Kwabena Yeboah: Time to call Hayatou’s bluff

CAF President, Hayatou

I find it shocking that at a time the world is getting sick and tired of tyrannical rule, CAF President Alhjaj Issa Hayatou believes the way forward is arbitrariness and despotism.

Will somebody remind Hayatou of the fate of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt who ruled with absolutism and literally terrorized their own people for three decades. Oh yes, the sheer power of the masses blew them into smithereens at the right time.

“Big Daddy” brother Gaddafi is only buying time in Libya. The human nature simply abhors tyranny and absolutism, the reason our own Jerry John Rawlings’ influence is beginning to wane in his “own” National Democratic Congress (NDC). The fact that personalities Rawlings “nurtured” and “nourished” today openly reject him and treat him so disdainfully only teaches us the days of tyrants are always numbered.

Does Hayatou get this? Why on earth would the CAF President believe he has the authority to disband the West Africa Football Union (WAFU) because as he put it the “sub-region is facing organizational issues”.

The CAF boss spearheaded the move at a meeting in Cairo last Monday, sparking speculations the attempt is aimed at weakening WAFU’s growing influence in the political context of Africa football.

With allies Amos Adamu and Anjorin Moucharafou booted out of the WAFU hierarchy, Hayatou finds it most appropriate to disband WAFU. Perhaps also to teach Kwesi Nyantakyi the interim President of WAFU who is not particularly a “favoured boy” the true colour of power.

By Hayatou’s directive, West Africa has now been zoned into two – Western Zone A and Western Zone B. Zone A encompasses Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

Zone B is made up of Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso.

Clearly, this makes little sense and decisively defeats the very essence of the Union envisaged by the founding fathers.

When former Presidents Gnassigbe Eyadema and Houphouet Boigny of Togo and Ivory Coast respectively (may their souls find favour with the Good Lord) spearheaded the formation of WAFU, the idea was to foster unity in the West Africa sub-region through the massive influence of football.

Lack of sound leadership and a perilous financial situation viciously conspired to weaken WAFU. Today, every possible step is being taken to revive the sleeping giant. The way forward is not to unnerve and enfeeble the Association by disbanding it and creating two separate fronts. This logic is clearly twisted.

The African Union (formerly the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) has always been confronted with debilitating problems. It would have been extremely weird and illogical to divide the Union’s front because of so-called “organizational problems” as Hayatou puts it. The intelligent thing to do is to identify these “organizational weaknesses” for an appropriate resolution. To disband WAFU as Hayatou has done is to insult the intelligence and vision of the Political fathers of the West Africa sub-region.

I’m not surprised the Ministers of Benin and Togo, Modeste Kerekou and Ajay Maken have decided to convene an urgent meeting of all Sports Ministers in the sub-region to address the issue and call Hayatou’s bluff.

I am also gladdened by the fact that the leadership of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa (SCSA) has issued a statement urging all to allow zonal bodies to operate as they exist. Will Hayatou and his henchmen listen?

Hayatou’s days are clearly numbered and like a drowning man will catch a straw. It’s in the supreme interest of this ageing tyrant to remind himself of the fate of all the despots in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Syria and Libya.

Don’t overstretch your luck, Hayatou.

Source: Kwabena Yeboah, Africa Sports