Celebrating Africa and it’s Great Leaders

We live in a time where isolation is no longer possible.
We live in a time of inter mingling of peoples.
We live in a time of interconnectedness…
of a shared humanity.
We live in a time of an inescapable responsibility for each other and of Earth.
~ United Nations Earth Charter

PERSPECTIVES ON LEADERSHIP IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Leadership is influence, the ability of one person to influence others to follow his or her lead.  Famous leaders have always known this.  The great military leader Bernard Montgomery spoke of leadership in these terms:  “Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose, and the character which inspires confidence.”  An outstanding example of this statement was Sit Winston Churchill, leader of Britain during World War II.  Fleet Admiral Nimitz said:  “Leadership may be defined as that quality that inspires sufficient confidence in subordinates as to be willing to accept his views and carry out his commands.”

General Chares Gordon once asked Li Hung Chang, a leader in China, 2 questions:  “What is leadership?  And how is humanity divided?”  Li Hung replied:  “There are only three kinds of people – those who are immovable, those who are movable, and those who move them!”

John R.  Mott, a world leader in student circles, believed that “a leader is a man who knows the road, who can keep ahead, and who pulls others after him.”

P.T.  Chandapilla, an Indian student leader, defined Christian leadership as a vocation which blends both human and divine qualities in a harmony of ministry by God and His people for the blessing of others.”

President Harry S.  Truman (1945 – 53) said cogently:  “A leader is a person who has the ability to get others to do what they don’t want to do and like it.”

WHAT IS AFRICAN LEADERSHIP?

A useful start is to define “leadership” but that isn’t easy. Apparently over 2,000 books and 35,000 articles are written about leadership every year. Presumably each has its unique definition but there is consensus about the link between leadership and followership. Without followers there is no leadership! There is general agreement that followership should be voluntary and willing, if not passionate and inspired. Exercising power, especially the power of the powerful over the powerless, is not generally regarded as leadership, though it gets things done.

So then what does African Leadership mean? Does it mean a natural, homegrown approach to leadership that is unique, peculiar or endemic to Africa?  And if there is such a thing as African Leadership, how do you put Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Albert Luthuli, F.W. de Klerk and Jan Smuts in the same box as P.W. Botha, Verwoerd, Idi Amin, Robert Mugabe and Charles Taylor?

If, however, “African Leadership” means an approach to leading, a leadership style, a competence and quality that is most likely to work in Africa and results in enthusiastic – even passionate – followership, then that is much easier to define and teach.

The starting point on that journey is to understand Africa; its history, its culture, its beliefs, its diversity and how it is developing. That understanding provides clear pictures, or paradigms, which seem to determine followership behaviour in Africa.

What are the predominant pictures of Africa, and are they common to all who live in Africa? I am fascinated by two clearly different clusters of pictures, each profoundly affecting leadership and followership behaviours in Africa.

One cluster emphasises practical, merit-based, bottom line effectiveness. What is important is to be independent, transaction-driven, time-efficient and successful. And “my success” is not “our success” – a largely Western point of view.

The other cluster is interdependent, communal, relationship-aware and respectful. A society in which “belonging” is more important than “becoming” and success is “ours” not “mine” – essentially African.

To be successful, leaders of Africa have to earn followers from both clusters – from across a wide, almost opposite, spectrum of beliefs about society. Such leaders would have to live comfortably with paradox. They would have to understand, respect and really enjoy operating in a complex environment. They would then have the capacity to mould passionate followers whose pictures are different, even opposite, into one team, one network, and one country.

Nelson Mandela has earned followership from an amazingly wide spectrum of Africans; Desmond Tutu and Thabo Mkebi from a narrower base – the jury is out on Mugabe.

Living comfortably and confidently with paradox enables leadership in Africa.

It is over 50 years since Africa began the journey of freedom and decolonising themselves.

The Gold Coast achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, becoming the first sub-Saharan African nation to do so and was renamed Ghana.  Many others followed.

