Those in the habit of practicing the devil’s advocate are often accused of hypocrisy, notably when they make criticism which they don’t sincerely endorse; they don’t really believe in the argument they advance, or else they know very well that the conclusion of the position they are attacking is true.
Nevertheless, this accusation of hypocrisy misses the point and perhaps in part stems from the negative association of the much despised wording “devil” in the title, at the expense of the connotations of the term “advocate”.
In short, hypocrites hide their genuine intentions and beliefs, while those who play the devil’s advocate openly encourage their targets to provide watertight arguments for their conclusions and take heed of the strongest of the strongest arguments on the other side of the coin.
Often the ultimate point of using this particular strategy is to get someone to provide solid reasons in support of conclusions to which the devil’s advocate is favourably disposed – thus allowing and encouraging them to investigate the justification for views which turn out to be mere prejudices.
Wait a minute! Or perhaps genuine conclusions, defended by hopeless and extremely poor arguments. However, despite these appearances – this is not definitely hypocrisy, but rather part and parcel of a sincere pursuit of the naked truth.
Dear readers it does not take a rocket scientist to conclude that Namibian football is of late cruising dangerously on a slippery slope.
Alarming revelations or shenanigans, ranging from well established football clubs grounding their entire playing personnel, to players not receiving their monthly salaries provide some serious cause for concern.
In all honesty, the author must doff his korrie and sincerely applaud Black Africa’s honcho, Ranga Haikali, for the bold decision to close shop and tell it like it is with regard to the club’s current fragile financial dilemma.
There is this totally misplaced perception that club bosses are handsomely cashing in on the pitfalls of football. The old adage that “money don’t always bring you success” remains debatable in football terms and surely needs to be revisited.
There are so many examples that would support yours truly’s assessment in this regard, as can be attested by the tracks left behind by some of the few business moguls that pumped their hard-earned money into football, without being reciprocated in the most dignified fashion.
The bottomline is that any kind of investment in a relationship must be reciprocated in one way or the other and the game of football is no exception to this unwritten rule.
As it stands, players from some of the country’s leading football clubs are up in arms struggling to keep hunger at bay, living with the unenviable embarrassment of having to beg their employers to release what’s rightly theirs, their monthly salaries.
What really puzzles is the MTC Premiership management’s wait-and-see attitude, while the Real McCoy of their togetherness, the footballers are being emotionally and physiologically drained and left to fend for themselves in their hour of need.
It’s incumbent upon the Namibia Premier League (NPL) to cease idling and start rolling up their sleeves and intervene in these embarrassing unfolding events that could potentially bring the game of football into disrepute.
The nauseating unfolding shenanigans on our doorstep right now should be a good lesson for would-be clubowners to think twice and get their bookkeeping and calculations in order before they start investing their hard-earned moolah into loss-making institutions.
Suffice to admit that we should take a leaf out of the books of Cedric Martin, Hennie Dawid, Helmuth Scharnowsky, Johnny Doeseb, Sidney Martin, Ranga Haikali. All these business moguls pumped in piles of moolah into the financial coffers of local clubs and certainly got what they bargained for.
Ramblers, Civics, Blue Waters, Orlando Pirates, African Stars, Black Africa and of late Tigers all laid their hands on the elusive MTC Premiership title, or the NFA Cup, during these moguls’ tenure at the helm.
However, everything evaporated into thin air after these clubowners with deep pockets decided to get out, as they could no longer handle the searing heat in the kitchen. Unless drastic steps are taken to arrest the current situation, Namibian football is destined for stray dogs.
I rest my case.