NFF Crisis: Who is Solomon Dalung speaking for? News

Navigation: Home / News / Columnists / NFF Crisis: Who is Solomon Dalung speaking for?

NFF Crisis: Who is Solomon Dalung speaking for?

By Daily Sports on April 18, 2016

Solomon Dalung, the Youth and Sports Minister from Plateau State, has sparked off an outrage in Nigerian football circles, especially as FIFA’s hammer dangles over the nation’s football.

He disappointed even his ardent fans when he spoke loosely on the issue bordering on the open court that treated a football matter, which FIFA forbids. To refresh your memory, dear readers, football matters are not entertained in conventional courts but only by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).

My first reaction after listening to the minister’s words was, “Oh! who are the advisers of this man? Who is advising him? Who allowed him to showcase his total ignorance on what obtains in football rules globally.”

His advisers exposed him to his critics that have been hammering that he is a nobody in sports administration. His recent overbearing attitude and meddling in sports federations has backfired on his forehead and also put him on the spot. His advisers dressed him up to dance naked in the public. It looks as if they set him up; I won’t believe that he did not discuss it with his kitchen cabinet before coming out to shoot himself on the foot. This is his worst outing since he assumed office. A lifetime mistake, if you like, that would continue to haunt him for many years to come. My heart went out to him because here is a man that has been preaching peace and working hard, too, to achieve it until this avoidable slip.

Accusing fingers are pointing at him; some are placing curses on him. He has bitten more than he can chew. He is under fire. He is not at ease and the heat is overwhelming on him and he is licking his self-inflicted wounds. Some are saying it serves him right, but he must take a critical second look at those his advisers. They are a kill-joy. They have embarrassed him, making him talk at the drop of a hat for the first time since he came to office.

He is like an orphan now; nobody wants to near him. As it is now even his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, as at the time of writing this column was in China begging for multibillion USD investments from the Chinese Government, may disown him. He went too far to overheat the football arena and FIFA is solidly backing Amaju Pinnick. What Dalung and his close friend, Chris Giwa, have embarked upon is illegal and it is like a coup against Nigerian football. I won’t call for punishment that goes with such offence; rather I will resort to fair play, which is the bedrock of the sport.

I blame his advisers that knew next to nothing on football matters and FIFA rules on conventional court stuff and football matters. They are the reason behind this public disgrace the minister subjected himself to and the outcry that has followed it. He has been betrayed by his large number of advisers. They brought him this ridicule. It is a stain. No Sports Minister has gone through this kind of embarrassment Dalung has been imperiled to.

His one-sided statement that supported his kinsman, Chris Giwa, has caused more confusion in the dome than he envisaged. In short, the bubble bust. Amaju Pinnick and his board would laugh last. As usual Giwa, his group and, unfortunately, the Sports Minister, would bury their heads in shame at the end of this avoidable impasse.

Here is the story of his descent into the bad books of his constituency: A report that was widely used by newspapers on Tuesday, April 12, which quoted him extensively as totally stamping the judgment of a Federal High Court sitting in Jos, the Plateau State capital, that sacked the Amaju Pinnick-led executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over the 2014 election of the body.

The minister did not hide his sympathy for Chris Giwa, who hails from the same Plateau State with him, and reports said are his close friend. Unbecoming of a minister, he said if the other party, Amaju Pinnick, failed to make use of the window opened for appeal, he would not hesitate to obey the court order that recognised Chris Giwa because his party believes in the sanctity of the judiciary, which is the cradle of democracy. The report where he tilted towards Chris Giwa gave him out as an unethical leader. As you, dear readers, know, FIFA doesn’t recognise any judgment from conventional courts hence it set up the Court of Arbitration for Sports.

In short, he played to the gallery and the fans, analysts, stakeholders, bookmakers and sundry of the king of sports, they cried blue murder. It has been his mistake. He has afterwards tried to save face. He has fallen, thereby bringing football into disrepute. It seems as if the whole world has crumbled on him. He is like an orphan. It is a trying moment for him and, again, he would be profusely praying that this cup quickly passes over him.

It would be recalled that in this column last week titled ‘Amaju Pinnick’s Many Battles’, I posited that I saw the hand of Esau in the troubles affecting Amaju Pinnick and his board. Pronto, the minister came out from his hiding. Any sensible person would know that any step outside the rule of FIFA in such a matter at hand affects the image of our country. He played into the waiting hands of people that have entrenched interests, and for decades, have been the major opponents of the sports sector.

Now it is a long-standing rule of FIFA that Dalung criticised. It is this that has saved football from unnecessary litigations by charlatans which Dalung thinks is not necessary. He thinks that FIFA’s stand on this is unnecessary, and smacks of politics. He thinks the cap fits Chris Giwa than Amaju Pinnick; therefore, the status quo is a non issue. Dalung as a lawyer should know the story of FIFA, how it jealously guards the game against hawks like Giwa.

This Dalung sef! It seems he is not done yet; he has decided to wear the toga of being referred to as Mr. Controversy, for before you could say Usain Bolt, he accused sports journalists of being responsible for the ongoing NFF crisis. My reaction over was, could he say this when his earlier gaffe is still generating much heat and ripples?

