Following widespread complaints of nonchalance, leadership shortcomings, and sporting kit inadequacies, former sports minister Solomon Dalung has remarked that the Sunday Dare-led sports ministry brought shame to Nigeria during the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Speaking on Arise TV Friday, Mr Dalung said some decisions made by Mr Dare, such as the dissolution of 31 sports federations and the formation of a caretaker committee, were ill-conceived and did not consolidate efforts of the previous administration in the sports ministry.

“I think the dissolution of boards is a lack of patriotic political will to consolidate on the gains on the ground.

When I was the minister, I continued from where my predecessor ended.

When we get to the field, we built on previous successes, and Nigeria did very well,” Mr Dalung said.

Mr Dalung said dissolving sports federations three months before the Olympics indicates a lack of preparation for the games; as a result, some of the athletes’ relationships with their coaches – who have been training and catering to them for more than two years – were strained.

“No general dissolves his troops on the eve of an attack and expects to win a war.

The dissolved boards have trained and catered for the athletes for more than two years.

Crises are part of human existence.

The management is what determines the quality of leadership.

I inherited many crises, but I resolved them. 

Leadership is about taking responsibility.

When things go wrong, somebody has to be responsible.

The entire drama of shame is avoidable.

This is a shame that the country has found itself,” Mr Dalung said. 

Peoples Gazette had extensively covered many issues such as insufficient sporting equipment and a lack of competent leadership, which have resulted in terrible conditions for Team Nigeria at the Olympics, with several athletes going to social media to vent their frustrations. 

Youth and Sports Minister, Mr Dare, has repeatedly refused to give comments on the developments.