We can do better

For decades, Africa has been referred to as the dark continent but maybe that should change to the “unrewarding” continent? We’re becoming notorious for not paying our own and the result has been frequent protests in nearly every African country. If it’s not University lecturers in Uganda, it’s doctors in Kenya or miners in South Africa. Most recently, it’s Nigeria’s women’s team, the Super Falcons who’re striking over unpaid wages. A little over a week ago, they won the African Championship but are yet to receive their bonuses and other allowances. According to media reports, they’re owed at least $24,000 each including money they didn’t receive from as far back as 2015 for various qualifying campaigns and competitions including the All Africa Games. At a time when they should have been celebrating their win with victory parades, interviews and press conferences, they are staging protest matches over their deserved pay and sadly, it doesn’t look like they will get paid at all or if they do, it won’t be all the bonuses they were promised. What’s even more baffling is that Nigeria is not your typical cash-strapped nation. Yes their economy has had issues in recent months but they’re still Africa’s largest economy and yet they always seem to be embroiled in one scandal or another. The country has some of the best athletes on the continent and if they could just get their priorities straight, their sportsmen and women would perform a lot better. We saw it at the Olympics and at the 2014 World Cup. Players having to pay their own travel and accommodation costs and others barely making it to host cities in time for scheduled games. I’m one of those people who strongly believe that these payment issues had something to do with the untimely death of the Super Eagles’ former Coach, Stephen Keshi. It’s not just Nigeria though. Wasn’t a Kenyan Olympic committee official arrested just last month after boxes of Nike running shoes and other apparel supposed to have been given to athletes for the Rio Olympic Games were found in his apartment? Over $800,000 meant to pay athletes’ expenses also went missing and probably won’t be recovered. And earlier in November, Fatim Jawara, Gambia’s National Women’s Football Team Goalkeeper drowned in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe. You think a 19 year old would risk everything if she earned a decent income? I think we take our sportsmen and women for granted, along with other professionals and then complain about brain drain. My advice to anyone who has a chance at a better life, go for it. We need to stop calling athletes who switch nationalities or those reluctant to return home for say the Africa Cup of Nations unpatriotic because at the end of the day, national pride doesn’t pay the bills. If a player puts their elite club in Europe or Asia first, I’m not about to call them out for it. If Bahrain, Qatar or Britain value your skills more than your country of birth, go make your money.

Lifestyle

We can do better