He’s back.
And as is his way, Ghana’s top investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, is keeping as much as he can to himself till the full force of his newest findings is unleashed. Thus far, each of Anas’ big revelations has merely thrilled Ghanaians for a time and then got quickly dumped in the basement – forgotten, at least where our collective conscience is concerned – till the next episode.
His latest, though, threatens to rock the very core of our society. Speculation suggests that, this time, Anas doesn’t have within his crosshairs just another sector of national
life which most Ghanaians are only occasionally required to have dealings with (CEPS, the Judiciary, the Police Service, etc). So exactly what/who is Anas swinging at now?
Well, nothing is certain yet, but football — the nation’s great passion bar none — seems the likeliest candidate. There aren’t enough dots to connect in arriving at such a conclusion, granted, but the few that exist increasingly point in that direction.
The handful of hints mainly lie in the image on billboards advertising the screening of Anas’ fresh documentary. First, the film’s title: Number 12. Like all the themes Anas has picked for his ground-shattering works, this one looks pretty hollow at first glance — until the sheer depth becomes apparent when you analyse it through ball-tinted glasses when.
You see, only up to 11 players are present on the football pitch for a team at any given time, but, numerically, ’12’ is logically the natural progression. If that’s not strong enough a clue, well, you could also consider the single floodlight poking from just beneath the giant bow overlooking Ghana’s Independence Square. Surrounded by a clutter of national architecture in the banner, that sole sports symbol — if it even qualifies as one — doesn’t appear to matter any more than the aforementioned piece of numerology, but the silhouette of what looks like a scoreboard peering above all else in the mosaic surely does.
And perhaps ace journalist Kweku Baako, Anas’ long-time mentor, provided some clarity to it all on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show this week by insisting the imminent exposé would be “about football and politics”.
Placing those remarks side-by-side with the rich political symbolism that features prominently on said billboards and Anas’ own claims that he’s rounded up some “60 big names” in this particular scoop, the scope begins to get even wider and more spectacular, the potential ramifications huge.
And more than just huge this could turn out, coming a year ahead of the Ghana Football Association’s presidential elections that is expected to be the most keenly contested in recent history. But don’t you think for a moment that the impact would only be felt at the top of the food chain — with Anas’ net entrapping so many, seismic waves could be felt right down to the big, broad bottom of the pyramid, either side of the football-politics divide.
This — possibly registering the most massive figures yet on the ‘Anas-o-meter’ scale — would certainly make a splash louder than ever before and should have many uneasy and shuffling uncomfortably in their seats in the days leading up to series of viewing sessions that begin on June 6.
For long, “misconduct and greed” have been suspected, even diagnosed, in Ghanaian football, and if this is the revelation that necessitates the jab to rid our beloved game of its age-old ills, it’s surely welcome. And for it to come from Anas — someone who has declared his lack of affection for the beautiful game but has nevertheless been angling the sport’s way for the last few years?
Ah, well…
Given that all of this is largely conjecture, let’s wait for June, shall we?
Source: Sammie Frimpong/thetoughtackle.com
