By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
When news broke on social media that Isha Johansen is stepping down as the President of the Sierra Leone Football Association, more than half of us were in absolute denial. In those early moments the decision didn’t make any sense, mostly because of how much machinations have gone on behind the scene to give her and her favored candidates an edge in this election.
End of an era
Johansen’s departure is the end of one of the most tumultuous eras in the history of Sierra Leone football. Her tenure which was supposed to be one term got so extended that it was almost two term; a term that spanned for over 7 years and was blighted with either one controversy or another.
Johansen’s entrance in to football was itself controversial, after the 2013 debacle of an election that came with her to office. Years after her departure there will still be some serious debate about what legacy she left for Sierra Leone football. But for now, at the very least there is a sigh of relief.
There are more than a dozen questions about her resignation; two of the most import ones for me are: “Why now?” and “Why did she leave this way?”.
Her press statement on Tuesday attempted to answer these two questions: “As a recently elected FIFA Council Member, I will be required to play a higher level and more active role as a Global Ambassador for football and for FIFA.”
The statement also added: “Additionally I will continue acting as an ambassador for Africa and Sierra Leone in FIFA and for FIFA in Sierra Leone.”
Why is Johansen leaving?
Her statement aside, there are deeper issues at play here that led to Johansen’s sudden pull out. This decision must have been put in motion some three weeks ago when she convinced CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe and FIFA President Gianni Infantinno to visit Sierra Leone.
During their visit to State House to meet with President Julius Maada Bio, there was a close door session where President Bio met with both FIFA and CAF Presidents, excluding Isha Johansen.
During that one-hour long conversation, some crucial agreements must have been reached which has now culminated in to this sudden decision by Johansen. And the irony here is that, the visit of the CAF and FIFA Presidents was designed for image laundry, to boost her chances for this election. But it seems that visit was the beginning of the end for the Johansen administration.
This will go down in history as one of the most fatal flaws in Public Relation moves.
Perhaps the one good thing about Johansen’s decision is that she is leaving on a high, without any embarrassment of an election defeat, assuming you are willing to ignore her legacy of not organizing a single election during her 7-year extended tenure.
Who will replace Isha Johansen?
The two men who are now leading the race to replace her have been the dark horses in this race for a very long time; Sadick Deen-Nyarkoh and Thomas Daddy Brima. Six months ago, no one would have believed that anyone of them will be the leading contenders to replace Johansen.
Thomas Daddy Brima is the current Chairman of Division 1 club, Wilberforce Strikers. He is new on the block and has a lot of ground to cover. He is a man who came in to football politics as the “third force”. He has been positioning himself as an alternative candidate to Isha Johansen and Rodney Michael.
“I see myself as a consensus candidate, I can talk and bring people together from both sides. I have seen the animosity that comes with being a member of any of the two extremes,” Brima told me in an interview on the Epic Morning Show on Epic Radio.
His candidacy has now been backed by the outgoing President, Isha Johansen. Can he muster the votes needed to succeed Johansen?
Johansen’s support for her might pave or block his way, depending on how you see things.
Firstly, Brima has to convince delegates that his tenure is not a continuation of Johansen’s, but perhaps most importantly he has to assure the very few undecided delegates that he is a better alternative to Nyarkoh even when he is new on the scene.
Nyarkoh is a seasoned football administrator who has been involved in the game for over two decades at every level, from club, district to region. He is the Acting Chairman of the Southern Region Football Association and a Member of the Executive Committee.
Nyarkoh has been an underdog for a while, but with Johansen dropping out, he is the clear favorite. This is a man who has always lurked in the periphery, his dream constantly been put on hold by the ambition of others. He is now the main man here. His support base is the Rodney Michael coalition, commonly known as “Stakeholders”. As fragile as this coalition has been at times but the members have managed to stay together for seven years and their backing in addition with few more votes could take Nyarkoh over the line.
Nyarkoh’s main pitch is “experience”.
He told me in an interview on Epic Radio, “I am the most experienced candidate in this race. I have served in football administration at every level, so I can relate with everyone in football.”
For the future SLFA President
Whoever wins, football will need to find its soul again and expect nothing less than an overhaul at Kingtom for a start.
The next President’s tenure could also be blighted by a spillover of years of malaise in the country’s football administration. Getting things right and setting a proper tone will not be an easy job for either Nyarkoh or Brima. Recognizing the challenge will be a step closer to fixing the problems in football.
Isha Johansen’s tenure is an eye opener for us all, there are so many lessons to be learnt here. One of them is that government must not meddle in to the running of football, because they may get their way but the consequences could be severe and long lasting.
One will hope this is a lesson delegates have at the back of their minds as they cast their votes this weekend.
Johansen mantra for the 2013 election was “A Dawn of a New Era”, well that era has now come to an end.
Farewell Madam.
Mohamed Jaward Nyallay is Journalist with Epic Radio, 99.3FM. Please note that this article was published before the SLFA election
