When in 2010 Andre Dede Ayew was under intense fire before and during the AFCON, for right or wrong reasons, I defended him so strongly, especially in Dansoman.

I told everyone who had ears to hear that I believed Ghana would win the World Cup when Dede becomes captain of the Black Stars.

And why did I have that belief? The gentleman doesn't fear any player. He doesn't hero-worship them because he saw "bigger" and better players during his dad's playing days, especially in France.

It shows in how he's able to marshal his colleagues to press on when they're playing. A clear example is when he led The Black Satellites to win the under 20 World Cup in 2009 in Egypt.

Now he's captain and I'm not too sure what will happen because of the circumstances that led to his ascension to that position. There's so much talk about unity or the lack of it in camp and how it might affect our games. Asamoah Gyan is doing the best he can, skit by skit, showing all is well in camp. His removal as captain and Dede's naming of same, and all the brouhaha it brought in its wake, are still fresh in our minds. Everyone is waiting and watching.

Akwasi Appiah may or may not be vindicated in the end. And Dede will be intricately wound in whatever discussions that will emanate.

I think Dede can make or unmake his tenure as captain of the Black Stars by the way he handles this delicate situation. He should be selfless in leadership and magnanimous toward resentful attitudes and manifest shenanigans. And it should start now, not later!

I wish the Black Stars well in Egypt! They have what it takes to win the cup. But if they do, they should not forget to sort the psycho-emotional challenges created as we journeyed here. What they can cause afterwards are bigger than the 2019 AFCON Cup.

Today is another day. Let's make it count!

#blackstars #afcon2019 #egypt2019 #seektruelove #ag3 #asamoahgyan #andreayew #dedeayew #akwasiappiah