What shall we do with Solomon Dalung?
Clearly, Dalung deserves some stick(s)
for the manner he has superintended over our sport sector and he has
been getting a lot of it particularly lately, since the end of the 2016
Olympics Games in Rio where our ill-prepared contingent could only win a
face-saving bronze medal in the football event.
With Dalung already a subject of public derision both in the mainstream and social media, the easiest thing for me in this article is to join the bandwagon in the public flogging of the minister. But I paused to ask myself: what would that achieve?
The outcome of my introspection is that, rather than give the minister additional stick, I'm advocating that we hand him the carrot for reasons that I will advance presently. I'm willing to wager that engaging with the minister (the carrot option) will be more productive and beneficial to Nigerian sport in the long run than name-calling, social media mobbing and ineffective street-protests demanding his removal from office (the stick option). Essentially, I am suggesting that we look at the bright side of Dalung.
But, first, let me state my position on some of the minister's policies and actions since he was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015 while this column was on a prolonged break.
1. I stand with the majority of Nigerians in condemning Dalung's innocuous role in reigniting the power tussle in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) when things seemed to have simmered in the battle between Amaju Pinnick and Chris Giwa for the NFF leadership. Dalung's intrusion has only emboldened Giwa to become more rebellious, resulting in escalating disruptions to the game, the most recent of which was a purported court order suspending the Nigeria Professional Football League.
2. I stand with the majority of Nigerians in criticizing Dalung's behaviour towards coach Samson Siasia and the U23 Olympic football team in the run up to the Rio Games, practically turning his back on the team during their preparations in Atlanta, USA and publicly disavowing the coach, only to make an about face when the team started performing well in Brazil.
3. I totally, totally agree with those who say that Dalung should take the rap for the situation that forced our athletes to appear in track suits at the opening ceremony in Rio, only for their ceremonial uniforms to arrive three days to the end of Olympics! What a scandal that was! In fact, that for me was the biggest embarrassment suffered by Nigeria in Brazil. It was a national shame.
The foregoing three instances, among others, highlight why Dalung is unpopular with most stakeholders in sport and why he's fully deserving of the stick that he's been getting. In an ideal world, even the third episode alone would have been enough to get Dalung and/or other responsible officials the sack from their posts, but this is Nigeria where public officials are hardly held accountable for such "minor" irritations.
So, let's face the reality of our world, see how we can live with Dalung and get the best out of him. My proposition for giving the minister the carrot, rather than the additional sticks that we may think he deserves, is hinged on the following…
1. Dalung is NOT responsible for our overall failure at the 2016 Olympics. He was only appointed in November 2015, less than a year to the games, and he couldn't have performed any magic with our athletes within such a short time. Surely, he could have handled the games management, logistics and athletes welfare much better, but he certainly wasn't responsible for our failure to win medals.
2. Dalung apparently realized the deficiency in the Nigerian sports management structure when he set up a 13-member Sports Reform Committee led by veteran tennis player and coach Godwin Kienka in April 2016, just barely five months into his tenure. That committee was not an after-thought. It was set up before we went for the Olympics in Rio, so we have to accept that Dalung saw the need to reform our sport structure even before the failure in Brazil. The committee finally submitted its report and recommendations last week after requesting for a "reasonable extension" of its original July 14 deadline. Apart from Kienka who I know for his thoroughness and commitment, other members of the committee such as Segun Odegbami (football), Sam Ahmedu (basketball) and Mary Onyali (athletics) are credible people with deep knowledge and insight about what Nigerian sport needs to do to rise again. There must be something promising coming from this committee.
3. Dalung has publicly admitted that the scrapping of the National Sports Commission (NSC) during President Buhari's merger of Federal Ministries was a mistake and that the commission is needed to play a pivotal role in our sports development.
4. Dalung has decided to declare a State of Emergency in Nigerian sport in order to arrest our speedy and dangerous decline and he has promised to review and implement the recommendations of the Godwin Kienka Committee in the process.
With Dalung already a subject of public derision both in the mainstream and social media, the easiest thing for me in this article is to join the bandwagon in the public flogging of the minister. But I paused to ask myself: what would that achieve?
The outcome of my introspection is that, rather than give the minister additional stick, I'm advocating that we hand him the carrot for reasons that I will advance presently. I'm willing to wager that engaging with the minister (the carrot option) will be more productive and beneficial to Nigerian sport in the long run than name-calling, social media mobbing and ineffective street-protests demanding his removal from office (the stick option). Essentially, I am suggesting that we look at the bright side of Dalung.
But, first, let me state my position on some of the minister's policies and actions since he was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2015 while this column was on a prolonged break.
1. I stand with the majority of Nigerians in condemning Dalung's innocuous role in reigniting the power tussle in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) when things seemed to have simmered in the battle between Amaju Pinnick and Chris Giwa for the NFF leadership. Dalung's intrusion has only emboldened Giwa to become more rebellious, resulting in escalating disruptions to the game, the most recent of which was a purported court order suspending the Nigeria Professional Football League.
2. I stand with the majority of Nigerians in criticizing Dalung's behaviour towards coach Samson Siasia and the U23 Olympic football team in the run up to the Rio Games, practically turning his back on the team during their preparations in Atlanta, USA and publicly disavowing the coach, only to make an about face when the team started performing well in Brazil.
3. I totally, totally agree with those who say that Dalung should take the rap for the situation that forced our athletes to appear in track suits at the opening ceremony in Rio, only for their ceremonial uniforms to arrive three days to the end of Olympics! What a scandal that was! In fact, that for me was the biggest embarrassment suffered by Nigeria in Brazil. It was a national shame.
The foregoing three instances, among others, highlight why Dalung is unpopular with most stakeholders in sport and why he's fully deserving of the stick that he's been getting. In an ideal world, even the third episode alone would have been enough to get Dalung and/or other responsible officials the sack from their posts, but this is Nigeria where public officials are hardly held accountable for such "minor" irritations.
So, let's face the reality of our world, see how we can live with Dalung and get the best out of him. My proposition for giving the minister the carrot, rather than the additional sticks that we may think he deserves, is hinged on the following…
1. Dalung is NOT responsible for our overall failure at the 2016 Olympics. He was only appointed in November 2015, less than a year to the games, and he couldn't have performed any magic with our athletes within such a short time. Surely, he could have handled the games management, logistics and athletes welfare much better, but he certainly wasn't responsible for our failure to win medals.
2. Dalung apparently realized the deficiency in the Nigerian sports management structure when he set up a 13-member Sports Reform Committee led by veteran tennis player and coach Godwin Kienka in April 2016, just barely five months into his tenure. That committee was not an after-thought. It was set up before we went for the Olympics in Rio, so we have to accept that Dalung saw the need to reform our sport structure even before the failure in Brazil. The committee finally submitted its report and recommendations last week after requesting for a "reasonable extension" of its original July 14 deadline. Apart from Kienka who I know for his thoroughness and commitment, other members of the committee such as Segun Odegbami (football), Sam Ahmedu (basketball) and Mary Onyali (athletics) are credible people with deep knowledge and insight about what Nigerian sport needs to do to rise again. There must be something promising coming from this committee.
3. Dalung has publicly admitted that the scrapping of the National Sports Commission (NSC) during President Buhari's merger of Federal Ministries was a mistake and that the commission is needed to play a pivotal role in our sports development.
4. Dalung has decided to declare a State of Emergency in Nigerian sport in order to arrest our speedy and dangerous decline and he has promised to review and implement the recommendations of the Godwin Kienka Committee in the process.
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