I made some calls and it was confirmed. Interestingly, he does not have the clout to engage in many wars despite his loud boasts of being a guerrilla. Such would promptly consume him. Those beating the drum for him are his worst enemies trying by all means to lead him into the ditch. He will have himself to blame when his eyes are clear. He is fighting tooth and nail to save face but, again, pushing his misfortune to the sporting media in its self was another wrong step in the wrong direction. Whoever advised him to shift the blame to the media misled him. Dalung cannot succeed in his bid to make the media the whipping men or punching bag; he will regret his saboteur action. He cannot stab the sporting media in the back and go scot-free. The consequences are heavy. Who is he fooling?

Despite the fact that they have deliberately polarised and polluted the system whereby the sporting press cannot speak with one voice, this time very few that have their integrity left intact would resist his naughty move. How did the media instigate this? Did they tell Giwa to go to open court instead of CAS? Was it the media that advised him to make that counterfeit statement that stirred the hornet’s nest?

It is clearer now that Dalung is drowning and desperately looking for something to hold for possible survival. What kind of irresponsible statement is that? Pointing accusing fingers at the sporting press remains yet another of his undoing. Who is this man speaking for? Can he withstand trading words with the media? That reminds me, where is the national body of sports journalists in the country? It was gathered that the minister went to the extent of labelling sports journalists as corrupt. They walked out on him, and he later apologised before the event continued.

I blame the leadership of SWAN for the raw deal we are subjected to nowadays from these politicians. In the days when SWAN had vibrant and nonsense leadership Dalung would have gone to his village and gather his people to listen to him. Let me tell you a short story: During the regime of Chief Fan Ndubuoke as President of SWAN, High Chief Alex Akinyele was the Executive Chairman of the National Sports Commission; his mouth ran diarrhea against the sports journalists, Ndubuoke called us out and directed that all activities of NSC be blacked out, until the High Chief apologised publicly. The directive was totally complied with. It was during the IBB military dictatorship era; remember him? The very flamboyant Akinyele that has a good grasp of the word openly apologised. That was when men of honour and courage led SWAN. However, Olu Amadasan handed over a respectable SWAN to Saidu Abubakar but look at it now!

Shamefully, the Abubakar Sadiu-led National Executive has long become a lame duck not too credible; however, they should answer the overzealous Solomon Dalung and his foul mouth. He accused sports journalists of double standards, of collecting money from Giwa and Amaju camps, thereby prolonging the crisis. I pitted him and his new found way of reacting to tricky national issues. Let me tell him that what he alleged on Amaju and Giwa is not exclusive to them; he is deeply involved, too, therefore he should shut up because he is speaking for himself, not Nigerians.

Why has the minister’s name not played a good role in his life? Mr. Solomon, where is the Wisdom? It deserted him in a crucial time like this…. Pity! He should leave the media alone and face squarely how he would clear the stinking mess he created that has fouled the air all over the country and wherever Nigerian football fans reside around the globe. He should shut up and stop fooling himself the more. Over 80 million football fans are angry with him strictly on his double standard role in this debacle. Instead of him burying his head in shame, he is still overheating the arena. Nigerian politicians are really men and women without honour! Dalung has joined that infamous and highly discredited league of sitting ducks.

He, sadly, dismisses it as politics. Who is Dalung speaking for? Who is he representing? Is he speaking for the people of Plateau State or Nigeria as a whole, or his Local Government Council? Not likely. He says Giwa is it for the job. On whose expense or part? Amaju Pinnick or the board? Dalung still owes Nigerians an explanation as to where he is coming from to instigate chaos in our football while we are desperately searching for a messiah that would rescue the sinking giant.

We must deal with the politics aspect after. Plateau State people, especially his Senatorial Zone and, more especially, his Local Government people, should please call Dalung to order. They should pull his ears, for daring to destroy the sport that is Nigeria unity personified, and tell him that he is speaking for himself. If he cannot play by the rules governing the game, and attract something positive that would grow the sport in the country, if on the other hand he suddenly because of Chris Giwa becomes incapable of setting the tone, he should not distract those who are doing something marvelous for the country.

Why my anger boiled over to high heavens was that Dalung allowed himself to be misled – even his Chief Press Secretary, Nneka Ikem-Anibueze, who if for nothing has been on the sports beat at FRCN for years and knows the implications for any country that dares FIFA on the matter under discourse, watched the minister wash his dirty hands in the public.

My advice for Dalung, if he eventually survives this, is that heads must roll amongst his aides who, having shown their incompetence on the job, deserve being booted out. Reason: They were instrumental to his taking very unpopular step that drew more sympathisers to the side of Amaju Pinnick and his board. I am not talking about the stomach-must-chop State FA chairmen that shamefully paid what they called a solidarity visit to him (Amaju) in Abuja last week Tuesday and then the congress. These aides within a twinkle of an eye rubbished the good work he has been doing since he assumed duties. I pity him, however; despite this his misadventure, I still have some respect left for him. His advisers nailed him. He must be careful in the future and even be wary of those he surrounds himself with. It is sad. And this is putting it mildly.

•Victor Enyinnaya can be reached via 08055068145 (sms only) or by e-mail via sportzvictor@yahoo.com.au

Source Daily Sports

Posted April 18, 2016