By Cameroonian standards, Mr. Nyassa Soleil, save a few irritants, is a likeable bloke. Granted, he is always grinning like a Cheshire cat; he certainly is mostly a loud-mouthed schnook, but he is industrious and packs a fair measure of charisma. But despite some genuine qualities and qualifications, Mr. Nyassa typifies everything that is wrong with the governance of football in our country. The wrong man at the wrong place.
Case in point: the intolerable photo op, at Nsimalen, where Mr. Nyassa is seen, grinning as ever, strutting smugly to welcome back home Mr. Olivier Simo Kingué. Need I remind you that Mr. Simo Kingué was a squad member of a national team on a trip away to Zimbabwe? Need I remind you that the “chef de delegation” on that trip was no less than debonair Mr. Soleil Nyassa, and that Mr. Simo Kingué was left to hang in an airport, on foreign soil, by the delegation and by Mr. Nyassa, Soleil, under whose care he was?
I dare, I double dare any reader of mine to come up with an instance of a chef de delegation in a civilized country ever leaving behind, in a foreign country, a youngster under his care. What has happened in Zimbabwe is almost unbelievable, and Mr. Nyassa’s lame excuses are at best intolerable. Pray tell me : we have lost our dignity, self-esteem and a sense of public interest; are we losing our humanity as well?
Just forget the dim-wit Mr. Owona hired as Coordinator of national teams and consider how Mr. Nyassa explained his sorry behaviour. Mr. Nyassa’s excuse was bluntly that he had no clue about was going on and thus cannot be held accountable for anything. Only in Cameroon where a chef de delegation cares for nothing, supervises nothing, monitors nothing. Had Mr. Nyassa been an Ivorian, a Tunisian or even a Yemeni, he would have offered to stay behind in Zimbabwe and dutifully pass over his return ticket to Mr. Simo Kingué. But of course, the main job of a chef de delegation in Cameroon is to make sure he is not forgotten for the next junket.
Léon Gwod
