I’m watching two huge brands take an absolute pounding this week, CR7 (Cristiano Ronaldo) and Elon Musk. These men, who have become brands, have been on the receiving end of public ridicule because of one simple failing in my humble opinion. They both thought that they were too big to fail and as a result of that, they moved, as the young people say, ‘reckless’. I call CR7 and Elon Musk ‘brands’ because the two of them were no longer mere mortals like you and I. I mean, look at their resumes. CR7 might be the greatest football player that has ever lived. He’s won every individual accolade and everywhere he’s gone he has been the difference maker. With the largest following on Instagram in the world (HALF a billion followers), by merely rejoining Manchester United last season he added hundreds of millions of dollars to the team’s valuation. Elon Musk, on the other hand, brought electric vehicles to the mainstream. His innovations gave him billions of dollars and millions of fans. He was the tech messiah. Everything that he touched turned to gold. You could say that CR7 was the Elon Musk of football and Elon Musk was the CR7 of the innovation space. However, instead of enjoying their hollowed position in peace, the two of them couldn’t help themselves. CR7 decided to sit down for an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan and bash not only his coach, but also former teammates as well as the owners of Manchester United. I’m sure that in his head, he thought he’d come off as a sympathetic figure. That was far from the case. He’s being ridiculed by all and sundry and he will never be seen quite the same by the footballing community, especially in Manchester. Elon, on the other hand, decided to buy Twitter, fire almost its entire leadership team and then ‘reform’ it willy-nilly. As a result, Twitter has lost billions in share value and Elon’s cloak of omnipotence is no more. He’s quickly become a figure of hilarity on his very own social media platform. So what’s the lesson in this? Don’t get intoxicated by all the hype. Don’t fall in love with your own narrative. It doesn’t matter how big you are, you are never too big to fail. Don’t think that past success guarantees future victory because you are not owed a positive outcome. If you’ve been in Rwanda as long as I have, and kept your ear to the ground, you’ve seen people suffer from the CR7/Elon Musk syndrome. And like the two, changing circumstances have humbled them. Those who have been able to swallow their medicine and learn from the experience have found a way to continue playing a positive role in the nation’s development, whether in the public sphere or the private one. Those who haven’t have, well, been left frustrated and impotent. I could mention some names but there is no need. I will be watching both Cristiano and Elon closely over the next few weeks and months as they navigate their new realities. The two of them have never faced a crisis like the ones they are facing today and I really want to observe how they and their teams attempt to get out of the trouble they are in. Will they acknowledge their errors or will they keep driving forward, oblivious to their new stations in life? Will their egos destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to build or will they make an about-turn? In other news, members of Unity Club have suggested that the alcohol drinking age increase from 18 to 21. I totally understand where they are coming from; our drinking culture isn’t one that anyone with a semblance of civic duty can get behind. I believe that it's harmful and that the only real beneficiaries of all our consumption are the alcohol manufacturers and distributors. In fact, on Tuesday, former MP, Gamariel Mbonimana, swore off alcohol following the numerous drunk driving escapades that cost him his job. However, if we are to increase the drinking age then let's also increase the voting age and the legal minority age as well. If what we are saying is that those under 21 aren’t able to make adult decisions on what they choose to consume or not, then don’t say that an 18 year old boy can suffer criminal liability similar to a 22 year old one. You can’t pick and choose. Either an 18 year old is an adult, with all the pros and cons that comes with it, or they are still children and therefore shouldn’t be allowed to vote, drink or be tried in court as adults. The writer is a socio-political commentator
