Throughout my public career, yours truly has always adhered to the personal philosophy that I’m firstly a proud Namibian and secondly a public servant with a certain measure of responsibility towards my fellow citizens, in that pecking order always and only.
The current quagmire in which Namibian football finds itself entangled is cause for concern and not only for football followers, as it threatens the livelihood of many of the country’s inhabitants, directly or indirectly.
As it stands, almost every Tom, Dick – and nevermind Harry – has something to say about the dilemma, with some of the self-styled football pundits coming up with all sorts of weird suggestions on how domestic football could be saved from the jaws of death.
In all honesty, please let us all put the unity of our athletes, football people and the entire Namibian nation first and ahead of any divisive partisanship.
Truth be told, in these challenging times, one is obliged to conclude that a house divided against itself through factionalism, regional sentiments, self interests, tribe or race is a house that cannot stand. Period!
As concerned citizens of our beloved land of the brave, let’s not beat about the bush. It’s now a well-documented secret that our football is on the threshold of becoming a delicacy for stray dogs.
So, let’s not disregard the peril to the progress of the only known entity that has the required potential to piece together a racially and tribally divided nation.
Quite interestingly, aggrieved members – to be precise, five from the 16 league teams – took the bold step to call for an extraordinary congress, where they are plan to launch a motion of no confidence in the current NPL leadership.
The five clubs, Black Africa, Blue Waters, Citizens, Orlando Pirates and league returnees Life Fighters want to see immediate changes and are determined to topple the incumbent leadership, whether by hook or by crook.
The mere fact that the remaining 11 teams are not part of this group is a clear demonstration that there’s division in the house.
My advice is simple: whatever your personal interests or concerns, be careful and guard against divisiveness and all its not so cool consequences.
It’s still mind-boggling why these five teams resolved to take the bull by its horns on their own. In fact, I’m still trying to put my finger on the pulse as to why the other teams are reluctant to follow the same route.
Let me sum it up in this way and yours truly is cocksure it all boils down to wearing hopelessly too many hats at the same time, and this is exactly where loyalty comes into play.
My understanding is that the NPL is the functioning organ under the stewardship of the NPL Board of Governors (BoG) inclusive of all its 16 affiliates. Right?
As a result of the current setup within the league hierarchy there is no room to start pointing fingers or trying to make us believe the buck stops with the NPL chairman, Bra JJD. That is an absolute cock and bull story! All 16 clubs must be bold enough, man up and take collective responsibility for the current sorry-state-of-affairs in domestic football.
Oops! Murmurs within the corridors of Football House are that Life Fighters’ presence in the petition is being questioned. Ostensibly and rightly so: “Okahirona” is not a bona fide member of the NPL until such time the club has paid its affiliation fees.
Fair enough, technically this is correct, but why were they allowed to participate in the voting process for the vacant spot to participate in the Dr Hage Geingob Cup alongside Namibian champions Tigers? I’m just asking.
Furthermore, the status of four other clubs has also been placed under the microscope on the basis of the same technicality.
Is it perhaps not the opportune time now to cease playing the hide and seek game, get our ducks in a row and map the way forward?
I rest my case.