Sports-loving Nigerians have knocked Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalun over the treatment meted out to World Boxing Federation /WBF Cruiserweight champion, Bashiru Lawrence a.k.a. Bash Ali, who is on the quest of becoming the oldest professional boxer in history to fight in the ring.
Ali is 61 and his quest to become the oldest boxer to fight in the ring has suffered series of setbacks which dates back to the tenure of erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Only last week, Ali had alleged that he was maltreated by aides of Dalung when he paid a visit to the Ministry of Sports but his allegations have been denied by Dalung.
Ali had alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered Dalung to look into how Ali’s ambition could come to reality but Ali feels he is being victimized by Dalung and his aides.
It is also pertinent to note that any professional boxing fight involving any boxer is not the prerogative of the government of any country but that of the promoter of the said fight.
However, some professional boxing enthusiasts have carpeted the minister over the manner Ali was treated. Some of the respondents, who spoke with Integrityreporters took Dalung to the cleaners, describing him as an enemy of progress.
One of the respondents, Mmegwa Sunda said it would have been better if the minister had told Ali the truth rather than disgracing him in public, considering the fact that Ali holds a national honour.
To Sunday, the minister’s outburst was uncalled for and believes there are better ways of telling the aging pugilist that his dream cannot be actualized under the present dispensation.
A member of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control, NBB of C, who craved anonymity, had harsh words for Dalun for washing his dirty linen in public. He wondered why the minister should accept the order from Buhari instead of telling the President that Ali’s quest is unrealizable.
In the words of the board member: “We all know that Ali is old, he has been on this quest for long, his opponent, we don’t know, the only grouse I have is that Dalung shouldn’t have treated him the way he did. Dalung threw decorum to the air by telling his security details to throw Ali out.”
A fan of United States of America-based Ali fan opined that there is nothing wrong in the Federal Government throwing its weight behind Ali’s quest because he sees it as an avenue for a Nigerian to rewrite professional boxing history.
“It is only in Nigeria that such things could happen, Ali is a Nigerian, if he becomes a world champion at his age, Nigeria’s name will go down in history. I keep wondering why the government is not willing to help Ali actualize his dream. Anyway, posterity will judge,” he added.
Corroborating the stand of the aforementioned is another boxing enthusiast, Femi Shonibare, who is of the view that provided that Ali is a Nigerian it is not too much for the minister to use his office to assist Ali’s quest. Shonibare argued that since Ali’s primary objective was to put Nigeria’s name in boxing history, it would have been adequate if Dalung can make his wish come to reality.
