Prime
The tale of Toronto’s Makubuya
Toronto’s Keith Makubuya (right) in action against a Vancouver White Caps player in March this year. Courtesy photo
Two years ago I met my wife’s brother Patrick Makubuya when he was here on a visit. He migrated to Canada many years ago and from the fondness with which they refer to him it is obvious Patrick is missed by his siblings. Nonetheless there is a quiet acceptance that he made his own choices and that life goes on just the same- them there, and us here.
However two weeks ago this silence was blown away by Patrick’s wife Rita who arrived in the country to attend to some personal matter. With her came tales of the exploits of their son Keith Makubuya. You see Makubuya is an 18-year-old centre-forward on the books of Major League Soccer side, Toronto FC.
Suddenly there is good-natured pride spreading within the family, a pleasure that one of us has come good which is just so natural and warm. One cheeky cousin is even investigating the possibilities of being Makubuya’s agent! That aside a Google search reveals that after a European tour sometime in March this year, Makubuya’s manager was so impressed he slapped a £100,000 price tag on him and signed him on to a $35,000 per year professional contract!
From what I have read it is obvious Makubuya’s manager is not the only one who thinks highly of his talent. Makubuya has already represented Canada at U-18 level and will at current progression represent them at senior level. It also appears his talent is not only limited to sports judging from numerous academic scholarships on offer, some even from Ivy-league colleges in the United States of America.
Despite the variety of opportunities his world presented to him, Makubuya made a choice to go with professional football. Of course it is key that his parents whose initial Ugandan instincts might have leaned towards a college education for their son were supportive of his choice.
This then is a story of a ‘Ugandan’ kid fortunate enough to grow up in an environment in which talent of whatever nature is allowed to blossom. And it is by no means an isolated incident as there are numerous stories of talented ‘Ugandan’ boys living in the diaspora on the cusp of making it big. There is a one Ibrahim Sekajja (not that one) on the books of Crystal Palace and we all know about Savio Nsereko, formerly of West Ham.
There are interesting conclusions to draw from this and many other stories of ‘our boys’. Here, it seems is proof that the line that divides the Makubuyas of this world and those who live a life of regret and unfulfilled potential is drawn by an environment that cares. Lads like Makubuya make it not only because their environments respect individual choice but because they also consider development a collective responsibility.
Back home we have and I dare say, kids with more football talent and ability, yet we ridicule everyone that never makes it as a doctor like success can only be measured by white-collars. Worse still we avoid our responsibilities so much that rouge types come in to fill the gaps. Now you can stop wondering, it is why there is a collective belief that football is for failures and hooligans!
