They Don't Tell President Buhari About Hunger, Killings, Poverty - Dalung

By Editor

Former Sports Minister Solomon Selcap Dalung has confirmed that he is not attacking the President Muhammadu Buhari in a video in which he lamented the security situation, hunger, unemployment and increasing poverty that was sweeping through the country, especially Northern Nigeria.

The 30-minute video in Hausa was posted on his Facebook page.

Dalung said that those who wanted to exonerate themselves from the challenges the country is facing manipulated the translation to create the impression that he was attacking the President. “They don’t know me,” he said. “I have a covenant with the President to tell him the truth always. I was an insider in the struggles to make him President in 2015 and 2019. Now that I am out of government, more people have access to me. They complain especially about the insecurity in the country.”

In the video, Dalung lamented the persistent killings in Nigeria and advised the President to reverse the trend, particularly the North West that is currently under siege by the mindless bandit groups.

“The trust and confidence reposed by Nigerians on the ruling party and the President which came on the mantra of change are gradually fading away, which is impacting negatively on Mr. President’s leadership within his political base, the common people. The managers of intelligence are not giving Mr. President a clear picture of the degenerating security in situation in Northern Nigeria,” Dalung said in the video.

“I call on Mr. President to disregard the counsel of hypocrites around him referring to those speaking out as his enemies. Mr. President must not forget the sacrifices and love invested by common people in his mandate, but the people are currently facing security challenges with loss of loved ones amidst poverty, hunger, unemployment. This is what they hardly tell Mr. President. They will continue to tell him all is well while our country is plugged into serious crisis under your watch,” said in the video that went viral.

He described the current States Governors as the worst in the nation’s history, accusing them of abandoning their primary responsibilities at their respective States and subsequently turning the Presidential Villa to their home while their people continue to be killed helplessly. He reminded President Buhari that more Nigerians residing in the North were being killed under his watch despite huge security budgets.

“As a political party, we have failed Nigerians who are expecting new dawn under the leadership of the change. It seems our party has plunged our country into serious calamity of hunger, unemployment and increasing poverty because the State Governors have failed to use billions of Naira accruing to them from the national treasury, including bailout from Mr President for the benefit of their people,” said.

“When I was a local government chairman, I handled a security situation involving ever 1,000 people. I dealt with it successfully. What are local government chairmen doing?”

Dalung said that those living in the North would appreciate the situation better. “In Benue and Taraba Christians are still killing themselves. Southern Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, all in the North West have become zones for attacks by bandits. In some of these places, the security is provided by Niger Republic. Farmers pay ransom to get to their farms. I agree there were security challenges before the President came into office in 2015, but they were mainly in the North East. The North West has not been in the type of situation we are witnessing now.

“Imagine the Chief of Army Staff was briefing the President after being in the North East for three weeks, then the worst attack in the region follows. Something drastic needs to be done”

He said most of the people around the President were more interested in the politics of 2023 than helping the President realised the promises he made to Nigerians. He also blamed the other two tiers of government for hardship Nigerians were facing. “Governors and local government chairmen have also abandoned their responsibilities to their people. If they were involved in dealing with these issues they would not have escalated.

“In 2023, will the President not be interested in a successor who would continue with his legacies? What would the legacies be if there is no security of lives and property?,” Dalung asked. “I am concerned that the information he is getting is not a reflection of the situation in the country.”

A group, the Middle Belt Conscience Guard, MBCG, in a statement its President, Prince Raymond Enero signed, accused the former Sports Minister of trying to use “the security situation in the northern part of the country as prop for cheap propaganda”. MBCG said it was surprised that he had suddenly become a security expert, cheerleading the call for the sack of Service Chiefs.

Dalung served as Minister of Sports in the President’s first tenure from November 2015 to May 2019. He served at the Nigerian Prisons, lectured in Law at the University of Jos and was Chairman of Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State. He was recently conferred the title of Dike Egwuregwu at the Thanos Sports Colloquium which held in Nnewi in 2019 for his amazing and historic achievements as the Minister and his contributions to the nation building using Sports