In the heat of the 2016 presidential and parliamentary campaign, one of the phrases that further boosted the campaign of the then opposition candidate Nana Akufo Addo was ‘Yete Sika So Nanso Ekom De Yen’ or “this country is blessed with money but we are hungry”.
In an interview on PeaceFM which was broadcast on their online platforms, the now president said Ghana has never been a poor country but poor political leadership has forced the country into a state of hunger. It was a statement that resonated with many people, including myself.
It is true that as a country we have never been poor, and the evidence in resources is there to attest to what he said. The poignant statement found itself on t-shirts, bags and even verses in rap songs. It caught fire and even children found themselves repeating it without knowing about its source. Almost eight years and now in office, the phrase is still relevant.
The difference this time is that he is in the saddle, and millions of dollars have been committed to sporting ventures, including allegation US$15million used to print accreditation cards at the All African Games, while stadia constructed to facilitate the country’s sporting activities continue to wallow in decay.
The effect of the neglect was confirmed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), when they said the existing sports stadia are not fit for the Black Stars to play their games. The is not the first time the pitch has come up. In the game against Angola for example, water tankers were used to water the pitch. The embarrasing images were all over X.
For those who have been working in the sports enviornment, the decision by CAF did not come to them as a surprise. The signs have been on the wall for months, but those with the power to act treated it as business as usual. In the lead-up to our last qualifying games against Nigeria for the World Cup in Qatar, we escaped potential sanction through the skin of our teeth. One would have thought lessons would be learnt from that episode, and officials at the National Sports Authority would have been directed to address the problem.
When the country played against Angola, the coach of the visiting team bemoaned the quality of the pitch. He said a country of Ghana’s standard should not playing on such a pitch. When the NSA was contacted for a reaction, one Bawa Majeed asked if the Angolans played in the sky. His words did not surprise anyone. After all, that has been the posture with the NSA.
The last time when Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia met the Black Stars and donated monies to them, Skipper of the team Thomas Partey, appealed to the vice president for a good pitch to play on.
Government communicators say the number of sporting infrastructure bequeathed to the country is “unprecedented”. They point to the Borteyman Complex and several astro turfs splashed across the country. However, what is the relevance of sporting infrastructure if the country is now forced to be scouting around neighbouring countries, begging to be granted permission to play its national games? How embarrassing can that be? This is a country that spent millions of dollars to build stadia in Tamale, Cape Coast, Sekondi and upgraded Kumasi and Accra; and not even one of them is fit to host the national team.
Where did we go wrong? If after all the millions of dollars the Minister of Youth and Sports pay to the Black Stars for repeated abysmal performances and common stadium pitches cannot be maintained, then there is a serious problem with those tasked to ensure the stadia are maintained.
This is an example of ‘Yete Sika So’ moment. A responsible leadership will not allow this to happen. It is sad but this same Ministry of Youth and Sports will make all the arguments for money to be given the Black Stars, but cannot find a percentage of that to pay their female counterparts until they revolt. Even details of a budget committed to international games are shrouded in secrecy. We saw what happened in Ivory Coast.
Today, we are trending across the world for all the wrong reasons. When people see things going wrong and they point them out, they do so out of love for the country; not because they hate somebody and prays that the person loses his or her job.
This is our country and the successes or failures apply to all, irrespective of one’s party affiliation or otherwise.
Nigerians on X (formerly Twitter) are roasting Ghanaians and not NPP or NDC cardbearing members or sympathisers. The spirit that embraces criticism in opposition must equally be active in power. We can all not be enemies to the progress of our own country.
