Opinion

Sports Minister’s Blunders: Time for a Change

Published

2 years ago

August 20, 2024

By Sylvanus Ofekun

The 2024 Paris Olympics have come and gone, leaving a trail of disappointment and disillusionment in their wake. Nigeria’s performance was nothing short of disastrous, with the country failing to win a single medal despite participating in 12 sports with 88 athletes. The approved budget of 9 billion Naira, courtesy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, seems to have been squandered under the watch of Senator John Owan Enoh, Nigeria’s Minister of Sports Development.

Enoh’s response to the debacle has been a masterclass in deflection and blame-shifting. Instead of taking responsibility for his ministry’s failures, he has chosen to blame everyone else – the Sports Federations, the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC), and even the “toxic environment” in Nigerian sports. His recent quote, “The stage after the Olympics has been very toxic… Nigeria has failed in the Olympics before with nothing happening, but I have been subjected to all forms of harassment,” showcases his lack of accountability and penchant for playing the victim.

Enoh’s defense has been weak, blaming both the living and the dead, except himself, for Team Nigeria’s poor outing. He has referenced past performances, citing the fact that Nigeria did not win a medal in London 2012, but won a bronze in football in 2016, and silver and bronze in wrestling and long jump in Tokyo 2020, all these were done by luck.

However, this is not a time for excuses or justifications. The fact remains that Enoh promised a better performance than the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and he failed to deliver.

His numerous television appearances have only served to highlight his lack of concrete plans and solutions, replaced by outbursts of venom towards his subordinates. It is clear that Enoh is out of his depth, and his incompetence and greed-driven blunders have exposed him as a novice in sports administration.

The time has come for President Tinubu to take decisive action. Enoh must be replaced with a competent and experienced individual who can restore Nigeria’s sports glory. Furthermore, the sports ministry has proven to be a failed experiment. It is time to scrap it and replace it with the National Sports Commission, which will operate under the presidency. This commission will be run by experts with a clear legislative framework, ensuring accountability and efficiency.

Nigeria deserves better. Its athletes deserve better. They deserve a sports administration that is competent, accountable, and transparent. They deserve a system that will nurture and support them, rather than hinder their progress. It is time for a change.

The sports-loving public is watching, and they will not forget the failures of the current administration. President Tinubu must act now to restore Nigeria’s sports glory, and ensure that the country’s athletes are given the support and resources they need to succeed. Anything less is unacceptable.

sleekysly5@gmail.com

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Opinion

RE: BLAIR “HAS QUESTIONS TO ANSWER” OVER SUPPORT FOR BRITAIN WHILE ADVISING NIGERIA

Published

2 days ago

October 20, 2026

The Gleamer

(A rejoinder to Gordon Rayner’s article of October 18,2026 in the Telegraph, UK
By Kehinde Bamigbetan
After reading this article, particularly the denials from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and the Federal Government of Nigeria, one is bound to question the editorial judgment that gives this piece any value.

In short, what did Gordon Rainer set out to do with this publication? Put a shine on Jupiter’s false and thoroughly empty narrative? Set up a former Prime Minister for blackmail and opprobrium? Or revive a dead case before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes?

Whichever, Rainer presents propositions which swallow their answers. His first argument that Blair might have undermined British national security interests is contradicted by the disclosure that the TBI has no contract to advise the Federal Government of Nigeria.

His second argument, that Jupiter was denied the execution of its licence, is contradicted by the fact that the company is unknown under Nigerian law. Rainer then admits knowing this fact and introduces the company as Jupiter’s partners.

For clarity and the benefit of his readers, these companies—Basin Mining Limited and Range Mining Limited—lost their licences for failing to pay annual service fees. Basin, for instance, owes N1,223,750,000, about £691,368.

The licences were revoked after the companies ignored several notices to fulfil their contractual obligations to the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office. Penalties for non-payment are increasing daily, and the legal process to recover the funds is underway.

Rather than rescue its partners by paying their fees and penalties or allow the international settlement court to determine its case, Jupiter has mounted an international self-help campaign of calumny and economic sabotage against the government and people of Nigeria, using methods that threaten Nigeria’s security and diplomatic interests.

We believe Rainer is its latest innocent recruit, hoodwinked into propagating a false narrative by appealing to British national security interests when, in fact, Jupiter’s partners are, under Nigerian law, economic and security risks whose continued defiance of Nigeria’s laws endangers centuries of Britain-Nigeria relations.

The question Rainer should ask: if, indeed, Jupiter has a cast-iron case, why is it shedding crocodile tears and shopping for sympathy with false pretences and narratives?

Let’s give the clue: Jupiter’s promoter, Steve Davis, has leeched on Nigeria’s presidents since 1999 by pretending to be an international mining expert, and he has acquired an ego and assets far out of proportion to his financial and technical status.
He is so comfortable living above the law in Nigeria that compliance with regulatory provisions is a taboo, an affront to his bloated ego as a self-deluded “founder of Nigeria’s modern mining sector.”

Davis had a good time living his ego until Dele Alake became Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development in August 2023 and immediately launched a clean-up of the sector focused on zero-tolerance for non-compliance with the provisions of the Nigeria Minerals and Mining Law 2007, a law that Davis boasts he contributed to making and should set an example by encouraging compliance.

The Minister was shocked that the Nigerian Mining Cadastre had a huge amount of unpaid statutory fees despite the government’s investment in the Electronic Mining Cadastre Plus (EMC+) automation, which digitised the licensing process and upgraded services to the mining sector.

In line with the law, the minister ensured debtors were duly notified, and defaulters duly gazetted before revoking their licences for flouting the regulation on the payment of annual service fees.

In November 2023, the minister revoked at least 1,663 licences, a decision that showed it was no longer business as usual under the new sheriff in town.

To show the government has a human face, it opened a three-month restitution window to address complaints and feedback indicating cases of extenuating circumstances.

But still basking in the euphoria of an ego that has outlived its era, Davis discouraged his partners from taking advantage of these opportunities for remorse. Instead, he threatened to exploit his global networks to frustrate the Federal Government of Nigeria.

He wasn’t joking. He launched a global disinformation campaign from his native Australia to Canada, from the United States to Europe. However, his lies evaporated as soon as the facts were laid bare.

Davis pulled his most ambitious stunt so far during Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s official visit to the United Kingdom in March this year, when he polluted the air with narratives designed to set Nigeria against the West by spreading blatant falsehoods and playing the victim.

But, as he found out to his misery, the whole public relations game was dead on arrival. A comprehensive statement clarifying the issues to the highly intelligent British media sent him into the cold.

All we ask is that journalists refer to the eternal maxim of the journalism profession whenever Davis knocks on their door: if in doubt, leave it out.

When a story like this betrays so many contradictions, the rule is not to encourage its spread. Every responsible journalist has the moral duty to kill it.

Kehinde Bamigbetan is a Journalist and Special Adviser to Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Federal Republic of Nigeria

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