Isaac Makwala has put Botswana on the world map as few other people have. The amount of attention and the name recognition that he has brought to and continues to bring to this country is immeasurable
That is why it is baffling how he has been treated by the BNOC, the BNSC and the Sports Ministry.
The 400m specialist went to Birmingham to defend his title at the Commonwealth Games and to bid farewell to Colleagues as well as the Games themselves as this would be the last time he participated in them.
The way I understand it, Makwala paid for his way to Europe to compete in the Diamond League. When he was in Europe, he was roped in to be part of team BW at the Commonwealth games. He then asked the powers that be to refund him the plane tickets to and from Europe, and they refused. Had he been in Botswana when the team left for Birmingham, they would have paid for his tickets, but because he was already in Europe through his own means, our government could not see themselves refunding him his tickets. Every member of the BW team in Birmingham had their tickets paid for by the taxpayer except Isaac Makwala.
Sports is a mean and unforgiving employer and spits you out at a very young age, and Makwala is trying his best to augment and build up his nest egg in his final year of employment. When in frustration he opted to prepare for the next diamond league which pays him instead of continuing to serve a people who do not appreciate him for what he has done for them, they gleefully announced in a press release that he has requested to be released, and they have agreed. And this, the final year of his illustrious career when he should be going out in a blaze of glory.
It was not the BNOC/BNSC’s responsibility to announce Makwala’s retirement. It was Makwala’s sole responsibility to determine when and where he announces his retirement. We have seen athletes the world over whether in Boxing, the NFL, the AFL, Football etc. announcing their retirement and not the associations they are related to. One wonders what the motive behind the announcement was.
As if that was not enough, they went even further by trying to throw him out of the Athletics village where he was accommodated. As reported in local newspapers, he had a ticket to leave on a Thursday but they wanted him to vacate the Athletics Village on a Monday.
How spiteful can one get? Isaac Makwala has been active in the 400m, 200m, and 4 by 400m relay space since 2006. and he has put us on the world map ever since he took to the track. He has established himself as one of the best long sprinters in the world. He was the first person ever to accomplish the fastest double in a single day at 200m and 400m, breaking the African 400m record in 44.01 seconds and 90 minutes later winning the 200m in 19.96 seconds at the Meeting de Atletismo in Madrid, Spain, on July 14th 2017.
This is a man who has won gold at the All-Africa Games in Algiers in 2007, the African Championship in Benin in 2012, twice in Morocco in 2014 in both the 400m and 4 by 400m men’s relay, the All-Africa Games in Brazzaville in 2015, the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia where he once again won gold in the individual 400m as well as the 4 by 400m relay. He has represented the country at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo where he won a bronze medal in the 4 by 400m relay, three times at the Commonwealth Games, and five times at the World Championships in Athletics (2007, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017). And it is the Botswana national anthem that gets played to the world every time he wins gold, and the world is reminded or gets to know and take notice that there is a country called Botswana. This is publicity and advertisement for us that you cannot put a price tag on. And we refuse to refund him the price of a plane ticket? Come on!! The image I have of Makwala is of him barrelling down the outer lanes in the 400m in the elite athletic stadiums of the world, in the distinct blue, black & white colours of Botswana, with the commentators screaming themselves hoarse with his name and that of Botswana.
And the whole country watching on TV would at that moment be united, full of patriotic fervour and will for a little while forget their problems. And who can ever forget the 200m solo run he did at the 2017 World Athletic Championships in London, followed by the press-ups. That race defined him as a person and showed his character and mental strength as well as his ability to reinvent himself when circumstances do not go his way. He is a great role model for those coming behind him, youngsters in any field and not just spots. And this is a man we want to embarrass and humiliate? How petty can we get? Our 4 by 400m men’s relay team did very well at the just ended Commonwealth games in Birmingham by bringing home a silver medal. But who knows, they probably might have brought home gold had Makwala been there to anchor the race as is usually the case. This is a typical case of cutting your nose to spite your face.
Makwala has done so much for Botswana in athletics that it should have been an honour for us to give him a great last experience in Birmingham, and not let him slink away in frustration and humiliation. To prevent him from defending his 400m title at the Commonwealth Games and bidding his colleagues farewell in style does not reflect well on us as a nation. This was the man’s swan song. Why deny him the honour of bidding farewell to his fellow athletes, officials, and the world in a befitting way? What has he done to us as a country to treat him this way? And might how Makwala has been treated give us an insight into how our athletes are being treated?
Instead of congratulating the Ministry for unearthing, nurturing, and supporting talent like Tebogo, should we instead be asking how many more could have exploded into the world scene alongside Tebogo had they not been frustrated by the Ministry? The Minister responsible owes us an explanation.