Mr. Nyantakyi, stop defending yourself and concentrate on your work!

I have always believed that, right or wrong, everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. There is no way we can all agree and sometimes, we must agree to disagree.

There are also times when silence is golden. It isn’t everything you react to and this is what is inspiring this article.

Samuel Osei Kuffuor is probably Ghana’s most decorated player in an individual capacity.

He has represented every national team; from the Black Starlets to the Black Stars and he enjoyed a trophy laden career with Bayern Munich, culminating in his award as BBC African Footballer of the Year in 2001.

What it means is that his words would always carry weight and that is why it became big news when he said in an interview that if he was the President of the Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi, he would resign because he believes that Nyantakyi has run out of ideas.

Osei Kuffuor’s comments sparked some reaction from other GFA members; notably Black Stars management committee member Yaw Boateng Gyan, who questioned the ex-defender’s attibutes as a manager of the game.

I honestly thought that the matter would end there, but GFA’s Director of Communications, Ibrahim Sannie Daara also hit out; even alleging that it was through Nyantakyi that Osei Kuffuor got his punditry job with Supersport.

I remember having a quiet word with Sannie after the Sunday Night Live show on GTV on Sunday and telling him that it was unnecessary to have responded simply because people have different views. We had a good chat about the issue and in the end, Sannie told me he understood where I was coming from.

With this background, I was very surprised to hear Nyantakyi launch a broadside at Osei Kuffuor and I am asking myself, was it necessary? Who is advising the GFA President? With all the major challenges facing our football, was it important to react to such a statement in such a manner? This is what Nyantakyi said about Kuffuor.

“I personally think that Kuffour’s comments are unfortunate and I am sad such a comment came from him. He has not managed football in any level, yes he has played to the highest level but he has not managed football and he doesn’t have any competence to talk about managing football in the country."

Am I missing something here? Does that mean that you can only be a manager of the game before making critical statements? Does that mean that, even when things are going wrong, as they are now, no one has a right to comment if the person has no football managerial experience?

At the moment, the GFA has had a petition to the Chief Justice thrown out regarding the legal action initiated by King Faisal. Support for the Black Stars is not what it used to be after the Brazil debacle and at the moment, the threat of a ban from all age competitions by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is hanging over our heads like a Sword of Damocles.

Surely everyone would have his or her own views about the matter and one does not have to be an experienced football manager to make comments. If that was the case, then journalists like us had better go home and stay silent.

For me, the GFA President’s response is unnecessary and instead of seeking to deal with what Osei Kuffuor’s comments have created, it would only show that the GFA President is not too confident about his own position.

At this rate, I might even get into trouble for writing this, but I strongly disagree with Nyantakyi’s decision to respond to Osei Kuffuor. It was not necessary at all!

There are a few things the GFA President can channel his energies to. For a member of the Local Black Stars management committee to attempt to take money from a player with the promise of securing him a place in the Black Stars is scandalous to say the least and Nyantakyi should be sacking that person from the committee as soon as possible. That shows strong leadership.

As per the GFA’s statutes, pending the outcome of the court case, Nyantakyi could lobby and call for an extraordinary Congress and expel King Faisal from Ghana football. That is strong leadership.

I know that a lot of work has gone into the appeal against CAF’s ban on Ghana for alleged discrepancies in MRI results for a player, but as a CAF Executive member, Nyantakyi should rather be putting in even more effort to ensure that Ghana’s appeal is successful. Also, certain heads must roll and I am referring to the Black Starlets Management Committee. That is strong leadership.

In fact, Nyantakyi’s latest comments about his Executive Committee members beg the question of whether or not there are serious cracks in the GFA’s hierarchy. According to him, most of the Executive Committee members have different upbringing and football people know them and would vote them out next year.

Personally, I consider such comments as most unfortunate and it is the wrong time to make such comments, especially when he needs everyone onside to tackle the current challenges facing Ghana football.

Because of what has happened, I would not be surprised if I am told that I have no managerial experience and so I shouldn’t be writing such articles.

Unfortunately, we live in a country where expressing a differing opinion would elicit an attack on the personality expressing his or her views, instead of speaking directly to the issues raised.

Like I said before, I disagree with Osei Kuffuor’s comments because I don’t see any credible alternative out there and that remains my personal opinion.

But I also believe that Nyantakyi is taking advice from the wrong people and it will not serve him well in the long run. Yes, he has made mistakes and he needs to be kept on his toes and that is why I will remain critical because I want him to succeed.

This is why I disagree with his response to Osei Kuffuor and this is my message to him: Mr. President, stop defending yourself and concentrate on your job!