and never achieved anything, let it be said when I’m no longer here, that one man called Solomon Selcap Dalung that wore khaki and red beret came, and ensured that elections into sports federations’ boards was not ‘business as usual’.
To achieve this legacy, Barrister Dalung forfeited the five slots per federation known as ‘Government Nominees’ allotted to the man in charge of sports at the time of election. Multiply 31 Sports Federations that were billed to have their elections on June 13, 2017 by five and you’ll get 155. This means that Dalung forfeited his entitlement of hand picking 155 persons to be on the board of sports federations.
Secondly, Dalung stopped all staff of the ministry of Youth and Sports from being on any board of the federation. Again, according to him, “you cannot be an umpire in a game and also be a player”. Therefore, he directed all directors who had already ‘won’ their various elections to step down.
Thirdly, Dalung increased the ‘Electoral College’ from what used to be 13 to 58. This meant that there were voters from the 36 states and Abuja being represented by the State Directors of Sports, six zonal representatives, one representative each from the Nigeria Association of Women in Sports (NAWIS), the Technical and Coaching Association, the Athletes’ Representative, International Representative, Institutional Sports, the Nigeria Association for Physical, Health Education, Recreation, Sports and Dance (NAPHER-SD) and representative of the Federation’s Philanthropist, Ex-officio member or Sponsor. Any contestant who aspired to be President or Vice President had to convince the Electoral College why he/ she should be voted for.
Another measure Dalung put in place to ensure a level playing field for all interested contestants was to inaugurate an ‘independent’ electoral committee.
On the eve of the elections, the secretaries of all federations interchanged positions just to ensure that no incumbent got a ‘helping hand’.
Then came the Ides of June!
Yes, there were problems which were peculiar to elections of such magnitude. Zonal, Vice President and Presidential elections were held on the same day. Some woke up to find their names missing from an already screened list while some alleged that those who did not even contest found their names on the list as winners of various positions.
Who dun it?
Dalung, of course!
“Oh! He changed the list and put his lackeys!”
“Oh! He put those who won’t ask him to account for Federations’ allocation!”
“Oh! No wonder they flew him to Canada in a private jet belonging to one of the contestants!”
Such were the accusations against the man who had planned a seamless election for sports federations.
For your information, Barrister Solomon Selcap Dalung has never been to Canada! Not even in his dreams.
Yes, we agree there were some lapses but the same Dalung set up an Electoral Appeals Committee to attend to various complaints arising from unlawful disqualification to disenfranchisement.
It will be unfair for aggrieved persons to go on air or on the pages of newspapers to judge, condemn and sentence the same Dalung who hitherto, was celebrated for his sports reforms and elections guidelines which were described as the best ever.
That the elections didn’t favour them now does not mean that Dalung did not do his bit.
There are channels of expressing one’s complaints and means of seeking redress instead of networking a campaign of calumny.
If you appeal and then you’re not given a fair hearing, then you can go the extra mile but venting on a man who did his best and is still up on it, is to say the least, unfair.
Dalung will sell my paper any day because he’s a news man’s delight but let’s not take his silence for weakness, for even a he-goat knows his way home!
Pastor Enoch A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has unveiled a full-size stadium and an Olympic-size 50-metre swimming pool at the Peaceville International Academy, located within the Redemption City of God, Ogun State.
The esteemed cleric was accompanied by his wife, Pastor Folu Adeboye, along with top church leaders including Pastor Joseph Obayemi; RCCG National Overseer, Pastor Sunday Akande, and the management of Peaceville International Academy led by Head of School Dolapo Fatoki.
The event was graced by several board members of the school, including Leke Adeoye, Olugbenga Omojola, Ayoola Jolayemi, Noah Osato, and Mrs Busola Ogunsiji.
Reflecting on his past, Pastor Adeboye lamented the lack of such facilities during his university days and the general scarcity of quality sports amenities across the country.
“This kind of well-grassed stadium and serene environment were not available in universities during our time. Remarkably, God has made this possible in a secondary school, showing that He is on our side,” he remarked.
He offered prayers for those who contributed to the realization of these facilities and expressed his vision for the school to become a global brand.
In her welcome address, Pastor Mrs. Adeboye, the founder of the college, described the institution as a legacy made possible by God’s support.
She thanked her husband for his unwavering support in making the school a reality and emphasized the importance of the sports facilities in moulding Godly champions.
The unveiling ceremony also featured a novelty match to celebrate Pastor Adeboye’s 83rd birthday, with him performing the ceremonial kick-off for the match between Redemption City FC and Region 1 FC. The home team triumphed with a 4-0 victory.
Head of School Dolapo Fatoki highlighted that the facilities would be judiciously used to enhance the physical well-being of students and position the school as a hub for sports development in Ogun State and Nigeria.
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Championship promotion chasers Burnley clocked up 1,000 minutes without conceding a league goal as they drew 0-0 at Preston North End on Saturday to stay third in the table.
