Can’t we do without Generals in FA? Yes we can

If you want change, yes, I mean change in terms of allowing a civilian to take charge as head of the national football federation, Ferwafa, mkono jju [raise your hand]. I can see almost all of you [reading this] raising your hands, save for a few, who still think Rwanda’s football is better off only when a General is in charge. Seventeen years since the new Rwanda was born, Rwandan football has been run, I mean at the very top, by two army generals, one replacing the other, but the question the 11 million Rwandans want answered, and so soon is, isn’t high time for that post to return to the hands of civilians? As a civilian, I’ll pretend to represent our camp, and in doing so, I’d say I believe football in this country is ripe for a civilian head of the national football federation; after all, we live in a democracy, and not a military government that everything should be done by Afandes. For 17 years, with the two generals in charge, first Lt. Gen. Ceaser Kayizari and then Brig. Gen. Jean Bosco Kazura, we have seen what they both did and what they didn’t, and having seen the two sides [good and bad] of their respective terms, can we afford to have yet another General in charge? Those for a civilian head of Ferwafa will urge their case basing their point on the accountability side of the coin—claiming that a civilian can easily be put on account by the court of public interest unlike an army officer, who is often perceived, by the civilians to have allegiance first and foremost, somewhere else. In a civilian dominated society like Rwanda, a civilian is more suited to guide a civilian dominated organization, firstly because he speaks the same language as the people he leads, and secondly because his subordinates don’t fear to put him in check at any given time. I’m not saying that the two generals, Kayizari and Kazura were not held accountable during their time at Ferwafa or that there is no accountability with soldiers but the truth of the matter is that civilians, especially in places like Africa, tend to feel uncomfortable around the military. It’s on this backdrop and that vast experience Rwandans have of having army generals leading a purely civilian organization like the national football federation that football fans are advocating for a change of hands, from military to civil. Those, who think military men should continue heading Ferwafa, will tell you that with a general in charge, there would be less cases of money stealing as well as the usual chaos that tends to characterize most national football associations in African countries. They will tell you how Ferwafa, under the stewardship of the two army generals, has been one of the best run national FA on the continent. Although this points hold water, it surely doesn’t take the fact that there is need for change—the generals played their part in building a sound foundation, and it’s now time for a civilian to be given a chance to oversee the new beginning of Rwandan football. The Generals, being Rwandans with a passion for the beautiful game, and the commitment to see it take a high level, can still play an important role but from other capacities and not necessarily as the big shots. What do you think? nku78@yahoo.com