Ghana sports need B.T. Baba

The much anticipated All Africa Games (AAG) is over and participating nations are still assessing or digesting their performances. Since team Ghana returned, the country have been analysing her successes, as well as losses so that future participation would bring better results for the nation.

As the games closed a month ago with Ghana's best achievement coming in football - women's division and tennis placing 21st out of the 50 countries that participated in the games, Ghanaians no doubt showered lots of praises on the gallant ladies and George Darko and William Narh-Adirago.

Of course, these footballers and tennis players deserve all the plaudits for making Ghana proud. Having said this, I miss the era when Ghana was reckoned as the best amateur boxing nation at the AAG and Commonwealth Games. In the field of athletics, the nation was also a force to reckon with as the sportsmen and women happily returned home with a haul of creditable medals.

In those days, Ghanaian contingents won a number of medals and among the gold medalists were Mike Ahey (Athletics), Azumah Nelson (Boxing), Eddie Blay (Boxing) and Sulley Shittu (Boxing). Female athletes such as Alice Anum (Athletics) and Helena Afriyie could not get to the gold medal zone but they were always at their best and managed to bring home a number of Silver and Bronze medals.

Ghana used to be a potential sporting super power at the AAG, Commonwealth and Olympic Games but the other African nations, with modern infrastructure, soon caught up and Ghana started losing her grip on the disciplines that provided medals.

The result of the just ended AAG must therefore, remind us that it is now time to develop tennis, boxing and football if we hope to equal and surpass our achievements in subsequent games. This is the worst achievement in 36 years, but we can still achieve more. The nation, therefore, must be looking at competiting in disciplines that can win us medals.

It is against this background that the Ministry of Youth and Sports’ mantra to prioritise sporting disciplines should be treated with the seriousness that it deserves.

The former minister, Mahama Ayariga's call to prioritise the disciplines is long overdue. And one wonders why the National Sports Authority (NSA) should wait for the former minister to prompt them about such a move when every available evidence points to the fact that it is high time Ghana paid serious attention to sporting disciplines such as football, boxing, athletics, tennis and swimming.

These disciplines would go a long way to enhance Ghana's medal hunt in future games and other international competitions. Whilst congratulating the award winners, the heads of the sports federations must come in for some censure.

Is it not absurd for the chairmen of the various federations to bitterly complain about inadequate funds? Weren't the federations’ heads aware of the time for the games? This is no excuse: Weren't they aware that funds are provided for these competitions by the international body for example the International Olympic Committee and the Africa Body just to mention a few, under whose auspices the games are organised.

The International Olympic Committee, for example gives monies to the participating nations to enhance their preparations for the competitions and I am reliably told that the African body-(ANOCA) gives help in terms of finance to enhance the participation of the nations going for the Games.

So the president of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) must answer questions over the whereabouts of the monies that the international bodies gave and the ones left in the kitty after the unceremonious exit of Benson Tongo Baba

Never before in the annals of Ghanaian sports history has the issue of unpaid bonuses caused so much pain as to be on the point of becoming a national embarrassment as the Black Queens' bonus saga hogged the headlines until the first gentleman of the land, President John Dramani Mahama stepped in to resolve.

To my chagrin when the substantive minister, Dr Mustapha Ahmed, was persuasive and convincing to get the girls back track from their position not to vacate the M Plaza Hotel, his deputy, Vincent Oppong Asamoah sang from a different hymn book, stoking fire that the girls can choose not to play or don the national team jerseys. I thought the deputy minister could have done himself favours if he had declined commenting on the issues, since he did not know his onions in terms of speaking to issues regarding sports.

Another example of the deputy minister's faux paus was the Black Stars' bonus matter when he went on rooftops to grant a media interview that the bonus has been slashed from $10,000 to $5,000 when in fact nothing of that in terms of procedure has been arranged, causing a feeling of indifference among players of the senior national team.

Sports funding

There is no denying the fact that Ghana sports requires major government funding as well as massive corporate sponsorship to be able to regain its lost glory and ridding Ghana sports of its old, inefficient ways would require not only an enthusiast of the game but an astute manager and a versed entrepreneur. Benson Tongo Baba fits the bill.

I want to put on record that I am not doing the bidding of anyone but I have chosen to do what my conscience tells me is right having said this  I will point out that the GOC has seen many chieftains. Some good and others, the Ghanaian will describe as very bad. While others will be praised for providing efficient and effective leadership others would be credited with troubles and sometimes dissipating the coffers.

I am recalling an interview on Starr Fm, where the Greater Accra Chairman of the Cycling Association,Nii Okoe took the Chairman of the Handball federations to the cleaners that he was the reason why the no money syndrome had come upon sports.

Going forward with the adage that when I go you will see my prize holds. Some persons within government and the sports sector chose an unpopular action to get honorable Benson Tongo Baba out when his place of prominence within ANOCA and the International Olympic Committee have been boosted following his sterling leadership qualities.

The paradox is that when Benson Tongo Baba was chieftain of the Ghana Olympic Committee, money for the federations was never a problem. Going forward, the GOC under, the now Member of Parliament for Talensi, the federations boasted of huge financial clout with corporate bodies doling out funds. His reforms and administrative guile yielded results as monies needed for participation at the Olympics, Commonwealth and the All African Games was also available.

A week ago a federation president told me how they have nostalgic memories of BT Baba and how his tenure as chieftaincy saw sports bound up with fresh life hinged on high hopes, expectations and inspired leadership.

As a person interested in the prosperity of sports, I want to entreat President John Dramani Mahama to consider bringing him to the sports ministry to complement the substantive sports minister or create a portfolio that will only serve an advisory role to the President on sports. I will bring down the curtain on this piece and will take over from where I am leaving off in the continuation of the second part of this article.