Ghana : Prez Mahama Has Disrespected The Black Stars

A Deputy Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sammy Awuku, has described the "..I'm glad I didn't go” comment by President John Mahama, as disrespectful to the Senior National Team, the Black Stars.

President Mahama, in a speech he delivered during the relocation ceremony of the seat of government from the Osu Castle to the Flag Staff House on Thursday, stated that he was glad he did not go to South Africa to watch the Black Stars play against the Stallions of Burkina Faso.

Speaking at the official ceremony, the President said, “I know this morning we are all heartbroken by our unfortunate defeat by Burkina Faso in the African Cup of Nations yesterday night – my Vice was there yesterday evening to watch the match and I don’t envy him, and I’m glad I didn’t go.”

Most Ghanaians were looking up to the Black Stars to unite the country by winning the ultimate trophy for a fifth time after a hotly contested 2012 general elections.

The team, which has been the toast of both Ghanaians and foreigners, came under serious criticism with connoisseurs of the game assigning all sorts of reasons to their semi-final defeat.

President Mahama's statement, though some say it was jovial, has attracted mixed reaction from the public.
Whiles some say the president was right in not wasting taxpayers’ money to go see that abysmal performance from the Black Stars, others consider his statement as unfortunate since the Black Stars have one more match to play and they need to know the president still believes in them.

One of the latter group of people is the NPP communicator. He is of the view that the president's remark is a sign of disrespect to the management and the playing body of the team.

To him, the President’s comment was “disappointing but not surprising” because he sought to distance himself from the loss to Burkina Faso.

The Deputy Communications Director of the NPP who spoke on Adom FM Thursday evening insisted that, the President should have been a bit sympathetic towards the Black Stars and ought not to have joined the rest of the World in rebuking the ‘boys’, since it could affect their psyche as they play Mali for a third place on Saturday.

The four time African champions were denied a place in the final against Nigeria, at the ongoing African Cup of Nations in South Africa, when they lost on penalties to the Stallions of Burkina Faso last Wednesday.