Today, Sunday 18^th March 2018, the Honourable Minister of Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalung has again taken to his Sunday Corner column to bare his mind on his raging feud with Governor Simon Lalong.

His article is coming at the backdrop of their first face-to-face encounter, at the funeral service of General John Nanzip Shagaya in Lantang on Friday 16^th March 2018. That was the first time the duo had met since, their fall out after the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to Plateau on the 8^th and 9^th March 2018.

In his usual philosophical manner, Dalung took the subject of his piece from the book of 1 Kings chapter 22. Where the king of Israel, Ahab wanted to attack Ramoth-Gilead and take it away from the Arammites. And to do so, he called on the wise counsel of Jehoshaphat (king of Judah) and 400 prophets from Israel (led by Prophet Zedekiah) to seek their opinion on whether to attack the king of Aram for Ramoth-Gilead or not.

All 400 prophets answered in the affirmative, saying what the king wanted to hear. They said, “the Lord will hand over Ramoth-Gilead to the king”.

However one prophet (Maiacah) responded in the negative –cautioning against an attack on the Arammites –thus giving the counsel of the Lord as opposed to giving the narrative that the king was after.

Having narrated the biblical story so diligently, the Honourable Minister then said “the visit of Mr President to Plateau State can be likened to the above Biblical narrative. The above was a battle between dozens of false prophets led by Zedekiah against the lone voice of truth of prophet Micaiah.

While the orchestra of praise singers assured the king of victory at war in Ramoth-Gilead, Micaiah spoke the truth. He was not only beaten, but put in jail with half ration meal and drinks. Even on his way to prison, Micaiah reaffirmed the truth that the king of Israel will not return if he goes to war. And It came to pass that the king was the only casualty of the war –fulfilling Maiacah’s prophesy.

Drawing parallels between the biblical characters and the persons/actors in his feud with Governor Simon Lalong, Barrister Solomon Dalung likened Governor Lalong to king Ahab (the king who was not seeking the truth, but only a pleasant narrative), Hon Letep Dabang and Yakubu Datti to prophet Zedekiah (leader of the 400 false prophets who only sought to sing praise to the king Ahab) and himself to Maiacah (the only prophet who decided to speak the truth and not align with what the 400 false prophets said).

He said, “the truth according to traditional philosophies does not required dressing. Therefore, for saying the truth about the state of affairs in plateau, it has attracted adverse attacks from the Zedekiahs in the palace of Governor Lalong, challenging the propriety of truth.

Zedekiah (Latep Dabang and Yakubu Datti) with the army of false political prophets are engaging any voice of dissent to their propaganda with vituperating venom and calling sane people “mad men and idiots”. Even though they claimed that peace has returned to Plateau state, meanwhile, many innocent citizens are been killed daily. The truth is bitter, it is said”.

“There is nobody that rejects the truth without harvesting the consequences, therefore, Governor Lalong should re-examine his band of false prophets that saturated his office, because all is not well with Plateau. My prayers is that God should grant the Governor power to free himself from the fangs of political vipers whose primary objectives is their long pockets. For me, I will continue to speak the truth like prophet Maicaih even from the prison with half ration meal, until the truth is fulfill. I don’t have anything personal with the Governor, but I can risked everything to sustain the advocacy of getting it right”.

Full text of his Sunday Corner article can be found at:

https://www.facebook.com/Igbarman/posts/1822475021136941

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SUNDAY CORNER by Solomon Dalung

“For three years there was no war between Aram and the Israelites. In the third year, Judah’s King Jehoshaphat visited Israel’s king. Israel’s king said to his servants, “You know, don’t you, that Ramoth-gilead is ours? But we aren’t doing anything to take it back from the king of Aram.” He said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me into battle at Ramoth-gilead?”

Jehoshaphat said to Israel’s king, “I am with you, and my troops and my horses are united with yours. But,” Jehoshaphat said to Israel’s king, “first let’s see what the LORD has to say.” So Israel’s king gathered about four hundred prophets, and he asked them, “Should I go to war with Ramoth-gilead or not?” “Attack!” the prophets answered. “The LORD will hand it over to the king.”

But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there any other prophet of the Lord whom we could ask?” “There is one other man who could ask the LORD for us,” Israel’s king told Jehoshaphat, “but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, only bad. His name is Micaiah, Imlah’s son.” “The king shouldn’t speak like that!” Jehoshaphat said. So Israel’s king called an officer and ordered, “Bring Micaiah, Imlah’s son, right away.”

Now Israel’s king and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat were sitting on their thrones, dressed in their royal robes at the threshing floor beside the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying in front of them. Zedekiah, Chenaanah’s son, made iron horns for himself and said, “This is what the LORD says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans until there’s nothing left of them!” All the other prophets agreed: “Attack Ramoth-gilead and win! The LORD will hand it over to the king!”

Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Listen, the prophets all agree that the king will succeed. You should say the same thing they say and prophesy success.” But Micaiah answered, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will say only what the LORD tells me to say.” When Micaiah arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war with Ramoth-gilead or not?” “Attack and win!” Micaiah answered. “The LORD will hand it over to the king!”

But the king said, “How many times must I demand that you tell me the truth when you speak in the name of the LORD?” Then Micaiah replied, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd! And then the LORD said: They have no master. Let them return safely to their own homes.” Then Israel’s king said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you? He never prophesies anything good about me, only bad.”

Then Micaiah said, “Listen now to the LORD’s word: I saw the LORD enthroned with all the heavenly forces stationed beside him, at his right and at his left.until one particular spirit approached the LORD and said, ‘I’ll persuade him.’ ‘How?’ the LORD asked. ‘I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets,’ he said. The LORD agreed, ‘You will succeed in persuading him! Go ahead!’ So now, since the LORD has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of every one of these prophets of yours, it is the LORD who has pronounced disaster against you!” Zedekiah, Chenaanah’s son, approached Micaiah and slapped him on the cheek. “Just how did the LORD’s spirit leave me to speak to you?” he asked.

Micaiah answered, “You will find out on the day you try to hide in an inner room.” “Arrest him,” ordered Israel’s king, “and turn him over to Amon the city official and to Joash the king’s son. Tell them, ‘The king says: Put this man in prison and feed him minimum rations of bread and water until I return safely.’” “If you ever return safely,” Micaiah replied, “then the LORD wasn’t speaking through me.” Then he added, “Pay attention, every last one of you!”

So Israel’s king and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat attacked Ramoth-gilead. Israel’s king said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself when we go into battle, but you should wear your royal attire.” When Israel’s king had disguised himself, they entered the battle. Meanwhile, Aram’s king had commanded his thirty-two chariot officers, “Don’t bother with anyone big or small. Fight only with Israel’s king.” As soon as the chariot officers saw Jehoshaphat, they assumed that he must be Israel’s king, so they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out for help.

But someone randomly shot an arrow that struck Israel’s king between the joints in his armor. “Turn around and get me out of the battle,” the king told his chariot driver. “I’ve been hit!” While the battle raged all that day, the king stood propped up in the chariot facing the Arameans. But that evening he died after his blood had poured from his wound into the chariot. When the sun set, a shout spread throughout the camp: “Retreat to your towns! Retreat to your land!” Once the king had died, people came from Samaria and buried the king there. They cleaned the chariot at the pool of Samaria. The dogs licked up the king’s blood and the prostitutes bathed in it, just as the LORD had spoken.”
‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭22:1-19, 21-32, 34-38‬ ‭CEB‬‬

The visit of Mr President to Plateau State can be analyzed with the above Biblical narrations. The above was a battle between dozen of false prophets led by Zedekiah Chanaanah and a lone voice of truth prophet Micaiah, the son of Imlah. While the orchestra of praise singers assured the king of victory at war in Ramoth Gilead, Micaiah spoke the truth. He was not only beaten but put in jail with half ration meal and drinks but on his way to prison, Micaiah reaffirm the truth that the king of Isreal will not return if he goes to war. It came to passed that the king was the only casualty of the war and the prophesy was fulfilled.

The truth according to traditional philosophy does not required dressing. Therefore, for saying the truth about the state of affairs in plateau it has attracted adverse attacks from the Zedekiahs in the palace of Governor Lalong challenging the propriety of truth. Zedekiah Latep Dabang and Yakubu Datti with the army of false political prophets are engaging any voice of dissent to their propaganda with vituperating venom and calling sane people “mad men and idiots”. Even though they claimed that peace has returned to Plateau state, meanwhile, many innocent citizens are been killed daily. The truth is bitter, it is said.

There is nobody that rejects the truth without harvesting the consequences, therefore, Governor Lalong should re-examine his band of false prophets that saturated his office, because all is not well with Plateau. My prayers is that God should grant the Governor power to free himself from the fangs of political vipers whose primary objectives is their long pockets. For me, I will continue to speak the truth like prophet Maicaih even from the prison with half ration meal, until the truth is fulfill. I don’t have anything personal with the Governor, but I can risked everything to sustain the advocacy of getting it right.

To all those who either misunderstood me or believed I should have kept quite because I am in the comfort zone or those who hate my face, I credit every thing to the account of forgiveness. However, the truth remains sacrosanct and I have no apology for speaking what I believed in. May God condole those who lost their beloved ones in the ravaging crises that bedeviled the state. Father, expose the evil forces that has robbed us of our peace in plateau state and Nigeria, amen. I love you all.
Happy Sunday

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Dalung invokes biblical philosophy, likens Gov Lalong to deluded King and Letep Dabang and Datti to False prophets