JUJU (BLACK MAGIC) IN GHANA SOCCER

BY KWAKU AMOAKO GAJOLA
The government of Ghana would be most relieved with the recent developments in the sporting circles of Ghana. The Gitmo guys for some days now might have had some sort of peace of mind with these guys making way for Rashid Sumaila and Jerry Akaminko alongside Baba Salia.
A normal phenomenon in the Ghanaian football world arose some few days ago and it seems to be the most talked about issue in the country. The Issue is very rife in the country and is all about the aforementioned guys who seem to have taken center stage. Baba Salia is said to be chasing Rashid Sumaila for his reward after presenting him with the coveted price in the 2014 world cup for the Black stars. To save you from the suspense, the work which has been alleged to have been done was not to annex the world cup but to have a share of the Black Stars cake which was a 100,000 dollars. All these are allegations by Baba Salia. Money has exchanged hands but is a quagmire these said individuals wouldn’t want to find themselves in especially Rashid Sumaila. Rashid and Jerry go way back at Heart of lions when the two formed a formidable pair and still do as friends now.
My quandary is not with what is happening now and also not to seek to establish; but how well as a nation have we moved to avert such happenings. Coach Goran Plavi Stevanovic came back from the 2012 nation’s cup and spoke about issues of juju in the Stars camp but the Ghana football association vehemently rebuffed such assertions. Ghana’s ‘prodigal son’ Kevin Prince Boateng has talked about this issue before, so have Micheal Essien and a number of players.
Isn’t it funny how some of these players if not all who are being alleged to be dabbling in black magic ascribe adulations to the creator God for help in these matches they play in. Double standards I surmise!!!
When individuals are challenging for a position the main tactic that can help one over the other is to usurp the other. And how this is done is dependent on the individuals involved. This triggers the participants to resort to all sorts of aids and juju can’t be left out.
HOW DOES IT START?
I am of the firm belief that the height of “juju” in Ghanaian football is what is seen at the Black Stars level. This is to say that the practice of “juju” has a beginning point which is the grass root football in our communities and our schools. It would be ludicrous for any of us to say it all started at the Black Stars level. Juju is a practice which has taken the attention of most players and it is believed that some carriers of some auspicious talents were hampered by it.
The colts league, normal community matches, school leagues, division leagues and the Ghana premier league for that matter have all been engulfed with traits of ‘juju ‘. For a little over 50 years since “professional football” started in Ghana, juju has been an invisible part. Players in the Ghanaian footballing circles irrespective of the levels they are have their beliefs in a myriad of things and “juju” is a major object of belief.
We are in a scientific epoch where such activities should have been relegated and should I say eradicated from the beautiful game which we love so much in this country but that has never been the case. The belief in “juju” has never been on a low and yet we turn blind eyes to it as a people. The beautiful game of football is being tarnished by such happenings.
MOVING FORWARD!!!
We can’t say it can be eradicated from the system for good but to its barest minimum would be of great essence to the beautiful game. There is the need for a belief in the talent of an individual and how best this raw talent can be harnessed to a much more fine product through training, learning, and other forms which can help improve one’s talent. It is also high time for those in the helm of affairs to put in stringent measures to stop such activities to make it an equal ground for all. At all levels there is the need for education and also motivation alongside propagating against such activities to rid your brother of a position through harming him or her. There is the need for an accentuation on lower level football. This will help prevent tackling the effects rather than the cause.
I believe to thoroughly tackle such an issue the notion of this is my player especially within the national teams should be discouraged and rather MERITOCRACY being the order of the day.