Poor Qatar. All it wanted to do was spend its own hard earned money and graciously host football’s biggest event. The Gulf state sought to showcase the best of the Middle East to a world that looked at the region with either trepidation or greed. They wanted the global community to say, "Wow. Look at what this small nation has been able to pull off. They’ve built amazing hotels, airports and stadiums and their culture and food is a revelation”.

Well, the joke’s on them. The global power center has decided that all we’ll know about the nation of less than three million is that they are a corrupt, dishonest, homophobic and fundamentalist people with a penchant for killing migrant workers.

I wish I could say that this was the very first time that I’d witnessed this level of bullying but it isn’t.

During the last World Cup in Russia all we heard about was the LGBT issues in the country, the Pussy Riot band, the annexation of Crimea and Vladimir Putin’s Machiavellianism. During the 2010 World Cup the talk was about South Africa’s dubious moniker, ‘rape capital of the world’, as well as the fact that they were splurging on an event that the country just couldn’t afford to host. Especially with all the endemic dirt, crime and poverty.

Defending the Qatar World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, in a fit of pique, noted that for what the West have done for the last 300 years, they should spend the next 300 years apologizing for their historical crimes. The strength of the statement shocked some (including myself) but I felt that it should have gone further. By talking about the last 300 years, he made it seem as if there weren’t things happening in those western capitals at this very moment.

For example, let’s look at the host nations of the next World Cup namely Mexico, USA and Canada.

In Mexico there are issues around kidnapping and other forms of cartel violence. In the US, any African man who doesn’t look like Elon Musk (i.e. white) will know that the risk of receiving the George Floyd/ Philando Castile treatment is a reality that needs to be navigated. And don’t let Canada’s clean PR fool you; the manner in which the Canadian system is dealing with issues relating to immigrants as well as the indigenous community is shocking.

We can look at every World Cup host nation with a fine tooth comb and discover a reason why they shouldn’t have had the opportunity to host the event. Brazil? Favelas and crime. Germany? Millions killed by a ravenous state. Japan? I refer you to what I just wrote about Germany. South Korea? Dangerously close to belligerent and nuclear armed North Korea. France? Just one word should have eliminated them in 1998, Françafrique. Italy? Mussolini. Mexico? Dictatorship. Ditto Spain and Argentina. I could literally go through each and every host nation and find something unsavory.

And that’s the thing with us humans. We all fall short of the glory of God. All we can try is to do better and be better. So, let’s put a pause on the sanctimony and enjoy the magic of football. ....................................

I’m watching the events surrounding Akenes and Kernels Ltd with a lot of interest. For those who haven’t been following this story, Akenes and Kernels Ltd encouraged farmers to plant chia and promised to buy whatever they produced at a premium price. Today the company has in its warehouse stock worth over Rwf 3 billion (all monies that they owe farmers) that they have failed to export. As a farmer myself I can only imagine how frustrating and frightening this whole issue is for all the chia growers who thought that this superfood could change their lives for the better.

It’s my view that our economy will only go as far as the agricultural sector will let it. Proof? Look at the cost of food in our markets. No matter how much, for example, a tour guide makes for their family after a good holiday season, unless the food bill is manageable, there is little left for other purchases. I believe that our farmers cannot be left to their own devices especially when it comes to crops that are wholly for export.

Remember, for every hectare that goes to chia or chilis is a hectare that has been lost to potatoes, beans and spinach. If indeed such a hectare is used to improve our trade balance, then it better actually get exported. We simply don’t have the land to spare and farmers don’t have the resources to lose if and when things go wrong. NAEB and Minagri needs to be more on the ball

The writer is a socio-political commentator