Last Tuesday ahead of
the match between the Malawi National Football team we fondly call The Flames
and Senegal, at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (Afcon) Tournament in
Cameroon, President Lazarus Chakwera pledged to give each player among the
first 11 one million kwacha and half a
million kwacha to each of the substitutes if they secured a win.
For everyone who
follows football and is following events at Afcon, this was no mean assignment
for the flames.
Senegal are among the
best football sides not just in Africa but also in the world as they are ranked
20th globally, Malawi were the underdogs.
I doubt anyone gave
Flames a chance apart from us Malawians, we had faith in our boys and so did
The President.
Coming from a win
against Zimbabwe, the morale was still high in the flames’ camp; we had no
reason to count them out.
All they needed was
that great push, motivation and encouragement that they had all it takes to
beat a team dominated by world class players like Senegal, just like their
brothers did in 2010 when they whipped Algeria 3-0 at a similar competition in
Angola.
Apart from the
incentive right before the match President Chakwera undertook to talk to the
boys, he made a video call to the dressing room, talking them into winning
reminding them of the great support they had here at home.
But the British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Africa News decided to pick issue with President
Chakwera’s gesture.
They made it seem as
though because we are a poor country, struggling with the fight against
corruption, the president should have better priorities than giving gifts to
the national football team.
What they did not know
and most likely still do not know is that Flames is Malawi’s priority and so
was beating Senegal on that fateful Tuesday evening.
They made it sound as
though the President was using proceeds of fraud and corruption to motivate his
boys. How sad.
As expected a majority
of Malawians did not take too kindly to BBC’s sentiments and they have since
that day to date been taking on the world’s media giant accusing it of meddling
in the country’s affairs.
A petition has been generated
calling for an apology from the bush house.
Many have opined that
what the former colonial master is trying to do is to dictate how and on who
Malawi spends its resources, forgetting we are our own sovereign state.
The fact that we are
not where we would love to be when it
comes to dealing with fraud and graft, does not mean that any other business should come to a halt.
I like what Minister
Gospel Kazako told the BBC reporter on radio, the fact that we are a poor
nation does not mean we cannot give
credit where it is due, it does not mean we cannot give each other gifts where
necessary.
The minister further
confronted the BBC that their stance on the matter smells a form of imperialism
and indirect colonization which should not be tolerated.
I mean even the Queen
in Britain has on several occasions given Olympic medalists cash tokens for
victories, so does the United States of America while other countries like The
Philippines go as far as giving houses to their sportsmen as a form of
incentive.
So why should it be a
problem when Malawi through its president does it for its flag carrier?
It is clear that
Malawi is just a victim of the BBC’s Afro-pessimism, peddled by the West to
portraying Africa negatively.
It should not be
surprising when the world’s media giant starts to lose the popularity on the
continent.
Without fear of
contradiction, in Malawi, BBC News Africa is on the verge of losing all the
respect it once commanded unless it works on the bad attitude it has on our
country.
Otherwise as the Flames
take on Morroco on Tuesday I would say rest in peace BBC but may be; stay put
for your rude awakening.
Chao!
