✕ CLOSE Online Special City News Entrepreneurship Environment Factcheck Everything Woman Home Front Islamic Forum Life Xtra Property Travel & Leisure Viewpoint Vox Pop Women In Business Art and Ideas Bookshelf Labour Law Letters
Click Here To Listen To Trust Radio Live

Icons who shaped golf in 2018 (1)

The year 2018 is fading out and it is time to give the report card on golf. Truly, no one can confidently say golf has…

The year 2018 is fading out and it is time to give the report card on golf. Truly, no one can confidently say golf has had a swell time in the foreclosing year. But interestingly more people played the game during the year.

Like a debuntate evading her chaperone, the professional golf, for instance, was almost swaying into the rough since they hardly had tourneys to play in. All the same, there are some great icons out there who will always sacrifice anything for the love of the game and they did wonderfully well in 2018 . These are the great men we are honouring.

Sir Lucky Omoluwa

He is personable and precise. He is thorough and pushy and indeed a good candidate of golf. This he clearly exhibited when a doomsday picture was painted around the Kaduna Golf Club built in 1921. At one point in 2016, the Kaduna Golf Club was almost looking like someone’s nightmare. The course was paling and the Clubhouse had a strong dose of shabby elegance. This could either happen through gross negligence or by outright intent. All the same the club was in such a bad shape.

Then Sir Omoluwa stepped into the murky picture and by the time the business mogul who sits atop Pinnacle Communications cleaned out the place, you would think you were looking at a bigger picture of the Clubhouse at the IBB Golf Club. Okay, the massive hall of the Club was named after him in appreciation. But Omoluwa did not stop at that. He moved ahead to sponsor the Kadinvest international Pro-Am which quietly proved to golfers across the country that the Kaduna Golf Club was back to its glorious years.

Rt. Hon. Simon Lalong

You wouldn’t believe it but the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Rt. Hon Simon Lalong is so nice the Vatican should canonize him.

Always, Lalong’s mind is as sharp as possible, free of chatter and distractions, finely tuned and focused on one goal… how to use golf to grow peace on the Plateau.

Lalong is personable and precise. He is thorough and pushy and surely loves golf with great passion. You could watch him hit a few good shots and you could see how he would feel like a billion dollars.

In the past year and some few months back, Lalong had not only sponsored the Daily Trust Golf Icons tourney but he equally moved ahead to sponsor the Governor’s Cup around last Christmas. As you read this, preparations are on for this year’s Governors Cup at the Lamingo Golf Club in Jos.

Lalong helps golf all over the nation by supporting tourneys in most clubs. Though he plays his golf at the Lamingo course, Lalong has indeed touched the Rayfield and Rhino Golf Clubs in terms of adequate maintenance and growth.

Emir of Dutse

Where others agonize about issues, self doubt never crosses his mind. That is His Highness, Alhaji [Dr] Sanusi Muhammed, the Emir of Dutse for you.

For years, kids whose parents could not afford to be members of Golf Clubs usually have the gates shut in their faces even though they crave to play the game.

To the Emir, a man who is so humane, it hurts, this is so disheartening, especially when he knows, first hand, that most of these kids are adequately talented in the game.

Not able to stomach this anomaly, the Emir who is equally the Chairman of Golf Course Owners in Nigeria [GCON[ moved round to persuade golf course owners to always keep the gates open so kids who can’t have access to private clubs can play the game.

Earlier in the year, the Dutse Emirate woke up to receive close to 600 golfers who visited from across Nigeria to partake in the Jigawa Governor Cup which the Emir influenced. At once, those who came could never believe that the Emir not only owns the Royal Dutse Golf Club, but he equally ensures the vast course is kept lush the year round.

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai

Some say the man is arrogant and belligerent and short tempered. Others say the man craves ruthless honesty and will never omit truths that must be told. But what is yet to be said about the Executive Governor of Kaduna State is that he could indeed offer some measure of comfort in the face of grief.

It might stun and amaze you that if not for El Rufai, the historical Kaduna Golf Club could have become history now.

The tale is straight enough. The Kaduna Golf Club is a property of the 16 northern states. The Club is placed under the trust of the Northern Nigeria Development Company [NNDC]. Without any formality whatsoever, the NNDC out rightly placed an advert in a national newspaper putting up the Club for sale. Amazing, you would say.

But El Rufai, the man who is usually in pursuit of truth and the demand for fairness quickly moved in to douse all fires of discord.

El Rufai, a man with a sharp no-nonsense intellect, agile mind and thorough grasp of business principles and methods knows it by heart that the Kaduna Investment he is presently nurturing might not really prosper without golf on the side.

VERIFIED: It is now possible to live in Nigeria and earn salary in US Dollars with premium domains, you can earn as much as $12,000 (₦18 Million).
Click here to start.