By Sallieu T. Kamara
What a thrilling end to a year full of surprises and challenges! The Ebola epidemic continues to defy all the efforts that have been marshaled to contain it, causing the nation sleepless nights. Likewise, the football stakeholders continue their dogged determination to hold the Extra- Ordinary Congress of the football family, which could see the impeachment of Madam Isha Johansen and her executive. She too could be having sleepless nights these days. We are now counting the hours, rather than the months, weeks and days for the Extra Ordinary Congress scheduled for Saturday 20 December 2014.
To say that the Sierra Leone Football Association is not happy with the collective resolve of the football stakeholders is an understatement. In fact, they have, in many ways, demonstrated their displeasure and annoyance over the holding of the Congress since the issue itself was first mooted a couple of months ago. The decision of the stakeholders came close on the heels of the persistent failures of the Football Association to convene the normal Congress despite several promptings by the football family.
Like a drowning man, the SLFA are desperate. They have employed all their usual antics and maneuverings to reverse the course of events, but these efforts have so far yielded nothing. They have used the Ebola outbreak and the State of Health Emergency that is currently in force in the country as an excuse to put the Congress on hold. It didn’t work. Their next move was to turn to the SLFA Constitution and other related statutes. It didn’t work too. Quite disappointingly for the SLFA, the government chose to remain a passive spectator this time around rather than being the active player they used to be in such situations.
As always, in situations like this for the SLFA, the last line of defense is the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA). This is the last ditch move to salvage what looks like an already lost cause. And true to form, the world football governing body wasted no time in providing the lifeline that the SLFA badly needed by issuing a letter denouncing the actions of the football stakeholders as illegal and unacceptable. Even though this argument is weak and unconvincing to many people, it has put some smiles on the faces of the embattled SLFA president, Madam Isha Johansen, and her team.
Nonetheless, the bickering and squabbling, accusations and counter-accusations, finger pointing and the blame games continue with no let up. The battle lines between the FA and the stakeholders have been clearly drawn a long time ago. These lines continue to coagulate as the months and weeks go by, rather than soften or fade out. The current situation of the football family in Sierra Leone reminds me of the popular quote of the Brazilian Archbishop, Dom Helder Camara, when he said “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”
When Minister of Sport Paul Kamara, was championing the crusade to install Madam Isha Johansen as president of the Sierra Leone Football Association against stern opposition and against the will of the football stakeholders, Isha Johansen and her cohorts saw Paul Kamara as a patron saint. When one of the oldest and most experienced football administrators in the country, in the person of Alhaji Unisa Alim Sesay, was marshalling sympathy and support for Isha Johansen using both legitimate and somewhat controversial means, he was highly acclaimed as a saint. When the then Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Football Association, Abdul Rahman Swarray, was swinging and oscillating the SLFA constitution and other related statutes like a pendulum in the bid to safeguard and promote the interests and aspirations of Madam Isha Johansen, he was warmly applauded as a saint. But it is sad to note that all of these people have today become communists in the eyes of Madam Isha Johansen and her less than a handful of faithful supporters.
Since she assumed the leadership of the SLFA under a very contentious process, Isha Johansen has been hopping from one controversy to the other, mainly with people who sacrificed all they had toiled for in terms of integrity, to put her in office. It pains me a lot whenever I hear Madam Johansen making public statements about principles and high moral standards. But where were these values when Messrs Rodney Michael, Foday Turay and Mohamed Kallon were ditched in an uncannily bizarre manner just to pave the way for her election? Where were these values when every Jack and Jill, including cleaners and drivers, were drafted and issued delegate passes to replace the officially designated delegates that came from all over the country and refused to take their seats in protest against the manipulation of the process? Where were these values when the SLFA secretariat had to use old photos to strenuously smuggle her into qualifying to contest for the SLFA presidency? I can go on and on.
But let me draw the attention of Madam Johansen to the popular expression which says: “If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas”. And as a grassroots football organizer, Madam Johansen must have also known that the rules and procedures are formulated before tournaments start, and not in the middle of tournaments. This is to make room for those who disagree with the rules and procedures to withdraw their participation or seek further amendments to the rules. But once you have nodded your acceptance, the rules become binding on you, and any attempt to renege or breach them is tantamount to betrayal. What the nation is witnessing today is the direct opposite of the expectations of even those who unswervingly supported Madam Isha’s bid for the SLFA presidency. What a ruthless betrayal of trust!
When I recently listened to Alhaji Unisa Alim Sesay speak on one of the local radio stations about all the problems of football in the country, I knew straight away that it was just a matter of time before Isha exits the SLFA stage. Those of us who have been long enough in organizing and managing football in the country at the highest level know that Awoko, as he is popularly called, has the ability to make and unmake leaders of the SLFA at his whims and caprices. Just that in the process of using his huge influence to get things work his own way, he sometimes destroys the development of the game. A clear example is what we are seeing today. He has done that in the past, and I am sure he will continue to do it as long as he continues to breathe the free air of God.
What, however, always excites me about Awoko is his forthrightness and sometimes candid confessions. It sounded like sweet music in my ear, and I am sure in the ears of many as well, when Awoko conceded that Rodney Michael was a much better person to head the SLFA. But despite the availability of a far better option, Awoko and his colleagues decided to impose Isha Johansen on the football family in the country. In order to achieve this, they manipulated the SLFA Constitution, they brandished the big hammer of the FIFA and whipped up political emotions. Today, the nation is paying the bitter price.
So, as we prepare for the Extra Ordinary Congress coming up in less than 48 hours, we warn all the stakeholders that will be participating in the proceedings to think COUNTRY FIRST. They have made several mistakes in the past, which have led to the unenviable position in which the country is today. Let them use the opportunity which this Congress will accord them to have a rethink on how they will want to see football in the country in the coming months and years. If anything, they owe it to the hundreds of thousands of football fans and to the tax payers who pin their hopes and aspirations for the improvement of the game on the Congress. The nation is waiting for the outcome of the Congress with bated breath. And if you, as usual, allow your personal emotions and ambitions to get the better part of you in your decisions, the nation will never forgive you. We want to see the country emerging as the winner, and not the individual camps that you have carved out for your own convenience.
© Politico 18/12/14
