Bash Ali Writes Buhari, Says Corruption Killing Dream Of Staging World Boxing Title Fight In Nigeria  

Nigerian-born boxing legend, Bashiru Lawrence Ali (OON) a.k.a Bash Ali has again written an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari alerting him of the high level of corruption among top government officials to subvert the plans of Nigeria hosting the first-ever Guinness Book of World Record Boxing Championship.

Bash Ali is billed to fight an American boxer on a yet to be announced date and if he wins, he will be written his name in the Guinness Book of World Record as the oldest man to win a boxing title.

PM EXPRESS can report that effort to see that the fight is organized in Nigeria has been meeting a stonewalled as the government officials saddled with the responsibility of making this happened have not been doing the needful due to corruption and bad administration.

“I have suffered for 13 years in the process of trying to bring honour, glory and financial growth (clean money) to Nigeria and despite juicy offers to fight outside of Nigeria, I have said NO to all the offers. I want to realize in Nigeria my dream of becoming the oldest boxer to win and successfully defend his world boxing title and earn a place in the Guinness World Record so I respectfully ask for Your Excellency’s kind intervention. I want to fight in my country, Nigeria,” Bash Ali said an open letter to President Buhari dated 14 March, 2019.

The Edo State-born pugilist recalled that “on November 9, 2006, President Olusegun Obasanjo and again on January 7, 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan, through the National Sports Commission (NSC) inaugurated a 15 Man Bash Ali Boxing Project Local Organizing Committee to host in Nigeria this historic event. The Chief of Staff to Mr President is a member of the LOC. The historic event was supposed to hold in April, 2014. Two banks were mandated to fund this historic event. (I have the videos and speeches of both inaugurations). After several meetings with the banks, the Fight money was deposited at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and up till today, not a Kobo has been released to host this historic event because I say NO to corruption and bad administration.

“On June 25, 2015, I wrote a detailed letter to Your Excellency to explain what has happened to the LOC since inauguration and asked for your intervention. In a memo SH/COS/22/A/627 of 21thJuly, 2015, you once again approved the historic event and asked the then Director General, NSC, Al-Hassan Salah Yakmut for advice on how to successful host it in Nigeria. The advise was sent to you vide memo NSC/GRSD/BABP/CON/72 dated 12^th August, 2015 and delivered on the same date.

“Minister Solomon Dalung assumed office in October 2015 and everything went upside down. The Bash Ali Boxing Project file disappeared. I had to pay to get back some important documents. I complained to Minister Dalung about it and nothing happened. He wrote on behalf of Your Excellency several letters to the World Boxing Federations which included and not limited to a reply to a letter written to Your Excellency by the IBU President dated 17^thJune, 2016 asking for a safe guarantee in Nigeria for the 132 member countries and the payment of the Fight Approval Money. The dateline given to Nigeria to respond was July 15, 2016 and on the deadline date, Minister Dalung replied on Your Excellency’s behalf vide memo HMY&SD/001/2016/153 dated July 15, 2016, to guaranteed their safety in Nigeria and promised to follow up to ensure timely payment of the money domiciled at the CBN. Minister Dalung never kept the promise he made on your behalf because of corruption and bad administration.

“On January 17, 2016, despite protest by me and members of the LOC to be present at the meeting with the mandated banks, Minister Dalung met with them alone and he has refused to call for a general meeting with the LOC members because of corruption and bad administration.

My President Sir, after refusing to bow to corruption and bad administration, and after putting pressure on Minister Dalung to do the right thing by calling for a meeting with the LOC members, the same Minister Dalung who on your behalf wrote several beautiful letters to the World Boxing Federations, the same Minister Dalung who on your behalf addressed a World Press Conference to talk about the importance of the historic event to Nigeria and praised me to high heaven as the Nelson Mandela of Nigeria for refusing to give up on my dream (I have the newspaper article), the same Minister Dalung who on your behalf met and discussed with the mandated banks, on February 21th, 2018, suddenly made a 360 degrees turn to say he is not in charge of Professional Boxing and he is no longer interested in the LOC, hereby making null and void all the meetings, press conferences and letters he wrote on behalf of Your Excellency.

“My President Sir, it is a shame that Minister Solomon Dalung has committed an international and national fraud on behalf of Your Excellency.

“My President Sir, since the 2006 and 2014 inauguration of the Bash Ali Boxing Project LOC by the FG, I have been beaten up several times at the Ministry that I once spent eight days on admission (September 1-September 9, 2014) at the National Hospital, Abuja. I have been arrested and detained 8 times at various Police Stations in Abuja. I once spent 44 days (February 8-April 2, 2015) at Kuje Prison, Abuja, all because I say NO to corruption and bad administration. It is instructive to inform Your Excellency that during all these travails, I never threw a punch in self-defense because my profession does not permit me the luxury of fighting outside of the boxing ring.

Moving forward, Bash Ali seeks for the intervention of Buhari to immediate call for a meeting with all the LOC members. Re-inauguration of the LOC to be better equipped for the task ahead and to immediately invite back to Nigeria the President of the WBF, the President of the IBU and the PPVTV operators for a win-win business discussion.

While listing the benefits the country will gain if the fight is staged in Nigeria, the ageless boxer said: “A Guinness World Record Boxing Championship Fight has never held on the soil of Africa so this would be the first, the most watched and the most lucrative boxing event in the history of Pay Per View Television (PPVTV). This historic event would be watched LIVE on PPVTV by an estimated audience of between 15 -20 million people at the rate of US100 per viewer for a US1.5B minimum PPVTV Revenue in one night. Over 132 countries would be in Nigeria at least two weeks to the date of this historic event to watch it live.

Part of the agreement with the International Boxing Union (IBU) and the World Boxing Federation (WBF) is that five sports academies with Olympic size swimming pool at the rate of US20m each would be built across Nigeria and a US20m sports equipment manufacturing factory. These establishments would give Nigerian athletes an avenue to exhibit their talents, be educated and as Professionals earn big time money in the process. It would also create employment for thousands of Nigerians.

“This historic event would bring unprecedented level of positive publicity to Nigeria and above all, the Federal Government (FG) would earn a big chunk in taxes from the PPVTV Revenue.”