Features
GOOD NEWS FOR FOOTBALL FANS – C K GYAMFI LEFT AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY! By CAMERON DUODU
When I became editor of the Ghana edition of Drum magazine in the early 1960s, I used to double as the paper’s main Sports Writer.
My pen name – a tongue-in-cheek nomenclature if ever one existed – was Kokooase Adowa [Duiker Found Under The Cocoa Trees]! I am sure this had something to do, subliminally, with the fact that I had long, thin legs as a child, and that could run so fast on errands for my elders that one of them renamed me “Motor!”
Anyway, in the guise of Kokooase Adowa, I once visited the Black Star camp when the national team was preparing for a match with another African country. As soon as the team’s glamorous right-winger, the late, inimitable Baba Yara, saw me, he launched an attack on me for something I had written about him in Drum:
“You said in your report that I should use my left foot every now and then, but that’s precisely what I did in that match! Maybe you didn’t watch the match closely?” Yara charged.
The Black Star player-coach, C K Gyamfi, intervened at once to forestall an argument between myself and his most precious possession.
“What he was implying, in saying that, “Gyamfi explained, “is that he knows you’re an ambidextrous forward, but that your natural instinct is to use your right foot more often than your left. You, of course, can’t notice that you’re doing that, because your whole mind would be on the game as a whole and not on individual moves you might or might not make.
“There are some criticisms that are made of us as players from the point of view of an admirer, not that of a critic. You have to read an article carefully before you can detect such nuances. For instance, in that same article that you’re cheesed up, about, he remarked that a ball I had shot at goal would have earned us a goal had I passed it to someone else better placed than me!
“Now that’s a serious criticism to be levelled against a player-coach, who, after all, is in charge of strategy and should set a good example to his players.. But he added that he wondered why “Gyamfi of all people” should have done that! In saying that, he was revealing so0mething about me, which was that he expected me, with all my intelligence, to make an impeccable decision about what to do whenever I got the ball! You can’t call that a ‘criticism’!”
My head swelled when Gyamfi defended me like that. But Baba Yara, who had a very sharp wit, immediately retorted that “What he did is like when a Fulani man wants to punish you: he will hit you, but then immediately bend down to breathe air onto the stricken spot, so that the blow wouldn’t hurt you too much!”
Everyone laughed. And the tension which was about to arise between me and the players was instantly dissolved. Gyamfi, as the players’ protector, had defused a situation that could have ignited into hostility by the players towards me. This, of course, would have been reflected in my next report on the team’s performance. Yet football players long for adulation, and hostile criticism against them gets to them all too easily.
The intercession by Gyamfi in the threatening altercation between me and Baba Yara revealed to me that Gyamfi wasn’t just simply a very good player who had risen to become the national coach, but also, that he was a first-class psychologist and an expert manager of men’s egos. He had saved me from the tongue of Baba Yara, but at the same time, he had subtly taught Yara something about the delicate art of cultivating diplomatic relations between footballers and sports writers.
Indeed, so broad was Gyamfi’s intellect that his coaching method was total – he took charge of the players’ sensitivities, whilst, at the same time, exacting the best physical and mental performance from them. In other words, he was a coach whose qualities comprised both intellectual depth and technical prowess – a ‘Mourinho’ before his time; an Alex Ferguson who didn’t allow the results of his man-management skills to be scuppered by a prickly personality.
I recall these things about “C K” because I am in the very happy position of having been given a sneak preview of the Autobiography Gyamfi left behind when he passed on 2 September 2015. Apparently, C K had been painfully putting down his recollections of his long, illustrious football career, during his retirement and even when was enfeebled by illness. He was fortunate enough to befriend by a very young student called Fiifi Anaman, who, as it happened, was a “football enthusiast’s football enthusiast.”
Despite the half a century of years that constituted the age-gap between the two men, they developed a rapport which enabled “C K” to entrust what he had written to Fiifi, to enable him to “ghostwrite” the fantastic Autobiography that is about to be published by that indefatigable and shrewd Publisher, Fred Labi, proprietor of of Digibooks.
Entitled “Black Star: The Autobiography of C K Gyamfi”, the book is certain to become an instant best-seller when it appears in our bookshops in a few weeks time – hopefully, before the 5th anniversary of Gyamfi’s passing.
It makes for enchanting reading. We learn all about Gyamfi’s beginnings as a footballer in junior and senior school. His crawl from club to club until he arrived at Kumase Asante Kotoko, to attain national stardom alongside James Agyei, Kwaku Duah and others; how he got disaffected with Kotoko but instead of merely leaving the club, formed his own team to contest – dangerously – for local popularity, against Kotoko, in Kotoko’s own home-base – Kumase.
And so on and so forth until – he became the national coach of the Black Stars, and won the African Cup of Nation three times
for Ghana!
I can’t wait for a copy of the printed book. Can you?
Not if you are a real football fan – say I!
Features
The power of change: Understanding the process and catalysts
CHANGE is an inevitable and essential aspect of life, shaping individuals, organizations, and societies. It can be transformative, leading to growth, innovation, and progress. But how is change created?