It was Burnley’s 24th Championship clean sheet of the season and their 11th in a row — a new English second-tier record.
In 33 Championship games their miserly defence has been breached only nine times and no opposition player has scored against them in the league since Dec. 21.
Burnley keeper James Trafford has faced only 21 shots on target in achieving his 11 successive clean sheets — including two penalties which he saved against Sunderland.
Scott Parker’s side need just one more clean sheet to match the Championship record of Queen’s Park Rangers in 2010-11.
“It’s something we pride ourselves on. We’re proud of being hard to beat and if you can’t win games, don’t lose them,” Burnley midfielder Josh Cullen told the club’s website.
“We come away with a point thanks to that defensive record and being solid again here at a tough place.”
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
A UK-based sports recycling charity, Lord’s Taverners has donated sports kits and equipment worth over 30 million naira to the CSED (Community Sport and Educational Development) Initiative.
The donated kits and equipment weighed 998 kilograms. It is not the first time such a donation was made.
It would be recalled that since 2019, this is the fifth batch of sports kit donations that Lord’s Taverners have donated to CSED Initiative.
In total, CSED Initiative has received sports kits weighing over three thousand kilogrammes from Lord’s Taverners.
Most of this batch of donated sports kit items are for cricket, netball, badminton, football, casual sportswear and tracksuits.
Some of the prominent institutions that have benefitted from the kits that were donated by Lord’s Taverners in the past are Edo State Cricket Association, the cricket team of ABU Zaria, the cricket team of IDPs Uhogua, Cameroonian refugees in Ogoja (Cross River State).
Furthermore, some selected schools in Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom and Taraba States have benefitted from the free cricket kits that were donated by Lord’s Taverners to CSED Initiative.
In a recent email correspondence between a Trustee of CSED Initiative, a Project Manager of Lord’s Taverners, a representative of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) acknowledged the role the kits that Lord’s Taverners donated to CSED Initiative played in the development of some of the cricketers who recently played in the Nigerian female cricket team at the recently completed T20, U-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia.
Nine out of these fifteen cricketers are players from Edo State whose cricket Association received 250 kilogrammes of donated cricket kits from CSED Initiative in April 2019.
Furthermore, CSED has also donated cricket items to a cricket project that has supported the development of the two cricketers from Akwa Ibom State who featured for Nigeria in the Malaysian tournament.
During an interview with sports reporters, a representative of CSED Initiative stated that the new batch of donated equipment from Lord’s Taverners will enable them to empower three thousand children and youths in respect of supporting some of their basic sports kit needs. The donated kits will enable CSED Initiative to train three hundred P.E. Teachers in 2025. “So, it is going to be a win-win situation for grassroots sports.”
However, CSED Initiative have been informed that the Lord’s Taverners sports kits recycling project is going to close in March 2025, as a result of financial constraint. The National Coordinator of CSED Initiative stated that this news was a huge shock to them, and the sports recycling community all over the world.
Lord’s Taverners has a global base of sports for change NGOs that they have supported in the past few decades. Though Lord’s Taverners was mainly set up as a cricket charity, it has over the years supported other sports at the grassroots level.
“We in CSED Initiative will forever remain grateful for the support we have received from Lord’s Taverners. Especially in respect of the sport of netball.
They have supported us with balls, bibs, netball jerseys, T-shirts and skirts.
These donated netball kits gave us the courage to strive to revive the game of netball in Nigeria through our ongoing: “Project 2027” drive where we have trained and equipped more than three hundred and seventy P.E. Teachers and community leaders.”
While receiving the donated items in their Niger Delta base, the National Coordinator of CSED Initiative assured Dave Pemberton (Project Manager of Lord’s Taverners) that the sports kits will be distributed for free to selected schools and vulnerable community groups (IDPs and asylum seekers/refugees) they currently work with, as well as new sets of schools and communities who will be expected to put the donated kit into good use.
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Morocco 2025: Nigeria qualify for FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup
NFF ‘shocked and saddened’ by the demise of former NRA President, Otunba Tade Azeez
Heartbreak for Al Ahly as Sundowns edge to CAF Champions League final on away goals rule
- WOMEN'S FOOTBALL7 days ago
Naira rain falls on Nigeria’s Flamingos after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria
- OBITUARY4 days ago
NFF mourns the demise of former FIFA referee, Bosede Momoh
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Financial rainfall awaits Nigeria’s Flamingos for every goal scored in Algeria
- U-17 AFCON7 days ago
Morocco crowned CAF U-17 AFCON champions after dramatic penalty shootout win over Mali
- U-20 FOOTBALL6 days ago
Nigeria begin CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations title chase with Tunisian clash
- feature4 days ago
Ghana’s Cardinal, Appiah Turkson, listed as a possible Pope
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Former WAFU President, Ogufere mourns Christian Chukwu
- Nigerian Football6 days ago
Remo Stars maintain ‘7Up’ lead over Rivers United