Life is full of intrigues. And many times decisions are taken by many individuals after just having seen one side of the divide.

Or how do you explain a woman courted by a suitor, sees the guy and accepts to marry him without knowing him well enough? They get married and start living together within a short time of having met and she discovers he was not the man she thought he was.

Suddenly there are things about him that she didn’t know existed – traits, behaviour and mannerisms that he kept quiet, hidden or not had the time to bring out during courtship that were now coming out.

The long and short of it is that woman belatedly realises that she could have waited and found out more about this man before taking the big step to marry.

And now it’s looking like too late because marriage is an institution and can’t just be walked out on.

You may wonder – what has this got to do with football in Africa? It is because football is like life. And if we look long and hard, we will see that what obtains in football is the same as what happens in other areas of life.

African football in 2017 was the woman. And the man was Ahmad. He was hoisted on us on Africa by some powers without us, or even those powers knowing who he really was. No one could claim to have known the real Ahmad until he became CAF President.

And from all indications over the last 4 years, African football has been put in the position of the woman described above – full of regret that had we known the person our man really was, we would not have ‘married’ him!

Only this time, contrary to the situation of the woman we described above, this marriage can be dissolved easily. We can walk away from the Ahmad experience and go for something else. And seek a new ‘husband’.

But we must heed the warnings of our experience. We must listen to that inner voice and not land ourselves in the same soup that we were in for the last four years.

We must look and study very well the people who want to take over from this ‘husband’. This person must be known and known inside out.

We are in the month of November. And not many have indicated their intent to be the new ‘husband’. But we know people will come forth. We also know that the almighty grandfather from Zurich will be looking to instal someone and attempt to impose him on Africa.

Zurich will be playing fatherly duties, purporting to be looking at the ‘best interests of a daughter’ by selecting a ‘good man’ for her.

But we know the impact of Zurich in installing this failed one. And we have to ask questions on who else is coming.

These questions are not only about who the person is, it is not about the smiles and looking good on camera. It is not about his words pre-March 2021.

We must know his person, his abilities, his experience in governance, his pedigree and whether he can find love – true love – for the bride we are asking him to marry, which is African football.

He’s not allowed to love the parts that give him pleasure at the expense of the other parts. It must not just be about power, or money, or titles. It must be a love for the complete package which includes the growth and development of Africa as a continent.

His pedigree must be assessed. What he must have done in his home country. Where his involvement has gotten him to. What his own beliefs are.

The list is endless. And we know what we need in Africa.

We are in an era where, unfortunately people do not stand up to contest elections independently. Rather they are pushed, anointed and appointed to go.

General View during the 40th CAF Congress in Casablanca, Morocco on 01 February 2018 ©Gavin Barker/BackpagePix

We wish this were not to be the case. But we accept the reality that it is. So what we need to do is sound the gong of alarm, and warn the ‘powerful kingmakers’, the said ‘grandfather figure’ to please look hard and look deeply into the person that they will place on us as the next ‘husband’.

Facts must be heard. The next four years will not be for the faint hearted. And Grandfather Zurich can not afford to fail a second time.

Africa cares. Please care for Africa.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com