Former GFA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi
“Explosive myth, it is a dynamite,” Kweku Baako summed up the work of the undercover journalist on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana.
“It hurts to see a fine gentleman, people you like, becoming a casualty,” he said, sending fears to many including his host Randy Abbey who enquired if he was one of the casualties.
“You are number three on it,” Mr Baako jokingly said, looking into Randy’s uncomfortable posture.
Irredeemable
However, Mr Baako who is the Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide was emphatic that the video will cause “irredeemable” damage to persons exposed. “Any person trapped there cannot redeem himself… Anas doesn’t make allegation,” he teased. “Anybody caught there and seen by the public would be in big, big trouble”.
Name and Shame
He maintained that the interest of Anas in his investigative adventures is to name and shame with the hope that the judiciary would implement the third, jail.
“If you see fiilili, somebody stealing, or somebody taking a bribe, or somebody using somebody’s name to induce things, the person has to come and explain why he is using somebody’s name or indeed if he has the authority of the person to use the name for that purpose,” he noted.
Sorry
“I feel sorry for some… [they] are goners…it is explosive,” the ace journalist remarked.
Moreover, Mr Baako is hinting of another explosive piece that would follow the Number 12, which is likely to come out early next year. “Advising people to be careful in whatever they do, he warned, “don’t think if you are outside the Ghanaian jurisdiction, and you are doing something somewhere, [and you think] there is no Ghanaian ear or eye, walls have ears”.
After Kweku Baako uttered these words on Metro TV, there was palpitation all over the country but people within football circles knew what the video was about.
After watching the ‘Number 12’ documentary at the Accra International Conference Centre on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, I didn’t need a fortuneteller to let me know that Kwesi Nyantakyi has ruined his own reputation and there is no way he can come back and justify his actions in the documentary. In ‘Number 12’ exposé, Mr Nyantakyi was secretly recorded bragging about his seeming easy access to the President and his vice, a situation he suggested would aid secure the potential investor whichever sector in the economy they choose to invest in.
He bragged about securing a meeting with the President, the vice president as well as Roads Minister Kwasi Amoako-Atta, only if an amount of $11 million could be made available to be split among these personalities.
He revealed that he is in close relationship with the Deputy Roads Minister, Anthony Karbo, indicating that if certain amounts were made available to the President and his Vice, the investor would have it easy with his endeavours in the country.
This among other things he said would facilitate a solid business relationship between the parties, guaranteeing the investor of bigger and more lucrative deals in the country.
However, the former CAF 1st vice president was slapped with a 90-day ban by the Ethics Committee of FIFA on June 8, 2019, after Tiger PI petitioned FIFA for Mr Nyantakyi’s misconduct in the video.
On June 11, the former WA All Stars life patron resigned from his position as the 1st vice president of CAF and as the president of WAFU Zone B.
After his resignation, Kwesi Nyantakyi issued an apology to the personalities he used their names in the video [Prez. Nana Akufo Addo, Dr Bawumia, Roads Minister Kwasi Amoako-Atta, Deputy Roads Minister, Anthony Karbo] but admitted no wrongdoing.
After several months of investigations, the world football governing body issue a lifetime ban on the former Ghana FA boss with a fined of 500,000 Swiss francs.
The adjudicatory chamber of Fifa's ethics committee said the ban for life applied to "all football-related activities at both national and international level". However, Mr Nyantakyi vowed to challenge his lifetime ban at the Court of Arbitration of Sports [CAS].
Before Mr Nyantakyi was slapped with a lifetime ban, FIFA named a four-member Normalization Committee to steer the affairs of Ghana football on Tuesday, September 13, 2018, after consulting the government and CAF but some journalists who were in the good books of Mr Nyantakyi rubbished the appointment by FIFA.
Dr Kofi Amoah, Mrs Lucy Quist, Naa Odofoley Nortey and Lawyer Duah-Adonteng made up the Committee but former Ghana and Bayern Much defender, Samuel Osei Kuffour has replaced Duah-Adonteng when the mandate for the committee was extended.
The four-member committee were given a clear mandate and were expected to accomplish these mandate by March 31.
