I have run my race-Lekan

Calistus Kolantsho | Friday December 20, 2013 12:31

 

Lekan told Mmegi Sport that he believes that time has come for him to give others a chance to take the sport to greater heights.

He said that he has served his purpose and that he is not being pushed by anything to vacate the position.

He said that during his term in office he managed to grow rugby through various initiatives such as the introduction of ladies rugby, Re Ba Bona Ha programme in Selebi-Phikwe and the 15’s tournament amongst others.

Lekan became involved in the sport in 1997 when he was part of people who established University of Botswana (UB) Rhinos. He then became a member of the BRU executive committee and he was then elected to become the BRU secretary in 2002. He explained that he managed to be part of the committee because it was made up of non-citizens. 

He said that by then they were given P2 500 grant by Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) and it was his role to advice the council about the potential of the sport and can take children from the streets. 

Lekan was first elected as BRU president in 2003 and was replaced by Dave Gilbert in 2005.

“Teams approached me to return to the executive committee after BRU constitution was revised in 2007.  I was then elected as the vice president. 

The following year I contested for presidency but lost to Gilbert,” said Lekan.

He said that he managed to win the presidency in 2012 after being asked by clubs to contest.

He said during his term in office, the senior Vultures played the Safari 7’s, Castle 7’s and the six nations tournament that was played in Gaborone that they won last year.

 “Re ba bona ha programme is a success and it is a model for other codes. The plan is to introduce Get into Rugby programme in Jwaneng. It is an International Rugby Board (IRB) supported programme,” he said.

Lekan said it is disappointing that former rugby players are doing nothing to develop the sport as either officials or coaches. He also noted that lack of rugby facilities such as the stadium continues to affect the finances of the sport. He added that the money paid to other institutions for the use of their stadias could be used for other needs.

Despite that, most BRU members feel Lekan has achieved little since he took the presidency. It is alleged that during his tenure, BRU did not gain any major sponsorship and that the standard of the sport has declined. The performances of the national teams have gone down. The number of clubs in the BRU A league have declined from 11 to five.

“Ladies rugby is the brain child of Shaun Lees, Re ba bona ha is a Debswana initiative, and he just embraced the idea. I think his committee must follow him,” said one source who did not want to be named.

 Aupa Pandor, who is tipped to replace Lekan, explained to Mmegi Sport, that he has been approached by different stakeholders and his club, BDF Cheetahs to contest.

But he has not agreed to the idea yet because he wants to map a way forward with the relevant people before he can agree to anything. Pandor said even if he has an interest, he should agree in principle with those people who want him to take the position.

“I do not want a situation whereby I am accused of failure because I had gone into office to push my own mandate. People have to understand my mandate first and I should do the same. Right now people are saying Lekan has failed but I do not thing so. He did his part,” said Pandor.