President Buhari golf tournament may be the best in Nigeria - Lalong
The Daily Trust President Muhammadu Buhari Golf cup tournament may be one of the best golf tournaments in the country, Governor of Plateau State, Simon Bako Lalong said yesterday. The qualifying rounds for the golf cup which kick started at the Lamingo Golf course in Jos, after a Tee-Off by Governor Simon Bako Lalong had about 250 players from Plateau, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa and Niger States.
The governor said, “as a soldier they told me the President only played squash and hockey but golf is a game of gentlemen and integrity so doing it in honour of the President for the first time in this administration, I think we are looking forward to one of the best golf tournaments in the country.”
He said he was happy that the qualifying rounds of the Pro-Am competition had kick started with the North Central in Plateau State which he referred to as the home of golf in Nigeria.
“Plateau has some of the best golfers in the country presently. We are among the best golfers in Nigeria now. We just saw a young man from Jos emerge as the first in the last tournament we had here, so we are number one.
“If you pick first 10 golfer in Nigeria you will find that about three or four of them are from Jos, that is why I am encouraging the game in the state and in years to come when they talk about golf, people will say we want to come to Plateau before going to other states,” he said.
The governor denounced the popular insinuation that the game of golf is elitist in nature stressing that, “golf is not for the elite people just run away from it and imagine that everything about the game is very expensive, I don’t think so.
“We see young people who are not elitist paying the game. I think people run away from it because it is addictive, it makes you always return to play and keeps you fit and also intelligent. It is also a game of integrity,” he said.
He said he was not disappointed that the number one golf champion, Ochei Odoh had lost the recently concluded Plateau Governor’s cup to Plateau’s Ayuba Izang adding that, “I knew he would be beaten and I was looking forward to his coming. When I heard that he was in Ghana or somewhere, I was praying that he would come and eventually he came and was beaten by somebody from Jos. I told you that we went into betting with my friend the Governor of Niger State and he said nobody will beat anybody.
“Last year, the Governor of Niger told me that his boys were coming to beat our boys and indeed they came and dealt with us, this year I said if they win I would give them a car and if we win he would give us a car. I have now asked the governor of Niger to bring the car,” he said.