MIKE Fennell rescued the reputation of the Indian empire in Europe by affirming his support on UK media. They cited construction, security and sanitation ills; but his was a quiet, measured voice in a media scrum which excoriated India and threatened the Games — Jamaica to the rescue! Mike is a Commonwealth hero! Who is understudying him?

The Commonwealth is a quirky and wonderful entity — an itch that gives much pleasure to scratch — all ex-colonies of Britain and outsiders as Cameroon. Jamaicans can vote, are councillors, mayors, MPs, Lords, Dames and dual citizens in Canada and the UK as we swear the same oath of allegiance — God save the Queen! Unfortunately, the USA is not a member.

The Games reprise the Olympics but with a twist. Of the 54 nations, only four are direct heirs to the Greek ideals of physical prowess and mortal combat allied to pomp, ceremony and spectacle. The developing nation members are not of this history.

Indian culture is ancient, and while Rome embraced “Semper fi” by blood sports in the Coliseum, India wrote the Kama Sutra and other great surtas detailing man’s work, spiritual and sexual obligations. India had surpluses, intellectuals, warriors, potions to enhance libido and leisure to dilate on ladies’ roles in comforting travellers far away from their families with rampant sex — a progressive agenda for 120CE!

The ancient cultures that created surplus transformed their environment in spectacular, massive and enduring scale. Some elevated physical prowess, blood sports, human sacrifice, the search for God and worship to mass spectacle and high entertainment. The Aztec, Mayan, Chinese, Egyptian, Indian and kingdoms beyond the Levant — Hittite, Babylon, Persia were paramount in this.

Continents apart, Mayan and Egyptian people their built environment with massive pyramids. The practice of hand-to-hand, man and animal combat reached its heights. War was spectacle and Rome did it best — multinational armies in full battle dress, ranked and quartered; teams of scouts, surveyors, engineers, cooks and road builders.

Physique and athleticism were prized, celebrated in sculpture and verse. Indian palaces, Maths, Hinduism born of surplus, did not match the celebratory Olympus culture and today their intellect, decorative and spiritual genius is still dominant.

The African Diaspora are accidental heirs to Graeco-Roman “manly pursuits” and major beneficiaries of the Olympic tradition; not so Africa, India the Middle and Far East. The footprint of the trans-Atlantic slave trade marks the flowering of athleticism and athletic prowess in the modern world; elite exponents and well-tuned bodies in motion!

In the Commonwealth the African Diaspora are also flagbearers of Olympus! Yet in the paean of sport they occupy a narrow though revered specialisation. Black nations do not invest in or master rule-based, kit-intensive, endurance sport. Sadly, their forte is ball games, body mechanics and they avoid tactics-intensive sport.

The varied talents of our people are confined to a narrow range of sport and so we fail to build national character. The fetish of elite athletes means our nation does not diversify into good fun, medals or to engage citizens in mass exercise and sport outside of the TV remote and sofa.

If Mike represents the best of the Commonwealth, then the UK media is the worst. The games were awarded in faith that a non-white nation may host this major event. India, at the cutting edge of IT, active in nuclear and space science; with a large army, navy; a F1 team, Grand Prix track to open in 2011 and more speakers of English than the UK, US and Caricom combined, cannot fail us! They are our great brothers and we support them!

Reports of shoddy construction, child labour, poor security, sanitation, affirmed by the collapse of a footbridge, meant India was savaged by the western media, and Australia said the award was a mistake. Is this racism? A mismatch of culture or expectations?

Some 90 per cent of the Commonwealth are developing nations; do the other 10 per cent know this? India, UK and Jamaica have equal engineering, security and safety standards, but practice varies. In the UK people don’t eat food which falls on the ground or is past the “use by” date; we do and India too.

The safety manual for UK workmen in a home is 80 pages; we have none but still expect safe work from an electrician. This media insanity will pass. India is a great nation and a good friend. The games will be good entertainment!

So, do the games have a future? Must they always be in a developed, white nation? No! These are fraternal, bonding games; not like the “big money” Diamond League in Europe. Athletes may be black, but the money is white — the same for entertainers! We need to redefine the games. Should they exclude people who make their main living from sport and so fear injury? Should they be fun and development? Prepare those below the elite rank and showcase those who excel but have no interest in sport as a job? We must also configure affordable games so most nations have a chance to play host. We can do it!

Nigerians (and others) now celebrate independence from Britain. Why? I know why we celebrate; we were gifted a country by the British who took it off the Spanish, who stole it from the Tainos. Was it reparations for slavery? The French made Haitians pay for Haiti, didn’t they? Nigeria, why?

How could 10k British troops, miles from home, without WMD subdue 80m (at that time) Nigerians, however disorganised and tribal? Even the African carriers of arms and food for the British army outnumbered the soldiers. Why didn’t they revolt and overcome the British? I aver, no Jamaicans came from Nigeria or they sold those with “cojones” as slaves and had no guts to fight.

Africans were never transported or exiled as happened in Mesopotamia. They lived in their own land, with their culture, traditions and familiar places! What do they celebrate? The British titles and offices? Thank the British for creating a supra-tribal state? A flag? An anthem? These events glorify the British and belittle the African.

Does our fatherland celebrate defeat? A century of British rule in millennia of African culture is nothing! Was the British culture superior? If so, go ahead, celebrate! My advice? End this farce across Africa; write your history; celebrate events rooted in your culture to uplift Africa and the African Diaspora! Forgive me, I will not celebrate with you! Stay conscious, my friend!

Dr Franklin Johnston is an international project manager with Teape-Johnston Consultants currently on assignment in the UK. franklinjohnston@hotmail.com