This comprehensive article explores the process and catalysts of change.
The Change Process
The change process involves several stages:
1. Awareness: Recognising the need for change.
2. Assessment: Evaluating the current state.
3. Visioning: Envisioning the desired future state.
4. Planning: Developing strategies and action plans.
5. Implementation: Executing the plan.
6. Evaluation: Monitoring progress and making adjustments.
Catalysts of Change
Several factors can catalyse change:
1. Internal Motivation: Personal or organisational desire for improvement.
2. External Pressures: Market trends, technological advancements, or regulatory requirements.
3. Leadership: Visionary leaders driving change.
4. Crisis: Forced change due to unexpected events.
5. Innovation: New ideas and technologies.
Types of Change
Change can be:
1. Incremental: Gradual, small-scale changes.
2. Transformational: Radical, large-scale changes.
3. Strategic: Planned, deliberate changes.
4. Emergent: Spontaneous, unplanned changes.
Change Management
Effective change management involves:
1. Communication: Clear messaging and stakeholder engagement.
2. Training: Developing skills and knowledge.
3. Support: Providing resources and guidance.
4. Monitoring: Tracking progress and addressing challenges.
Resistance to Change
Resistance can arise due to:
1. Fear: Uncertainty and anxiety.
2. Habit: Comfort with the status quo.
3. Lack of Understanding: Insufficient information.
4. Power Dynamics: Threats to authority or control.
Overcoming Resistance
Strategies to overcome resistance include:
1. Education: Providing information and context.
2. Involvement: Engaging stakeholders in the change process.
3. Support: Addressing concerns and fears.
4. Leadership: Demonstrating commitment and vision.
Sustaining Change
To sustain change:
1. Embed Change: Integrate new practices and behaviors.
2. Monitor Progress: Continuously evaluate and adjust.
3. Celebrate Successes: Recognize achievements.
4. Maintain Momentum: Keep the change process moving.
Conclusion
Change is a complex and multifaceted process. Understanding the change process, catalysts, and management strategies can help individuals and organizations navigate and create meaningful change.
Recommendations
1. Develop a Change Mindset: Embrace change as an opportunity.
2. Build Change Capacity: Develop skills and resources.
3. Foster a Culture of Change: Encourage innovation and experimentation.
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
Features
This question of love
The question of love is something that will be talked about until kingdom come.
A discussion I observed on the internet about a 19 year old who had accepted the proposal of a 67 year old man reminded me of the preaching of Pastor Mensa Otabil.
He talked about the a scenario where a 60 year old man enters into a relationship with a 22 year old lady and the lady tells him I love you, when he has a protruded belly, with all the accompanying creases and he believes what she says.
He further went on to say that a whole grown up man, allows a young lady to call him “babe” and he does not feel offended.
He further went on to preach that, this young lady, young enough to be his daughter, says “babe, I love you” and this man sheepishly laughs and does not realise, he is being taken advantage of.
What keeps ringing in my ears is his statement that “what is there to love about a protruding sagging belly?”
There is no regulated way for how a person falls in love. It reminds me of a funny statement that Pastors or marriage counsellors often use, that if you fall in love, you may hurt yourself.
Love I believe is a beautiful thing but it is not something that should be toyed with. People getting into relationships should consider the realities that are bound to happen as the years go by.
Jealousy is a very destructive influence. It can influence a person to harm his wife or her husband or to even commit murder. There has been countless reported instances where a man has poured acid on his wife or girlfriend, slashed his wife to death with a cutlass because he suspected, the wife was cheating on him.
It is something that blinds one to right reasoning and once your reasoning stops functioning, then the wrong side of us takes over and the result is nothing to write home about. In most cases, it comes out after the horrible act has been perpetrated, that there was no truth in the issue that caused the jealousy, after all. However, a life would have been maimed, disfigured or destroyed forever.
One of the causes of jealousy in marriage is the age gap difference. Whether we like it or not we shall grow old one day if God by his grace enables us to live long. When we grow old, a lot of changes occur in our bodies and things we used to do with ease, suddenly become a huge challenge and it could be very frustrating.
One of the things that drives a man crazy is when he has grown weaker in bed and sees the wife interacting with younger men in a suspicious manner that seems to suggest that there is more to it than meets the eye.
Jealousy will definitely be kindled in the heart of such a man whose wife is far younger than him like this 67 year old man wanting to marry a 19 year young lady.
In 30 years’ time, this man will be 97 and his muscles would have become weaker affecting his erection. His wife would be 49 and will have to be satisfied in bed in a manner that this man cannot execute. What do you think is going to happen?
Marriage Counsellors advocate that the ideal age gap between marriage partners should not be more than 10 years. This is one way to eliminate suspicions which results in mistrust when the man grows old and gets weaker because it is a known fact that sex is very important to men than women.
A man becomes very worried when his sexual performance level drops. This is what causes some men to act in a manner that is condemnable. My advice, walk into love, don’t fall into it. God bless.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
