The Cameroon Football Federation, better known by its French acronym FECAFOOT, will in under three years be in diamond jubilee effervescence.
This, of course, will be no novelty in our polity where opportunities to spend unaccountable money are never in short supply. How much there is to be upbeat about 60 years of a rather tumultuous existence can only be seen after a dispassionate evaluation.
What is certain however, is that this otherwise independent organization brought into being to enliven the social aspects of life in Cameroon has transmuted into a tool in the hands of the governing class to oppress unsuspecting masses, who only see the entertainment and relaxation part of it. Football is knowingly, used as a sedative that lulls them to sleep while the governing class leans on what it knows best-embezzlement of public funds.
From Iya Mohamed, who was surreptitiously made a tenant of Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaounde, on charges of embezzlement of public funds to Tombi-a-Roko Sidiki his successor, booted out of office under very unclear circumstances, the beat goes on. These former Presidents of FECAFOOT far from being villains as were portrayed at the time of their exit are actually, victims of the politics of grabbing that has had a strangle hold on FECAFOOT.
Iya Mohamed, has been incarcerated since 2012, in what many see as a veiled political maneuverer to diminish his ambition to run for the presidency of Cameroon. As for Tombi a Roko, his dramatic exit takes root from the antics of hawks within the ruling oligarchy who saw in him a bad team player. He was not, by their reckoning, facilitating incursion into the finances of the football management body.
In this unfolding cacophony, the common denominator is elevated corruption masterminded by highly placed individuals in the governance machinery of Cameroon. Surrogates are propped to come up with litigations that border on interpretation of texts that any neophyte lawyer can handle. However, because there is a lot of money in the litigation process that is shared among the perpetrators of such sleaze, it is business as usual.
Money, time and energy goes into executive trips to and from Zurich, FIFA headquarters, sometimes by people who have nothing to do with football management.The same holds good for the two Normalization Committees that have been nothing but money guzzling contraptions addingno shine to the opacity that has shrouded football management in Cameroon.
What is now alarming is the fact that this disregard for the welfare of Cameroon’s youths still rears its ugly head in spite of the fact that a new dawn had been sighted with election of Samuel Eto’o Fils as FECAFOOT president last December 11. Cameroonians youths in particular, had seen in the election of Eto’o, the advent of a golden age in the evolution of football.
His unexpected capsizing of the Seidou Mbombo Njoya management at FECAFOOT was seen as a feat that could only have been clinched by the pichichi. The diligence that he bought to bear on the process of ascending to the FECAFOOT throne was innovative and evoked the impression of someone who had the requisite drive and commitment to purpose to pilot FECAFOT affairs. However, his seeming attachment to football, and nothing but football, attracted the wrath of those who saw in that institution a milking cow that has to cater to their uncontrollable greed. Eto’o,like every mortal being may not be a saint but his commitment to advancing the cause and course of football in Cameroon is not in doubt. What seems to insinuate an aura of inflated importance is the fact that financial independence makes him less malleable and by extension, less prone to corruption.
From the day he was elected, Eto’o has been the man to beat. This explains why AFCON became an opportunity for government officials to downplay his relevance and deride his person in an event during which he was supposed to be the second personality in Cameroon, only after the Head of State. Protocol was flouted with some CPDM party apparatchiks going on television sets to blame Eto’o for not respecting state protocol. Others claim that he is arrogant without showing how. His attempts to bring back the much needed serenity into FECAFOOT were systematically rebuffed.
To wit, Abdulraman Baba, General Semengue, Guibai Gatama and the 2009 General Assembly. They held on fast to inconsequentialities like non-conformity with texts or ordinances from foreign courts to thwart all his peace overtures. The impression being bandied is that he is carried away by the exuberance of his youth and wealth. This is far from reality!Eto’o, at least, can boast of his wealth without blinking because nothing attaches such to the public cashbox that is the cynosure of his detractors.
The bashing has, inopportunely, reached the point where a seemingly respectable figure like Professor Felix Zogo, a journalism teacher, who doubles as Secretary General of the Ministry of Communication, goes on set and forgets that he is first of all a journalist before wearing the toga of political appointee. In the event, he went ahead to spew what was clearly an impertinence to the issue of the day. His concentration on Eto’o’s failed businesses and rabble-rousing with his teammates and managers of the Indomitable Lions instead of the way forward for workplace serenity within FECAFOOT during a panel discussion on Vision4 television, shows how much the establishment is desperate to have Eto’o out of the way. This way, their avowed determination not to loosen their grip on the machinery draining FECAFOOT’S purse, would come to fruition. While reprimanding politicians for taking on Eto’o head-on, much of the blame also, goes to a vacillating press.
The press concentrates on the person of the FECAFOOT president instead of what he does that is newsworthy. Ordinarily, this would have been no source of discord given the persona of Eto’o. As one of the most successful persons in the history of football, locally and internationally, coupled with the aura of youthfulness that may easily invoke exuberance, there is temptation to see his person instead of his actions at FECAFOOT.
There is necessity for journalists to tread softly, when reporting FECAFOOT related stories.The trending but unnecessary hyping of the president’s personality should be a thing of the past. The aspect to be played up by the press should be the return of footballers to the pitch, especially, at this moment when by default of the just ended AFCON there are stadia with very alluring turfs for upcoming stars to exhibit their talents. Appeals should be towards the direction of dissuading self-proclaimed gurus from engaging in avoidable litigations that take attention away from the football pitches to law courts, locally and internationally.
Fortunately, the 2009 General Assembly and General Semengue have after recent reconciliation meetings with Eto’o, pledged their loyalty and promised to withdraw pending litigations as well as refrain from future confrontations. We must take advantage of this olive branch Eto’o is extending to erstwhile peace destroyers at FECAFOOT. We have thrown too much money away from the actual beneficiaries who still wallow in poverty, despite the possibility of canalizing our competences to ensure that deserving youths live off their talents. We should give Eto’o a chance, at least for the sake of our upcoming youths who are clearly not wanting in the requisite talent.
We should divest ourselves of the mentality that ascribes the status of text experts to us,toavoid personality conflicts. Our main concern should be how soon League 1 and 2competitions commence, so that the luxury that AFCON has brought forth in terms of quality stadia, is not left to fall into dereliction. We can do this for our youths. We can do this for Cameroon. We must do this because we have the challenge of Quatar infront of us. Our presence during the World Cup must be seen as an imperative task that is for now,incontrovertible.