There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and hurt.
Erma Bombeck
AS IF THE DEVASTATING BLOW OF 1-0 suffered at the hands of Inter Allies at El Wak Stadium in Accra was not enough, a greater tragedy was waiting for Kotoko at Nkawkaw.
The club posted the following on Twitter: “Players and officials on our team bus returning to Kumasi after our game with Inter Allies in Accra have been involved in an accident. The accident occurred around 9:45pm at Nkawkaw, when our bus ran into a stationary vehicle. Personnel on the bus are generally fine. Some are, however, receiving treatment at the Holy Family Hospital, Nkawkaw. Management requests that fans stay calm. A full statement on the issue will be issued in due course”.
The message was not consoling – nay not comforting either. The fears of fans were buttressed by the death of Kofi Asare, the Assistant Executive Officer of the Club, responsible for equipment, confirmed this; the fact that we have heard no more deaths tells the fans to be grateful to the Almighty for “Little mercies”.
There are so many questions on the lips of fans and other concerned Ghanaians; so many, whose answers at this stage may take away the solemnity, the sobriety, and the somber occasion engendered by the funeral episode.
At this stage one will say to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene: “Nana, w’adaworoma, daa kena”, for he is the Life Patron of the Club. It is traditional: when a member of a family dies, it is the head of the family to whom the initial condolence goes. To the family– extended and nuclear – of the deceased, Kofi Asare, we say “cheer up”. We wish all those still hospitalised “speedy recovery”.
It is heartening to find the number of persons who have since paid a visit to the coach, Steven Polack and others who have been hospitalised at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi. These include Honourable Osafo Maafo, Senior Minister. The President, Nana Akufo Addo, in a Tweet consoled the club and the bereaved family. Nana Akufo Addo was saddened by the news of the accident involving the players and official of Kotoko: “My heart goes out to the team; speedy recovery to the injured”. The former President, John Dramani Mahama wrote on his Facebook: “Let’s remember Asante Kotoko S.C. in our prayers” The whole nation was in mourning and many people, too numerous to name individually, showed sympathy by offering various types of gifts and cash donations to affected players and also to the coach.
We have suffered such a tragedy before. In 1963, Baba Yara, the legendary right winger of Asante Kotoko and later Republicans suffered a spine injury in an accident (with his team mates) at Kpeve in the Volta Region. Despite being flown to the U.K. for treatment, Baba Yara did not recover again to enjoy his favorite pastime being confined to a wheel chair, till he died in 1969. This is the man after whom the Kumasi Stadium has been named.
On 9th May, 2001, football fans watching a Kotoko – Hearts match at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium, in Accra mourned when 127 souls were lost as a result of a pandemonium that erupted on the stands. Elsewhere in Africa that same year, (2001) 43 were killed in a Stadium in South Africa; in the DR Congo, 8 fans were killed in a Stadium stampede at Lubumbashi.
On the larger international scene, football fans can hardly forget the Estadio Nacional Disaster in which 300 fans died during an international football match between Peru and Argentina in May, 1964. Nor can they forget the Zambia air plane crash in which almost the whole of Zambia’s National football team the Chipolopolo (the Copper Bullets) numbering 18 out of 30 passengers lost their lives off the shores of Libreville, Gabon. The team was on its way to Senegal for the FIFA world Cup qualifier against Senegal, in an Air Force de Havilland Canada DH5.
In November, 2016, a plane carrying the members of Brazilian football team, Chapecoense, crashed over Colombia. A total of 72 passengers, and crew members lost their lives, only 6 survived. Chapecoense were flying to Medellin to play the Copa Sudamerica finals match against Atletico National. The Brazilian President, Michel Temer, declared three days of national mourning.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) which solidarised with Kotoko team must be commended: and the fact that they have decided to reschedule the Kotoko – Hearts match is equally appreciable. It is good that the true situation about the accident is unfolding. We know now that the vehicle the Kotoko bus crashed into was not stationary!
But we shall not talk now; we are waiting for those in hospital to be discharged, and the dead properly mourned – after that … Because we cannot sit back and allow someone else’s miscalculation plunge all of us into mourning. Sooner or later, the day of reckoning will arrive, and every person connected with this calamity will explain his role. It is sad, so sad—and it does not have to be repeated. As repetition in a woman’s ear would murder as it fell, so writes Shakespeare in Macbeth. This time it is repetition in a man’s ear, take note.
Kudos to all the well – wishers – those who visited the players; those who offered various gifts; those who gave cash. Kotoko is grateful to all. Kotoko – Fabu.
AFRICANUS OWUSU – ANSAH
africanusoa@gmail.com