29 YEARS: HAYATOU HUMILIATED IN CAF ELECTIONS.

ISSA HAYATOU-Former CAF President

It is often said, it is advisable to leave the stage while the applause is loudest, but not when you are called Hayatou and hails from Cameroon. African Football on Thursday March 16, 2017 landed a new leader with the election of the 57 year old Madagascar's Ahmed Ahmad  who has ousted long serving  Issa Hayatou  during an elections held in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Ahmad garnered a total of 34 votes against Hayatou's 20 votes ending an era that lasted for close to three decade. The 70 year old Cameroonian born Hayatou has ruled African football since 1988 (29 uninterrupted years) and was going for an eighth term in office.

Ahmad Ahmad: Celebrating his victory with members of the Zimbabwe FA

Issa Hayatou, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for an era spanning 29 years and a senior administrator at FIFA throughout its years of corruption scandals, has finally been deposed. Hayatou, a former teacher and sports minister from the Hayatous’ dynasty in Cameroon was first elected as the CAF president in 1988 and became a member of the FIFA executive committee two years later.

Ahmad will replace him on FIFA’s governing council. So this election signals the departure of another old face from world football’s governing body executive committee. One which overlapped with the 17-year presidency of Sepp Blatter. This marks a new page in football governance in Africa and the world. The corrupt Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were all banned from any footballing activity and Hayatou’s departure brings a logical end to Blatter and his cronies.

Some people have been quick to identify G. Infantino (FIFA President) as the main man who masterminded the humiliation of Hayatou, given that Hayatou did not support his campaign to the helm of FIFA. Others think that, people just needed change and Hayatou wasn’t that person to revitalise African football. Be it the former or later, it was obvious that, world football needed a new breathe of air.

Cameroon Reacts;

The response from Hayatou’s humiliation from CAF was received with mixed feelings in Cameroon. As of now, no official statement has been made by the Ministry or Fecafoot. But, most football pundits were quick to say “at long last” he’s gone. While his supporters are rather quick to point out his 3 major achievements in African football amongst which include.

1.  Increase in world cup places from 2 to 5;
2. AFCON from 8 team to 16;
3. The financial stability of CAF;

Nonetheless, they have also complained that, Hayatou did not received the required support from the regime as necessary. Thus there were no diplomatic campagins in his favour. Nonetheless, Hayatou was either so naïve or too dictatorial not to have seen his defeat coming. It was very evident that, most FA presidents were becoming exasperated with Hayatou and needed a new blood in the management of African football. Hayatou was a leader who during his reign saw so many changes in African football. Within this changes, he did little or nothing extraordinary to have them. Most of the changes were a function of time and some. Even North Korea with his maligned leader has overseen some changes in the country. We expected the Confederation of African Football to expand and change in various domains. Here are some of the failure of Hayatou.

1. Africa remains a net exporters of footballers to other regions of the world. If you meet any African youth who plays football and ask him about his dream, he will tell you Europe;
2. Africa is still importing at almost 95% football managers. During the just ended AFCON, ONLY 2 national sides had an African as the head coach. Today, Cote d’Ivoire have just appointed Marc Wilmorts as its new coach. That is not progress;
3. If we compare CAF and the AFC in the last 29 years, there is a worrying disparity. The game in Asia has improved, Clubs can import players and use domestic trainers, the go to the world cup and don’t end up having 8-0 and 0 points at the group stage. Meanwhile, Africa is the complete opposite;
4. Since Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010 that reached the Quarter Finals of the world cup, no other African team has gone beyond that (Semis);
5. He didn’t not prepare his departure. In most international organisations, people prepare their successors. His departure has left Cameroon sterile in the league of African football management.

My Conclusions.

Don’t hold on to a Public Office for too long: One great lesson we can learn from Issa Hayatou’s humiliation is not to hold on for too long a public office. Public office is not a lifelong appointment, it’s for a meaningful period of time. Many of the African public office holders who break this rule often end up being booed, ridiculed and humiliated out of office. How honourable would it have been had Mobutu Sesesoko, YahYah Jahmeh, Samuel Doe, Idi Amin, and Sepp Blatter handed over power early enough before the governed got tired of them and were shamed out of the office. I hope current FIFA’s president, Ahmad Ahmad, Robert Mugabe, Paul Biya, Denis Sassou Ngessou, Obiang Nguema, Dos Santos, Idriss Deby, Kabila etc will learn a lesson or two. And for Cameroonians, Don’t Just Wish for Change, Go for It: Ahmad’s wished to see African football change and he went for it and got it. He didn’t just say it but he hunt for it until he achieved it.