LET the drums beat out a hero's refrain and let the gong-gongs spread the good news from Paga to Tema. Let the church bells ring across the length and breadth of the country and let the people of God/Allah sing songs of victory and shout a loud 'Hallelujah' to the Lord God Almighty.
But let the doubting Thomasses wake up from their deep slumber and let the faint-hearted stand firm. For, the Lord has been good to us; the Lord has been mighty in battle and has brought a nation with a population of 306 million people bowing at the feet of a mere 23 million.
Sometimes it looked like a mission impossible; it appeared as if we were going to collapse under the weight of the huge responsibility we were shouldering as the lone hope for Africa in a tournament that had seen even the host nation, South Africa, and four other giants, namely, Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire and Algeria, fall by the wayside.
But totally wrapped up in confidence and fully clad in the whole armour of God, 11 dedicated and devoted young men, who go by the name Black Stars, brushed the heavy odds aside and brought glory and honour not only to their Motherland but also the entire African continent and, indeed, Africans in the Diaspora.
By that victory, the Black Stars have not only confirmed their superiority over the United States US, whom they ousted in similar fashion in the same competition in Germany four years ago, but, more important, have become the third African nation, after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002, to reach the quarter-final round of the prestigious FIFA World Cup tournament.
The Daily Graphic salutes our heroes for this great feat which, in many ways, will help reshape the destiny of our dear country.
However, we must be quick to point out that our players must not see our momentous qualification for the quarter-final round as an end in itself. We must refuse to be drawn into a state of complacency by our achievements so far. Rather, our goal must be to surpass the record set by Cameroon and Senegal.
Unlike in 1990 and 2002 when England and Turkey stood between Cameroon and Senegal, respectively, and their desire to give Africa greater respectability on the world soccer map, we must not allow anything stand in our way at this stage of the tournament.
As we prepare for the quarter-final battle against Uruguay on Friday, July 2, we must not be overawed by the occasion but have the trust and confidence that the Good Lord, who has brought us this far, will neither leave nor forsake us if we work very hard.
The news is that the Black Stars will, on Friday, miss the services of our young inspirational star, Andre Dede Ayew, having been shown a second yellow card last Saturday in the match against the USA, as well as the brilliant defender, Jonathan Mensah.
But the absence of the two budding stars must not create any panic in the team. If anything at all, it should provide great opportunities for those called upon to fill those positions to showcase their skill and talent to the world and prove that we are, indeed, more than conquerors.
While we continue to savour our success, it is important to remind ourselves that the success story of the Black Stars so far will be meaningless without the full support of the entire nation.
It is no secret that the collective will to die for one another, the willingness to forgive and move on, coupled with unity and determination, are some of the fine qualities that are propelling the Black Stars to glorious heights in the ongoing tournament and it is about time we imbibed these great virtues in our everyday life as a people and as a nation.
The Daily Graphic calls on Ghanaians to use the electrifying atmosphere created by the brilliant showing of the Black Stars to galvanise our people to pool our resources to build a better Ghana.
Bravo, Black Stars! You are, indeed, the pride of Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment