Nigeria’s Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, who addressed officials of the Permanent Mission, Nigeria House in New York, said President Buhari’s victory in 2015 Presidential election, showed that one can win election in Nigeria without having money or the backing of powerful godfathers.
The Sports Minister who recounted how he contested several times in elections, but was deprived of his win by the ‘urban gorillas’, said;
“There is hope for Nigeria. The victory of President Buhari, up till now, not many Nigerians have understood it; it was a political revolution.
“What it has brought is that you can contest and win election even when you do not have money.
“God-fatherism’ was instituted to control elected officials so that they would not go beyond control.
“Dalung said ‘god-fatherism’ is a political servitude where you are tested to determine your loyalty. The thing is that without a god father, they believe you can’t be controlled.’’
“The ‘Not too Young to Run’ is an advocacy that is sending strong signals to political lords that they had overstayed their welcome; either they give way or they will be forced out,” NAN quoted him as saying.
The minister accused those he called “urban gorillas” of being in charge of the country’s political machinery for manipulating the system.
“At 53 years, they still call me a small boy,” he decried, saying he had contested elections several times and won but was deprived by the ‘urban gorillas’.
Solomon Dalung who said he brought the All Progressives Congress (APC) to Plateau but suffered as an orphan because he did not have a godfather, also called on youths to understand the political system they were coming into, and come up with a better strategy.
“We can refine and build a Nigeria of our dream”, Dalung continued.
“We have the best form of selfless ministers in this era. As ministers, most of us do not have houses but we live in rented apartments in Abuja.
“Some of us lived in Boys Quarters before we got apartments because people were asking for N1.5 million as rent.
“I would have even preferred to stay in Gwagwa but we were told we could not for obvious reasons,” he said.
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