A big, big shame!
Finally, the Black Queens, the senior national women's football team that has been in the news over their unpaid bonuses, will be paid all their entitlements! But when?
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If you did not know, now, you know that national athletes, especially female, their coaches and other minders matter little, compared with sports ministers and the FA president.
Otherwise, how come the glorious Black Queens have not been paid their bonuses since February, this year? In the words of GFA Executive Committee member, Leanier Addy, "they continued to play (the Brazil 2016 Olympic and the All Africa Games qualifiers) and have still not been paid".
How does that robbery align with justice? How can that injustice inspire patriotism? Is patriotism confined to athletes? Are politicians above the call of patriotism?
That brings into sharp focus a statement attributed to Osagyefo Oseadeayo Agyemang-Badu II, the paramount chief of the Dormaa Traditional Area, on the subject of the patriotism of the Ghanaian athlete, while hinting on the prerequisites for ensuring it.
"There is an urgent need to address the remuneration and bonus of our athletes and sporting personnel," ran a quotation in the Graphic Sports, earlier in the week, attributed to the owner and bankroller of premier league side, Aduana Stars.
If there is any such urgency, it must have been unknown to President John Mahama, whose artful dodging of the Black Queens - who were expecting to get paid in full for qualifying for the Brazil 2016 Olympics, the 2015 All Africa Games and for winning gold medal at the said games - could earn the envy of the recently retired, multiple-division world champion, Floyd Mayweather.
After claiming gold at the expense of Cameroun, at the All Africa Games in Brazzaville, the Queens have gone through a series of foul treatment, including a diabolical attempt to throw them out of their hotel.
Then, President Mahama, who had been in the country at the inception of the impasse, instructed from the USA where he had subsequently travelled on official duty, for each member of the Queens to be given $5,000 as a compromise to break the deadlock in the standoff, with the proviso that all outstanding arrears would be paid on his return.
The last time I checked, President Mahama has since returned, preferred to celebrate with former First Lady, Theresa Kufuor, on the occasion of her 80th birthday, last weekend, over a scheduled meeting with the Black Queens, as part of a Team Ghana appointment.
As though that snub did not hurt, no announcement has come forth as to any schedule for the president to meet with and reward the Black Queens, as due. That is a shame, a big, big shame!
Also, the intriguing lack of outrage by the Professional Football Association of Ghana (PFAG), the Ministry of Gender, the Women Caucus in Parliament, and other such bodies, over the egalitarian cause, is a big, big shame.
Worse still, it would be a big, big shame if the Black Queens give up hopes of getting their due recognition from the State, give up on the sport and turn their backs to the sport. For, there is much more in store for them, in life, from the successes they could keep generating on the field of play.
I urge the Black Queens to keep their spirits, alive, manage their scanty resources, judiciously, maintain a disciplined lifestyle, and stay in shape, ready to fly high the flag of Ghana at the Brazil 2016 Olympic Games, and make a great name for themselves.
In the meantime, the media ought to stay at the forefront of the fight for equality and justice in our country. It would be a big, big shame, if we don't.