Asamoah Gyan - A Ghaianian Character Trait Personified?

Picture this scenario – a young man, aged 23, a chartered accountant, well qualified, well connected and working at one of the nations’ leading banks (and likely to be promoted in the near-future) is faced with the choice to quit his job and work for a susu saving company that promises to double his salary.

Will you jump ship if you were in his shoes? Maybe, you wouldn’t. But if that young man’s name is Asamoah Gyan, he would, and so will countless other Ghanaians; which raises the question, “is the Ghaianan character one that’s prone to making decisions based on what it can gain presently in preference to long-term benefits, and more attuned to “instant wealth” than that which "trickles in overtime?"

I asked this question in view of Asamoah Gyan’s recent move from Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates to Shanghai SIPG in China. Considering the fact that, Gyan chose to move from Premier League club Sunderland in 2012 to the UAE, this deal is not surprising in anyway and doesn’t need a rocket scientist to explain. When all’s done and dusted, Ghana’s most popular footballer will be earning just a few-thousands-pounds-shy almost double the amount he was earning weekly at Al-Ain. Put plainly, Asamoah Gyn will now be earning £227,000-a-week, and still be playing for Ghana and still be Ghana’s captain—and that’s what’s irking the shit out of me.

In a part of the world where mediocrity is celebrated, you can be playing your football in one of the lowest ranked leagues in the world, and still be considered good enough to play for and captain a good footballing nation like ours.

Remember, this is a player who performed excellently at the 2006 world up as our lead striker to propel us out of the group stages, then spearheaded us to a quarterfinal berth at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which prompted a move to English side Sunderland. There, he performed well, scoring against Chelsea even, and one would have thought that overtime he would move to one of the top four clubs. But our man thought otherwise, deciding to sacrifice his career development in the chase of the buck instead. He moved to the UAE and had declined in quality since then. Now, he’s off to China—to play football in a nation that’s more noted for martial arts than soccer. But still, he’s likely to continue captaining Ghana and likely to continue playing as our lead striker.

All because in our part of the world we embrace and celebrate mediocrity, and will always prefer winning the lotto than working hard to earn a decent salary from which we can save enough and invest to become wealthy overtime.

I don’t grudge him his preference for the buck over his career development (I may do same if placed in his shoes), but I am absolutely antipathetic towards the possibility of him still captaining Ghana and still being considered our lead striker.