[ 2010-10-28 ]

The other side of Stephen Appiah on his daily chores

Stephen Appiah: A Patriotic Ghanaian and Humanitarian
An October 23, 2010, news item, sourced to
Citifmonline.com and published on Francis Akoto’s
oft-accessed and -read Ghanaweb.com, titled
“Stephen Appiah’s Library Is An Instant Hit in
Chorkor,” evoked such pleasant and invigorating
feelings in me, I would have remained interminably
restless, for good reason, had I not sent in a
rejoinder to the aforesaid piece.

Stephen Appiah’s bold step in promoting education
in one of Accra’s most underprivileged communities
is not only an avant-garde phenomenon among past
and present footballers of Ghanaian lineage, it is
a testament to this genial and ever-smiling
footballer’s exemplary display of patriotism and
love for Mother Ghana.

Stephen Appiah, ex-captain of the Black Stars of
Ghana, under whose leadership the nation first
qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, has
always been a good citizen of the land – from his
days with local side, Accra Hearts of Oak, to his
days as member of the national soccer team to his
days as leader of the Black Stars. Despite a
litany of injuries that almost ended his playing
career, Stephen Appiah made a spectacular recovery
to take part in the 2010 World Cup in South
Africa, coming within a whisker of sending Ghana
to an unprecedented semi-final berth at the
tournament, except for the self-seeking act of one
self-seeking player!

By his actions on and off the field, Stephen
Appiah has thrown down the gauntlet for other
well-remunerated sports personalities to fetch:
that while it is okay to seek and achieve personal
wealth via one’s discipline, it is even better to
give back to the poor communities to which one is
intricately and irrevocably linked – whether
communally or consanguineously.

Ghana is blessed with many footballers fortunate
enough to ply their trade in the best European
leagues in contemporary times. And many of these
players earn weekly wages in the range of 20,000
to 120,000 pounds sterling! It is thus startling
and disappointing to know that very few of these
players ever return to invest in their local
communities, let alone engage in philanthropy.
Have these players forgotten about the
overwhelming support they received from fanatical
fans while minnows with their respective local
clubs just a few years earlier? Some of these fans
would spend a tenth of their monthly salaries each
week to see these players in action – until
providence opened doors for these same players to
move to the richer leagues of Europe, Australia
and North America. So, how could these now-famous
stars ignore their origins? Such actions are as
egocentric as they are un-Ghanaian!

Reading through the array of comments under the
aforesaid Ghanaweb.com piece brought to the fore
the ever-insalubrious inter-tribal hostilities
that have now become the penchant of many
Ghanaians. Very sad, indeed. Instead of focusing
on Stephen Appiah’s exemplary patriotism and
humanitarianism, a few people hijacked the
discussion, as is their modus operandi each day on
Francis Akoto’s uncensored Ghanaweb.com, turning
it into another ignominious Ewe-Gă-Asante
melodrama. We need to grow up, folks! Of what
relevance was Stephen Appiah’s background to his
philanthropic act? So, what if he were Asante?
Could an Asante not be expected to build a library
for kids in Accra, a library likely to be
patronized by Ghanaians of all ethnicities? What
if Stephen Appiah were Gă? Would it matter at all
in an all-encompassing discussion about poor kids
who desperately needed a place to spend their
after-school hours and weekends, which will, in
turn, keep them from getting into trouble?

Football will not build a nation’s intellectual
base; education will! That Stephen Appiah chose to
build a library is certainly a better investment
in the nation’s future than if he had donated one
thousand soccer balls and hundreds of soccer boots
to local schools in Accra! In a country where
there are hundreds of educationists and
intellectuals, yet we seem to perennially make the
wrong decisions regarding education and academic
curricula at all levels, a good deed such as
Stephen Appiah’s should evoke sentiments of pride
and gratitude, not those of antipathy and
insolence.

By choosing Chorkor in the Ablekuma South
Constituency of the Greater-Accra Region for the
library, Stephen Appiah has demonstrated immense
wisdom: the poor areas of Ghana may lack basic
structures and amenities, but the people living in
these places are no different from Ghanaians
living in well-heeled communities. Stephen Appiah,
perhaps, understands the aphorism that we are only
as strong as the weak among us. And not only has
Stephen Appiah provided a library for kids to
spend their after-school hours to gain priceless
knowledge, he has provided jobs for a few
Ghanaians as well. And with his clothing store
employing a few more citizens, Stephen Appiah is
an embodiment of what every privileged Ghanaian
should desire to become: patriot, humanitarian,
employer.

It is this writer’s prayer that other renowned
Ghanaians from all walks of life will emulate
Stephen Appiah’s act and build libraries in the
avalanche of penurious communities that make up
the Ghanaian landscape. The early inculcation of
the love of learning in each child is a surefire
recipe for his or her future academic success,
leading to a society of learned people. Without a
strong backbone of educated and informed citizens,
the country has no political and/or economic
future, which is why Stephen Appiah’s efforts must
be celebrated and emulated by other affluent
Ghanaians.

Source - Daniel K. Pryce

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