Mustapha Ussif: The Minister who gave his all to football but got nothing in return

“Honourable Mustapha Ussif,” Deputy Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, called out.

The name was still breathing through the lawmakers’ speakers when he added. “You are back in Parliament for the second time. You came in 2013, you lost the seat in 2016 or 2017, and you’re back in 2021.

“On behalf of the [Vetting] Committee, I congratulate you on your nomination for the Minister of…,” there was a pause. When he dropped his head on his desk, he concluded, “Sports.”

“Before this,” he began a narration of his CV, “you were the national service coordinator.”

When the camera panned, a man in white creamy attire, a shiny pen in his left pocket, mouth covered with a white nose mask, was seated in the middle. A glance up had him with multi-coloured taqiyya.

A glance down, the same man crossed his arms with a shiny wristwatch with brown leather to match.

It was February 25, 2021. The man the media had rumoured would be replacing Isaac Asiamah as Sports Minister was making a first public appearance to speak on matters relating to his new office.

This man is Mustapha Ussif, the Member of Parliament, Yagaba-Kubori constituency.

He was before Parliament to justify why he should be approved as minister for Ghana’s Youth and Sports Ministry.

The question-and-answer session would last two hours, 29 minutes, and fifteen seconds.

From the first one that came from OB Amoah after Ussif chronologically revealed his life and educational trajectory, to the last from the Deputy Speaker, Osei-Owusu, who had no questions but only a goodwill message for him.

OB Amoah preceded his question, which had to do with the country’s readiness to host Africa Games 2023, with a remark quite synonymous with the Sports Ministry.“They say the ministry is a very tough one, but others survived and we know you’ll survive, too.”His survival began in front of his colleagues, where the former National Service boss appeared to have a forensic knowledge of the sports industry many said he was naive about and delivered to the admiration of many, and even maybe, his critics.

But, if he needed any opportunity to appreciate the environment he was stepping into, that over two hours encounter with the Vetting Committee might have shown him the way.

It was, however, not enough. Walking into an institution with about 43 federations to deal with, three agencies, National Sports Authority, National Youth Authority, and Winneba Sports college, aside from the responsibility of satisfying the Ghanaian boys and girls, Mustapha found himself basically swimming against the tide.

Such humongous numbers and its people all looked up to the magic wand of this man from the Yagaba-Kubori constituency.The famous of those federations under his umbrella is the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the governing body of football in the country.

Many often say the association controls the passion of the nation.

Ghanaians often go frenzy when their national team, the Black Stars, rise to the occasion and produce momentous results. Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko have passions at their peak when they clash in the Ghana premier league.

Indeed, football is in the fibre of many Ghanaians.

When Mustapha Ussif was at the heart of parliament and the heart of questions, with thousands or even millions of sports fanatics expecting satisfactory answers, the first gentleman of the country’s passion, Kurt Okraku, was seated up observing with keen interest.

“Football industry will always have to engage politicians because we have to co-exist and co-work together otherwise our game will not develop to the level that we all want,” Mr Okraku said in an interview with the now-defunct Kwesé TV in September 2019.

“Government of the day would always have a role to play. When I am elected, I will work with governments. The football industry needs government, the government needs football industry so we must co-exist,” he noted.

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Source: myjoyonline.com