Fire Coach Milo: He Wouldn’t Celebrate Our African Victory

*Dedicated to the Black Stars of Africa, especially Dede Ayew, the man of the match.

**By Akadu Ntiriwa Mensema, Ph. D.

Milovan Rajevac wouldn’t celebrate with us

The coach was sad when Ghana won

He looked defeated when Serbia lost

Scratched his imperious head

Turned bluish in anger

As if his dream had failed

As if Ghana shouldn’t have won

He turned away in shame

And snubbed his bench

Snubbed Ghanaian officials

Who wanted to congratulate him

Who wanted to celebrate our victory

He sobbed openly in his heart

Because his Serbia lost the match

Pay Jones Attuquayefio

Pay Silas Tetteh

Pay local coaches

Half of what Milosevic is paid

Give local coaches pride & place

Give them national support

And local coaches would deliver

Jones Attuquayefio

Silas Tetteh

Would dance to our kpalango

Dance to our kpalango victory

Dance to our victory songs

Would celebrate with Ghanaians

Would empower all Ghanaians

Coach Milo

Bedecked with a kente tie

As if he loves Ghana

Flanked by bedazzled Ghanaians

Subservient Ghanaian officials

And his paid white interpreter

Fattened by fat salaries

Beyond the dreams of Ghanaians

Sobbed openly in his heart

Because Serbia lost the match

The arrogant Serbian Milo

Shows us his nationalism

Love for country

Love of country

Shows us our neocolonialism

Shows us our love for whiteness

Shows us our self-hate

Of self-hating blackness

Of self-hating our capabilities

Of hating our Africanity

Even in the postcolony

Of our independence

He shows us our depreciation

Depreciation of the self

Of our blackness

Of privileging whiteness

Best coaches are hired

To coach soccer teams

All over the world

But in Ghana we hire white coaches

Not because of their rich experience

Not because they are the best

We hire white coaches

Simply the West is the best

Our ingrained mentality

Our evergreen neocolonialism

In the postcolony of our doom

Where we like to love whiteness

Where we hate our blackness

Where we depreciate our Africanity

So we hired Milo

An abysmal Serbian coach

Who is riding high

High on Ghanaian talent

To cover his mediocre skills

He is among the highest paid

Cars at his beck and call

Official residence

Travel expenses paid

Free Ghanaian servants

All at this beck & call

Milo is a disgrace

Disgrace to our African victory

A symptom of our mentality

That whiteness is superior

Whiteness that ridicules

Ridicules our kpalongo

Shames our voices of victory

This postcolony of neocolonialism

Of the undoing our independence

Is our perpetual bondage

Bondage to foreign things

Of whiteness couched as superior

**Akadu N. Mensema, Ph. D., is a nationalist Denkyira beauty. She is a trained oral

historian cum sociologist and Professor in the USA. She lives in Pennsylvania with

her great mentor and teaches Africa-area studies at a college in Maryland. In her

pastime, she writes what critics have called “populist hyperbolic, satirical”

poetry. She can be reached at akadumensema@yahoo.com