By Daily Sports on December 9, 2019

If you are an ardent reader of www.dailysportsng.com and by extension this page every Monday, you would bear witness that I forewarned the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, of the consequences that would befall any of the sports federations if he takes any side or wrong step as his predecessor Solomon Dalung did.

One still insists that muzzling the AFN board in this manner remains no solution to whatever imaginary allegation and counter allegation currently flying in the space about the Sports Minister buying over some AFN board members and its President.

It will get messier as days unfold. To get the latest update, stick with this authoritative online platform.

I did say also that Dare would be a little different from Dalung in some aspects especially in the area of receiving money from Presidents of viable federations because he, Dare is financially buoyant than Dalung before becoming Minister. You will recall that Dare has been with Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu since the civil rule, before he (Tinubu) decided to bring him to the national scene.

This page in that particular write up added that Dare will fall into the wrong hands when he listens to wrong advise which consequences may cost Nigeria another international embarrassment. I told Sunday Dare in clearer terms here that he should try as much as possible to steer clear of these dirty engagements and be himself at all times.

Yes, as a typical Nigerian politician that feeds on trivial issues and lies, which sports is no different, however  if and when he decides to dive into or take sides, he would be clearly caught in a spiders web that would so ridicule him in the public domain even to the bone marrow.

The murky waters of sports politics is as daring and dangerous as the larger Nigerian national politics and as a politician he would be so lured to take a killer decision or sides with one particular group or the other that would thoroughly embarrass him at the end of the day. And now it has come to pass.

He would not have fallen into this trap he has sadly descended in the Athletics Federation of Nigeria if the court did not take a decisive decision on NFF matter. Sunday Dare was saved by the bell. Now the bubble has busted and it is likely the hen is home to roost abruptly.

I am still of the view that Sunday Dare as a typical crude Nigerian politician that double speaks won’t fare better than Dalung in terms of administration and management of crisis situations which remains most crucial in governance. Being firm and non-partisan when such situation calls no doubt remains the most crucial aspect of leadership as well as being impartial and courageous, although this does not hold water in Nigeria  

 But I don’t know where you are coming from, but however; if you have been following the trend in Nigerian sports whether of late or before, you will come to full terms or agree with me that it is definitely not normal times in the arena.

As usual for the pretenders, all is well and therefore sports are growing and therefore Nigerian sports are steadily thriving.

But the fueling of the AFN crisis by Sports Minister Sunday Dare, who is supposed to stabilise the situation, leaves a most soured taste in the mouth. For him to back a faction in the dispute in the athletics’ speaks volume of partisanship and must be condemned by well-meaning athletics watchers, stakeholders, ex- administrators, ex-internationals and even practising ones because it is the body and athletics that would bear the brunt at the end of the day.

I don’t indulge in idleness and hate idlers because the damages they have caused in the polity remain enormous because of the gullibility of both the so-called leaders and the led. Again, the all-time low per capita income in the country further worsens the already nasty state.

Dare would not have taken sides with any of the factions if he has no stake. But my question from day one when Channels TV Sports reporter/anchorperson, Sports To Night, Austin Okon Akpan broke it , my immediate response  to nobody else was, what Sunday Dare wanted in this supposedly in-house impasse that would be resolved within house with solutions that both parties knew of.

I further thought that I hope Dare would not unnecessarily out of listening to one side be drowned. I knew that this was what Dare would grow into as days go by in his tenure. But I don’t know if he knew or have read the history of emperors that even existed in African shores and elsewhere. How they ended thereafter. Yes, he will not be sacked because of his godfather’s influence in the present set up but what would be Dare’s place in history. No matter those Nigerian politicians that play god oftentimes does not believe in history any longer but history has a very honest way and parameter of vindicating the just. However even at that, the players knew that they will not shift the goalpost at the middle of the game, they definitely attempt to mislead anybody that present himself as a misguided tool, like Sunday Dare.  

The way and manner with which Dare handled the AFN issue portrayed him as  an arrowhead that instigated it through some of the board members that held their meeting in Abuja  instead of the congress in Enugu. One had expected Dare to handle whatever crisis with maturity and acumen.

Let me be honest with you that some faces I saw in Sunday Dare’s faction of AFN in Abuja is known for such hatchet men’s job in the chequered history of the body, One thing is  certain and that is AFN will outlive Sunday Dare and when he leaves, he would be judged by his actions and inactions.

This columnist did not join others to applaud Sunday Dare when he quickly paid back IAAF millions of Dollars Solomon and his bedfellows embezzled because the All Progressive Congress bigwigs instructed same.   But what has not been answered is the claim in EFCC’s camp about efforts to bring Solomon Dalung to justice, yet Nigerians have been disturbed with the noise of war against corruption by Buhari and his noisemaker drumming for him.

After the AFN saga, who knows where Sunday Dare pendulum would swing to? To put the record straight, this crisis in the AFN is sponsored by Sunday Dare and the consequences may likely consume him and his boys. Dare is not playing sports politics like his master, Ahmed Tinubu does in the Nigerian politics. Tinubu as an old fox does the dirty game without traces to him. It meant Dare has not learnt anything after this long fellowship. It further portrayed Dare as learning nothing and forgetting nothing.

Sunday Dare is trying to present the picture of an emperor but before the whole act was concluded, the Abuja group has given out Dare as the man behind the mask. In short, the masquerade was stripped before it entered the square showing Dare’s amateur like conception and delivery. If you further ask me, it is too early for Dare to start taking sides; He ought to be himself and act like a father but his tribal instincts’ on this is more glaring.  The man Dare is backing his group and simply because he lost out in the game he has been playing on, he went and told Dare some home lies and as a typical Nigerian politician, he bought into it wholesale and as usual overreacted. He has brought more trouble into the body and one is in sympathy with the country’s athletes.

It is an outrage and shame. Look at what is happening in Basketball Federation involving two Presidents and the trouble in Basketball Federation is yet to abate yet Dare has come up with this. Dalung caused the Basketball imbroglio and could not resolve it till he left. It was this kind of lame-duck action that our sports have been enmeshed in.

Let me remark here that I have not met AFN President Alhaji Gausa before and the wild dogs of Dare and those, ‘what the stomach will eat individuals’ around him would start pointing their usual dirty fingers. If Dare could not have Gausa in his pocket like he has many others federation Presidents, it should not warrant this kind of primitive action. Again, using some board members, the unfortunate and obvious thing is that this page will not call on anybody to call Dare to order because impunity has been the middle name of this Buhari led government. It is synonymous with the APC/Buhari government.

For Dare, the stage is set. His aides would as usual resort to buying up reporters to tilt their reports in his favour. It is obvious that these so called Athletics’ reporters have black legs and spots like the leopard too. Sunday Dare will now fight tooth and nail to make amends characteristic of this government after grievous mistakes and international disgrace brought upon the country by this law-breaking government of Buhari.  It is clear that Dare bares his fangs on AFN board which has left much to be desired and he owes Nigerians explanation too.  We are watching keenly as events unfold in the days to come.  Nigerians have reached the state of unshockablity. Keep sticking strictly with www.dailysportsng.com and by extension this page every Monday. Remember to hook up as usual with our social media handles, Keep shooting hard till next week!! 

Source Daily Sports

Posted December 9, 2019

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