AllSports Ghana (ASG) writer Nana Afrane Asante caught up with the only rap doctor in the Ghanaian music industry Okyeame Kwame (OK) who opened up to talk about his love for sports, why he will never support any foreign team in the world, which Black Stars players he expects to shine at the world cup and I am sure you would love to find out why he wants Richard Olele Kingson in post for the Black Stars.
ASG: Do you love sports?
O.K: Yes I love sports a lot
ASG: What’s your favorite sport?
O.K: Table tennis for sure even though I don’t get to play as much lately but i play sometimes. When we were growing up we had a table tennis at home and my dad told us he used to play for a school in the northern region so I guess it runs in the family. I don’t know if going to the gym is a sport but I love going to the gym a lot as well.
ASG: Which local team do you support in Ghana?
O.K: I support Kumasi Asante Kotoko the champions and that’s it. I’m not even interested in any other foreign team. I have supported them all my life. My dad was an accountant for Kotoko. I was born in Kumasi, schooled in Kumasi so it’s obviously a Kumasi thing.
ASG: Why don’t you support any foreign team?
O.K: I have lived in the UK for some time and I never heard any British person expressing interest in supporting any local Ghanaian team so why should I support them. I don’t even know why we call ourselves Charles and James and I must be honest anytime people talk about the foreign leagues, I get angry.
ASG: Now let’s shift our focus to the Black Stars. Do you follow the Black Stars?
O.K: I think if you take out the Ghana government, the Black Stars come next. I follow them and I have personal friends amongst them and I mean the players.
ASG: We are in a tough group alongside Germany, USA and Portugal. Do you see us going through?
O.K: (Chuckles) The way you put it means we will not go through the group but think about it, we come from the great ones and I mean the Pharaohs, the Tutu’s and I mean we are brave and intelligent people. When did the USA start playing soccer? If we were the pride that I am talking about then winning the world cup will be easy for us. The problem with Ghanaians and Africans is that we have disconnected our pride and replaced it with a foreign one and that always leaves us at number two and three in the world.
ASG: Which players are you expecting to shine for Ghana at the world cup?
O.K: As a musician I am just biased to the musician in the team and I mean Asamoah Gyan. I’m attracted to my kind but all the same I believe all the boys will shine. I know Dede plays with a lot of passion and Essien is also one of the players I tip to excel.
I also want Richard Olele Kingson in the team because his experience will be needed at the competition. I have been a musician for 16 years and people are trying to” OLELELISE” me. In Ghana when people have experience in something we tend to push them out instead of tapping from it because we believe in the young, fresher, more energetic and faster person which is very good but we must learn to use experience properly.
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ASG: What role would you like to play in the Black Stars?
O.K: As a musician, I will opt for the chief drummer because of my music background. I have little knowledge on football so I obviously can’t do the technical bit but I am ready to help boost the morale of the players in camp.
ASG: Let’s talk about the upcoming fight between Bukom Banku and Ayittey Powers. What are your thoughts on that?
O.K: I like Bukom Banku because I think he is a great comedian. I don’t know Ayittey powers but I have a feeling Powers will beat him up because Banku is always busy talking.
ASG: What’s your message to the sports ministry on sports in Ghana?
O.K: My problem has to do with the Olympics where we always participate but never come home with any medals. I think it’s a representation of our performance culture as a people, the way we do business, politics, run the country, how we rally people to have conviction to move, work and excel. I think the mood that our sports is in has a direct reflection on who we are as a people and we need to build our confidence and encourage ourselves to compete against anybody who comes our way.
ASG: Who is your favorite Ghanaian footballer of all time?
O.K: Anthony Yeboah and nobody else. He was such a complete player and will never forget his goals. Apart from that his humility and discipline was one thing I admired about him