- To run the GFA’s daily affairs and cooperate with the special task force once it has been set up by FIFA, CAF and the Government of Ghana; - To review the GFA statutes to ensure compliance with the requirements of FIFA and CAF, particularly art. 15 of the FIFA Statutes, and; - Once the GFA statutes meet the requirements of FIFA and CAF, to organise and conduct elections (from which they are excluded) of a GFA executive committee on the basis of the revised GFA statutes.
Unfortunately, the Committee couldn’t finish their mandate within the six months given to them. This was expected because the then Ghana FA members had drag football in the country to the gutters.
However, FIFA has extended the Committee’s mandate with another six months and are expected to leave office on September 31, 2019.
However, the Dr Kofi Amoah's led committee who has been tasked to restore the integrity of Ghana football has been slammed and criticized by some journalists who are known to be in the good books of Kwesi Nyantakyi. I am not perturbed if you criticized someone to do the right thing but these same journalists who are now ranting and spewing rubbish about the Normalization Committee were in this country when Kwesi Nyantakyi and his Executive Committee Members dragged football to the gutters and run football in the country as their property.
Even when things were at the wrong side, the then members of the Ghana FA will support the wrong thing and these same journalists who are now throwing tantrums were mute because they were scared to tell Mr Nyantakyi the truth. Not long ago, I was listening to a Kumasi based radio station and a journalist who has been trained to be accurate in his submissions and not to take sides boldly confirmed that he will always be grateful to Kwesi Nyantakyi and there is nothing the Normalization Committee will do to please him.
We were in this country when a Glo Sponsorship contract was signed but the personalities that secured the contract were side-lined. Where were these journalists ranting now when Mr Nyantakyi was bullying people? The Ghana Premier League was attracting more sponsorships before Mr Nyantakyi came to office on December 5 as the Ghana FA president.
Ghana’s elite clubs started struggling and failed to make an impact in Africa immediately Kwesi Nyantakyi took over the mantle. These same journalists failed to ask Mr Nyantakyi why our clubs are failing to impress in Africa. Eventually, the Ghana Premier League was sponsor-less for close to seven years. Club administrators consistently threatened to pull out from the league because there was no source of funding. Where were these same journalists speaking today?
When Zylofon Cash offered to sponsor the Ghana Premier League for the next five years’ worth $10 million, some football enthusiasts in the country were not happy because he [Nana Appiah Mensah aka NAM1] will not get his returns because the Premier League was not in the best of shape.
During the unveiling of the sponsorship, the simple question that was asked by many media men was how much clubs will get each year. Mr Nyantakyi told the media that there is a clause in the contract that does not allow both parties to disclose the full details of the contract.
When some media men spoke against that, we had some journalists who boldly justified that Mr Nyantakyi did the right thing by not disclosing the full details of the contract.
Two years ago, StarTimes offered to broadcast the Ghana Premier League for five years after SuperSports cancelled their contract with the Ghana FA. Kwesi Nyantakyi and his Executive Committee went to China and came back and it was communicated to the clubs that the contract has been made ten years instead of five years.
The simple question the clubs asked was 'give us copies of the contract' but Kwesi Nyantakyi failed to provide copies of the contract to the clubs with no explanation. Again, where were these same journalists when things were been mismanaged at the Ghana FA at the expense of the clubs?
Despite chopping 13 years in office as the Ghana FA president, Mr Nyantakyi will always be remembered as the worse person the country has ever had to run the affairs of Ghana football. Former Ghana FA Communications Director, Randy Abbey only sees Mr Nyantakyi best days in office in his first term because he had people who understand football around him but later sackedthe people who brought him to office and surrounded himself with sycophants. These same journalists couldn’t tell Mr Nyantakyi that he has not been fair to the people that brought him to office. He [Kwesi Nyantakyi] came to office as an angel but was a wolf but these journalists couldn’t figure it out.
After Ghana’s abysmal and shambolic performance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, it would be remembered that former president John Dramani Mahama instituted a Commission of Inquiry to find out what led to country’s shameful performance in Rio. When Mr Nyantakyi was invited to give his account on what led to the country’s early from the World Cup, the former CAF 1st vice president told the Committee that several factors led to Ghana’s early exit from the tournament.
When he was asked to explain how $577,500 was shared among the management, Mr Nyantakyi revealed that co-efficient formula was used to share the money during the Brazil 2014 World Cup campaign.
He emphasised that the number seven, which was stated in the Authority Note to represent management, was just a co-efficient used by the FA and did not necessarily represent the composition of the Black Stars Management Committee.
Giving evidence before the Justice Dzamefe Commission, Mr Nyantakyi stated that five out of the six Black Stars Management Committee members who were in Brazil, comprising Moses Armah, Yaw Boateng Gyan, Felix Ansong, Kwame Ofosu Bamfo and himself actually shared $165,000, while the remaining $412,500 was shared by many others, including FA officials and staff, and Ministry of Youth and Sports officials.
I don’t need a soothsayer to tell me that Mr Nyantakyi was clearly lying to the Commission. Where were these journalists who are now ranting when he [Kwesi Nyantakyi] took the country for granted? We have seen some journalists risking their life to tell Mr Nyantakyi the truth but couldn’t survive because you are either being dragged to court or you will be seen as an enemy but those journalists who were ridiculed were vindicated after he [Kwesi Nyantakyi] was exposed in the ‘Number 12’ documentary.
These journalists who want to get the Normalization Committee out of office were in this same country but couldn’t even offer Kwesi Nyantakyi a piece of advise when he was amassing wealth at the expense of Ghana Football. Where were these journalists when George Afriyie was kicked out of office as the vice president of the Ghana Football Association when he declared his intention to contest for the Ghana FA top seat and later asked for copies of Africa Cup of Nations of monies and Glo Sponsorship contracts?
Why do they want the Normalization Committee out of office after six months? They claim that the people FIFA have given them authority to run football affairs does not have the requisite experience and lack football ideas to oversee football affairs in the country. Surprisingly, these same people couldn’t tell Mr Nyantakyi that his behaviour will not aid in the development of our football when he started seeking positions at CAF and FIFA.
Even when the Committee had the intention to bring back football, we were told that no corporate body want to sponsor the competition because the then FA dragged our beautiful football to the gutters. It took the Dr Kofi Amoah to talk to the Sports Ministry before $800,000 was released to start the Special Competition.
If Kwesi Nyantakyi was doing anything better for our football, why were corporate bodies not interested in associating themselves with the FA even when he [Kwesi Nyantakyi] was not in power?
Thirteen years of corruption in our football, thirteen years of hooliganism in our football, thirteen years of friends and cronies in our football and you still can’t see that our football was sent to a ditch?
How do you expect someone to use only six months to cleanse a system that has been engulfed with corruption, hooliganism and friends and cronies affairs?
I know FIFA understand the system more than these ignorant journalists who want the Normalization Committee Members out of office and it will be in their own interest to support the Committee to work in returning football to its normalcy. If it will take even 10 years to cleanse the system, I know FIFA will do that without consulting anybody.
It is about time football administrators and sports journalists in the country unite and fight for a common course instead of fighting for our selfish gains which will not aid in the development of our game.
Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his Tiger EyePI team have done us a favour by exposing the people who did not aid in the development of the game. It’s up to the government and well-thinking football administrators to ensure that sanity is restored. It is about bringing the right people on board to make sure the right thing is done.
As for Kwesi Nyantakyi, he is gone forever and there is no way he will come back into football. Those journalists who are hopping from one radio station to another must pause for a minute and asked themselves if their attitude will change the decision of FIFA.
We all are hoping that sanity will be restored in our game but we don’t want selfish, sycophants and hypocrites people to poison the system and suggest that the Normalization Committee are not doing anything to restore sanity in our game.
The Normalization Committee must stay focus and ensure that they complete their mandate and make sure sanity is restored in our football. You were toothless when your paymaster was in office but you want to prove to the world that you can spew rubbish when someone took over? This hypocrisy must stop now!!!
appiahsamuelkow@gmail.com
