Lessons from DPP
Such is the appeal and charm of football that even in that moment of despair for the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in last Wednesday’s by-elections, some social media enthusiasts still found a way to relate its loss in five constituencies and wards to the beautiful game.
The posting that caught my eye were results of Uefa Champions League games that were played on the same day the by-elections were held and part of it, as copied, read: Man City 2 Napoli 1; Maribor 0 Liverpool 7; DPP 1 MCP 5; Real 1 Tottenham 1. The Daily Times also had an eye-catching ‘scoreline’ headline that read: MCP 5 DPP 1.
And as events unfolded, I was left imagining that if it were indeed a football match, part of the script would have read: “Led by their unstoppable new-signing marksman Muhammad Sidik Mia in attack, MCP subjected DPP to an art of footballing masterclass. DPP were relentlessly torn apart and ruthlessly executed.
“The enduring image was Tambala Wakuda’s coach Lazarus Chakwera barking instructions from the touchline, urging his troops to give out more as his DPP counterpart Arthur Peter Mutharika and team manager Gleselder Geoffrey looked like Egyptian zombies—completely clueless as they struggled to come to terms with reality.”
On a serious note though, there were lessons learnt for our football fraternity in the way DPP—through Nicholas Dausi, accepted defeat with dignity. I thought our officials and coaches can learn from that other than blaming officiation all the time.
It is all about swallowing one’s pride and heading back to the drawing board. That should be the spirit. Nevertheless, tough luck DPP! If it were in football, my colleague Williams Gondwa, would have probably said: “Madzi achita katondo ku DPP!” Uloliwe, uloliwe wayidudula, neng’siza hah! (Oh yes, the train is pushing). Glory be to God.
