"You can't cut on quality."
Oko Drammeh

Exactly my sentiments; you can't cut on quality. But in order to produce
quality the facilities must be in place. We can't just will it into
existence with a magic wan. Sports authorities in The Gambia are responsible
to a large extend for the failure of sports in that country. Period!

Jaysuma Ndure, who put in a better performance does not train in Banjul; he
lives and trains here in Norway where, though they are not known for
producing the best of sprinters, know what it takes to nurture them. The
time Ndure clocked is a record for a Gambian, which tell volumes!

Sportsmen back home, suffering under the brunt of the present economic
situation, have bread and butter issues to consider first and foremost.
Peace of mind and concentration are important ingredients that almost all
successful athletes have required whiles building up their careers. It's all
a process that eventually develops into a culture and takes several years to
build, of course with the active participation of the responsible
authorities. You can't send a poorly trained, poorly equipped soldier into
battle and blames him for losing the fight.

Gambia did not send Isatou Njie-Saidy, for example, to compete in the Games
because Adama Njie happened to be the best the country could produce and for
her to fail to match other competitors can't be blame on her but squarely.
Afterall, she's THE BEST we have to offer.

If we must blame someone, it is at the doorsteps of Yaya's government it
must be laid squarely. Nowhere else, unless and until all facilities and
support structures are put in place and we continue to perform poorly. Then
and only then...

I hope you see my point now?

Regards,

Kabir.




<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
<[log in to unmask]>
Saturday, August 21, 2004 12:31 PM

> Kabir,
> Only an objective assesment. You saw the way she came so late,that kind
> of out of time is outdated. This was my concern.
>
> Thankfully, this morning Jaysuma Ndure ( made a false start and all
> cameras were on him) put Gambia on the map
> restored us back into contention after he qualified for 100 meters
> clocking 10.46 third in position running next to Obikwalu.
> He is on again this eveing for round two to make it to quarter finals.
>
> After watching Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa, I know
> for sure that we have some buckle up to do.
>
> You can't cut on quality.
> Oko Drammeh
>
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