Bash Ali Asks New Sports Minister, Dare To Take Charge Of Guinness Book Of World Record Fight Project

Sunday Dare, Nigeria’s Minister of Youth and Sports

Nigerian boxing Ambassador, World Boxing Federation cruiserweight champion, Bashiru Lawrence Ali (OON) has called on the new Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare to directly take charge of the organisation of the first Guinness Book of World Record Championship, which has been scheduled to hold in Nigeria.

Dare is among the Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria sworn in last Wednesday by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja and had since resumed office.

Ali, who is popularly called Bash Ali by his teeming fans, wrote the new minister in a letter dated 23 August to intimate him about the fight and to also inform him that the absence of a minister at the Sports Ministry has been affecting the work and organisation of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) inaugurated by his predecessor, Barrister Solomon Dalung on 21 May, 2019.

With the minister now assumed office, and as the Minister of Sports, Dare has by this position  becomes the Chairman of the LOC, Bash Ali now charged him to “move with deliberate speed to take charge of this historic event from where the former minster Solomon Dalung left off so we can within 30 days meet the immediate requirements of the International Boxing Union (IBU) and host the historic event in Nigeria within 90 days as instructed by the Federal Government.”

In the letter, Bash Ali reminded Sports Minister Dare that “sports is one of the biggest industries in the world and if well organized in Nigeria would earn big time money for the Government.”  He added that “until we put Nigeria first, our great country will continue to remain stagnant and in most cases, retrograde with deliberate speed.

“For three years and six months (November 2015-May 2019), this Ministry wasted my life by not doing the right thing and if not for the timely intervention of the All Progressives Congress leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and President Muhammadu Buhari, I would have died in vain or given up on my dream or given up on Nigeria. Sir, you have to be sharp and smart to avoid what happened to the immediate past Youth and Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung.

“This Ministry is a goldmine that should be making money for the Federal Government instead of begging for money from the government. This Ministry should have a reservoir of $300 million minimum but because of corruption, bad administration and official’s inability to think outside the box, this Ministry has been rendered useless and lost millions of dollars in the process. It is sad, very sad.”

Ali told the minister that successive governments from former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo down to Goodluck Jonathan had given their presidential blessings to the historic fight, the first on the soli of Africa “nothing positive has happened because of corruption and bad administration.

According to Bash Ali, despite the fact that the fight, being lucrative in terms of revenue that will come to the country and added values, officials ensure that it didn’t see the light of the day till now.

“This historic event will attract to Nigeria over 132 countries, it will be watched live across the world on Pay Per View Television (PPVTV) by an estimated audience of between 15-20 million people at the rate of US100 per viewer for a $1.5 Billion minimum PPVTV revenue excluding adverts, sponsorship, sales of souvenirs and others which could hit $2 Billion if not over. This historic event, which organisation would only cost $173 million would be the most lucrative in the history of PPVTV,” he said.

Bash Ali continuing: “Five sports academies with Olympic size swimming pool will be built across Nigeria at the rate of $20 million each and a $20 million sports equipment manufacturing factory. These establishments would help to create an avenue for the Nigerian athletes to exhibit their talents, get education and earn money in the process. These establishments would help to create employment for Nigerians and help to cut down on crimes. Nigeria would be seen as a tourism destination. Nigeria would earn worldwide an unprecedented level of positive publicity. Apart from all these benefits, you ministry will earn money as the driver of this historic event and the government would earn a sizeable income from Tax.”

He informed the minister that sponsors are jostling to put their money on the fight to join NEXIM Bank, Bank of Industry and National Lottery Trust Fund which are only waiting for ministerial directive on the takeoff of the project.

The 63-year-old boxer explicitly narrated the struggle to have the fight staged since the government of Muhammdu Buhari assumed office in 2015.

“Sir, despite two approvals vide memo SH/COS/22/A/627 of July 21, 2015, and NSC/GRSD/BABP/CON/72 of August 12, 2015 and again vide memo HMY&SD/001/2016/153 of July 15, 2016 and despite several letters written for and on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari by former Minister Dalung to the world boxing unions, nothing positive happened because of corruption, bad administration and their inability to think outside of the box until the APC Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo intervened before Minister Solomon Dalung,, after almost four years of wasting my life, on May 21, 2019 to be exact, inaugurated another 22-man LOC with himself as the Chairman, Chief Kenny Martins as the Co-Chairman, the Director of Sports, Ademola Are as the Secretary and the Office of the Chief of Staff to Mr. President as a member. Sir, it is over 92 days that the LOC was inaugurated and the Federal Government gave us 90 days to complete our assignment. The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Youth & Sports said that he has no power to continue with this laudable historic project until a Minister is appointed so we have been at a standstill pending your arrival to take us to the Next Level.

“Sir, I have waited for almost 13 years in order to fight in my country to bring honour, glory and clean money but corruption and bad administration have been my greatest opponents.”