By Abdulai Aboagye

The recent impasse between the coach and the GFA on one hand and Sulley Muntari on the other hand comes as no surprise to me. Different people have expressed different views on what actually must be going on and why or why not Muntari should be included or excluded from the Black Stars. My take is that this impasse stems in part from the proverbial Ghanaian attitude of scapegoatism. Scapegoatism is the situation where we set one player aside as the villain and uses him as an example of how power works. It seems that at every given point when we get two or three options we try and make one a hero and the other a villain. In the end the villain becomes a scape goat and is thrown out. We have done that over the years and nothing good has come out of it. Rather scapegoatism has affected the Black Stars very negatively over the years. This is not to justify Muntari’s attitude which is very despicable and must be deplored by all but, I still believe that the Muntari impasse speaks to a larger problem in Ghana which needs to be examined.

For those who are too young to know or do not remember, let me refresh our minds on some examples of the incidents of scapegoatisms that have cost Ghana glories over the years. In the 1990s, Ghana had one of the best teams in the world. We had two of the greatest players in the word in Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah. Rather than bring them together we created factions out of them and in the end they never won anything meaningful for Ghana.

In fact, it is the greatest Black Stars team never to win anything. When Abedi and Yeboah left, Osei Kuffour became the next scape goat. Before I began this article I watched Ghana’s game against Brazil at the 2006 world cup. After the match I realized how harmful scapegoatism can be. Every evidence in the match shows that Osei Kuffour would have provided the kind of eagle eye man-marking which was lacking in the game. That game simply exposed the inexperience of Shilla Illiasu. Today the new scape goat is Sulley Muntari. And I can bet my last “big-six faced cedi” that this is the beginning of the end of Sulley Muntari in the Black Stars. I can also bet my last cedi that we will see the effect of Muntari’s exclusion at the CAN and especially at the world cup!! Some will want to argue that there are equally good youngsters who can fill the gap but all things being equal nothing beats experience.

One is tempted to ask why scapegoatism? Part of the reasons is the Ghanaian attitude of “see new throw old away”. This means that once Ghanaians get to know that there are new guys growing up they tend to think that the old ones should give way. We did that at Senegal 1992 and the result speaks for itself. Today most people are clamoring for Kwadwo Asamoah to replace Muntari. While I think that Asamoah is good player, I still believe that he is no where near Muntari in terms of technical abilities and the heart for the big stage. And besides what is wrong with having a strong team where players compete for spots? After all the strength of a team lies in the availability of options in the team. Well, not in Ghana. I remember sometime ago a friend of my family argued vehemently with us about the need to drop Asamoah Gyan because of Junior Agogo. Â

Another reason for scapegoatism relates our leaders intolerance to criticism of any kind. The average Ghanaian leader from my village abusuapanin to the President hates criticism. Any little challenge and you are dead. The problem is once some of these players become exposed to the way things are done (better) elsewhere, it is very hard for some of the players to swallow the mediocre and inefficient ways things are done in Ghana. A critical example is the bizarre way the GFA handled the Paintsil issue. Any football administration worth its title will not have acquiesced to disrespectful outbust of the Fulham coach. Yet our inefficient GFA simply fizzled out and the result is what we see today. I am sure that some of these experienced players who have played abroad will question the sense in the decision and that player will become the next scapegoat.

The truth is whatever your political affiliation, the problems of Ghana comes down to bad leadership that permeates every aspect of our life. I have always argued that apart from Brazil no other country on the face of the third planet (earth) can match Ghana in soccer talent. Yet one may ask; how come Brazilian players are hotly sought after and are bought for millions while Ghanaian players roam the face of the earth playing countless justify-your-inclusions? The answer is simply that over the years nobody in Ghana has ever thought of a way of adding value to our players. Â We depend on theahabayere (grow in the wild) system which produces players who have talent but lack technical abilities and discipline. Yet if you dare criticize the leadership you become a scapegoat.

Some may argue that it is the coach who makes the final decision. Fine, but the question is who loses if we play a weak team who respects the GFA and the coach and gets bumped out of the CAN or gets beaten at the world cup by Germany and Serbia? As far as I know the loser will be the ordinary Ghanaian who sees the Black Stars as a great escape. The White coach will be sacked and he will take us to FIFA and claim all his money. AND tomorrow another white man possibly from Serbia will start over. Such has been our cycle.

This is not in anyway to condone foolish attitude of Muntari and some of our players. Muntari and co should realize that they owe their fame to the sweat of the average Ghanaian whose tax money that was used to polish their talent and it is time for them to pay back. Second, there is evidence to suggest that any player who starts having senseless problems with his national team loses out in the end. Benni McCarthy is a typical example.

In the end I beg to suggest that some opinion leaders should sit Muntari and the coach (GFA) down and settle their differences. The best thing about Ghana is our ability to arbitrate almost every issue amicably. A humble, whole hearted Muntari is good for both Ghana and Muntari himself. Meanwhile, I will use this opportunity to ask for the invitation of Alexander Tettey of Rennes (same team as Asamoah Gyan) and possibly Kolja Afriyie of Denmark. They are both very good players.

God bless Ghana!!!