Gov’t officials no-show at Makwala book launch
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday December 11, 2021 06:00
The leadership from the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) and National Olympic Committee (NOC) also did not attend. There were no apologies that were rendered for the absence of the leadership. Uyapo Ndadi, managing partner at Ndadi Law Firm was invited as the guest speaker at the launch. Speaking at the event, Ndadi said Makwala has proven that a person does not need a degree to be successful in life. “He has shown that you do not have to come from a well off family to make a name for yourself.
He is a man who has made a name for this country. In 2017, the world came to know of Botswana because of him,” he said. Ndadi said Makwala has a legacy and most people do not have the passion and zeal in their respective fields. He said Makwala has passion, discipline, unlike many people. He said without hard work and discipline, careers are destroyed and visions do not see the light of the day. “Makwala is a testimony that with discipline everything is possible. He looks after young athletes so that they could withdraw inspiration from him. As a nation we tend not to nurture the talent that we have; we are only concerned with the celebrations of the results.
We do not journey with our athletes. We do not experience the struggles they go through,” Ndadi said. He said when athletes ask for support, they do not receive anything. He added people wait for athletes to succeed and then beg to associate with them. “We are a nation that has no patience for development. We wait for end results but results are a process. Our interest is to cut corners.
That is our biggest downfall as a nation. The government is a perpetrator in this,” he said. Ndadi said listening to the challenges that athletes face and giving them guidance could prove to be the difference between success and failure. He said most of the athletes are young, still trying to find their feet, confused and all of a sudden find themselves as celebrities and they do not know how to cope with such attention.
“What are we doing as a nation to ensure that the stardom does not get into their heads and they remain calm and focused on the job. What are we doing as a nation to provide support, not only financially? We could use the life of Makwala as inspiration,” he said. Ndadi said there is a lot of politics in sport. He said such politics are counterproductive and do not enable athletes to thrive.
He added that politics becomes the focus and it is the athletes who suffer because eyes are not on the ball. Ndadi said that Makwala does not mince his words when he is unhappy about something and that makes him unlikable to those who are in power. “The reality is that whatever he says is the truth. He is not saying it to make life difficult for the next person but to correct and drive this nation forward. We need to encourage people to speak out. If you do not speak truth to power, you are basically doing a disservice. I know some people save their jobs by not doing their jobs.
They would rather remain silent so that they do not rub those in power the wrong way,” Ndadi said. He said if Makwala is to get into sport administration after his retirement, he should make a mark because he knows the reality that athletes face. Ndadi challenged Never Tshabang, Member of Parliament for Nkange, who was present at the launch, to find a way to make sure that athletes in Botswana could be better protected and rewarded for what they do not on ad hoc phases but consistently. “Let sport be a career of choice. Let people choose that sport is not a fallback position. Let sport be an option that youngsters could decide to run with professionally and make a living out of,” he said.
Ndadi said athletics has made an impact internationally. He said the houses that were allocated to the men’s 4x400m relay team were just discretion from someone but there is a need for certainty. “We need something certain and something that people know that if they succeed these are the benefits that they would get. It should not be something in the hands of whoever is in government now or a minister,” Ndadi said.