One of the most famous quotes attributed to Alexander the Great is when he insinuated that he was more afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion rather than an army of lions led by a sheep. The reason being that battleground calls for exceptional leadership, command, organizational capabilities and inspiration from a central figure.
A leader is a person who is able to bring out the best from his men no matter the circumstances. He is supposed to be visionary and capable of thinking on his feet.
Most successful organizations and countries attribute their success to exemplary leadership qualities from individuals charged with running them. From Honda Inc. to Apple to Singapore and USA, these extra ordinary men had the innate ability to steady these ships in turbulent waters.
In Kenya, we have set the bar too low that any charlatan, half-wit or dunderhead can run any government institution. This is as a result of allowing bribery, tribalism and nepotism rather than meritocracy to determine appointments and elections.
This country lacks a sports policy that can revolutionize sports. The abundance of talent showcased during inter-primary and inter-secondary schools games is left to waste away.
Bureaucrats running the government are only keen in investing in some manual labor in form of clearing drainage and collecting garbage instead ensuring youths are actively engaged in sports.
With the exception of a few, most sports federations are epitomes of mismanagement, corruption, ineptitude and incompetence. They are run like chang’aa dens dominated by cacophonic noises of avaricious cannibals who excel in milking athletes’ sweat and sucking their blood.
They are run by cartels who have turned them into small fiefdoms using them to mint millions from FIFA, IAAF among others.
Most sports are blood, sweat and tears affair. To compete at any level, one has to invest massive resources in the form of funds and person hours of training.
I have seen runners compete barefoot for lack of running shoes, boxers stuffing gunny bags with sand, weightlifters improvising building stones, cyclists training using cheap Indian bicycles their motivation being the hope and dream that one day they will grace the world stage.
The Rio debacle gives us an insight of the rot that permeates sports in Kenya, perpetrated not by athletes but by federation officials.
We must give it to our athletes for their exemplary performance despite NOCK’s shenanigans. A medal tally of 11 (5 of them gold) is an indication of our athletes resilience and fervor despite all odds being stack against them.
Sports is a multi-billion dollar industry. Winning is about dominance. United States of America entrenches its superpower status by winning numerous medals (over 100 in Rio).
We cannot allow the Rio debacle to go unpunished. NOCK dream killers must be locked away in a penitentiary and keys thrown away.
All sports federations must also be subjected to house-cleaning exercise. We cannot continue allowing thousands of lions in the form immensely talented athletes to be led by sheep in the form of greedy and myopic federation officials.
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