Looking back as a continent, who are our images and voices of hope?  Who are the Ambassadors and founding fathers and mothers who led us to freedom?  What is the history that we have documents about what we have learnt about this journey?  What is our story about life after the various presidents?  What have been the character, power, achievements, ambition and the spirit that Africa’s leaders have left behind as a legacy:

• Who are the unforgettable African leaders?
• Are leaders born or made?
• African visionary leadership?
• Principles of leadership in Africa?
• Trials and tribulations?
• Tact and diplomacy?
• Inspirational power?
• Key responsibilities?
• African solutions in leadership?
• Training others to lead?
• What is the cost of leadership?
• The art of delegation?
• Outstanding qualities?
• Tests of leadership?
• Hopes and ambitions?
• Personal identity and commitment?
• Perils of leadership?
• Succession planning?
• Sovereignty of leaders in Africa?
• Power plays?
• Big stick politics?
• Big moments?
• The art of listening and leadership?
• Self sacrifice in leadership?
• Loneliness, criticism, rejection and fatigue in leadership?
• Responsibility and accountability?
• Discipline in leadership?
• Integrity and sincerity in leadership?
• Values, morals and ethics?
• What do the leaders bring from their heritage?
• Time frames of leadership?
• Pressure and perplexities?
• Laughter and humour in African leadership?
• Courageous leaders in Africa?
• Unique hallmarks of African leadership
• Decisiveness in African leadership?
• Leadership criteria
• Do we celebrate our successes or only our failures?
• Do we have an idea of where we come from, where we are and where we are going?
• Who aspires to be an African leader?
• How do we communicate as leaders?
• Are we too critical of our leaders?

“True greatness, true leadership is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you.  True service is never without cost.  Often it comes with a painful baptism of suffering but the true leader is focussed on the service that he or she can render to God and other people, not on the residuals and perks of high office or holy title – we must aim to put more into life than take out of it.” ~ Jay Oswald Sander

A FEW GREAT AFRICAN LEADERS (Listed in no particular order)

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904-96), Nigerian politician, founder of modern Nigerian nationalism and first president of Nigeria (1963-66). Born at Zungeru, the son of an Igbo clerk, Azikiwe was educated in Nigeria and the U.S. In 1937 he founded a newspaper chain, and in 1946 he became president of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. He was premier in Igbo-dominated Eastern Region (1954-59), then governor-general, and later president. Following the military coups of 1966, Azikiwe was adviser to the Igbo secessionist state of Biafra, but he later broke with the secessionist cause. He was chancellor of Lagos University from 1972 to 1975 and ran unsuccessfully for president in 1979 and 1983.

For more info: http://www.greatepicbooks.com/epics/november98.html

In 1997, Kofi Annan  of Ghana became the second United Nations Secretary General from Africa. He  began his first five-year term in January. (The former incumbent, Boutros Boutros Ghali of Egypt, had his bid for a second term vetoed by the United States.) On assuming office, Kofi Annan’s first major initiative was his plan for UN renewal, which was presented to member states in July 1997. Africa became one of his priorities, and in April 1998 he submitted a report to the Security Council entitled The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa. This was among several efforts to maintain the international community’s commitment to the continent. Annan has used his good offices to mediate several sensitive political situations, including an attempt to gain Iraq’s compliance with Security Council resolutions, and his missions to help promote the transition to civilian rule in Nigeria and to resolve a stalemate between Libya and the Security Council over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

For more info: http://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/pages/sg_biography.html

Ahanyi, Ogbaja (Prohet) K.O.K. Onyioha (1923-2003),  Eze Ewelu Ochie II, the king of Ukwa Ukwu, Nkporo, Nigeria was the Supreme Spiritual Teacher of Godianism, a neo-traditional movement in Nigeria. Known first as the National Church of Nigeria, the movement was formed in 1948-50 by a group of well educated Igbos. They were associated with  the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons which fought under Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe for independence in the 1940s and 50s. Under Onyioha’s leadership they sought to rekindle interest in the traditional African forms of religion, rather than the ;foreign’ religions of Christianity and Islam. The movement merged with the Edo National Church or Holy Arousa, founded by Oba Akenzua II, the king of Benin, to form Godianism. Onyioha  transcended ethnic and even national boundries, drawing elements from various sources to expand the movement’s appeal. In the mid-1970s he was instrumental in forming the Organization of Traditional Religions of Africa. He published several books including African Godianism: A Revolutionary Religion for Mankind through Direct Communication with God  (1983)  and has lectured all over the world, including an address to the United Nations in 1978.

For more info: http://www.godianism.org/content/obi_chi/his_holiness_ahanyi.htm

Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world. As president of the African National Congress and head of South Africa’s antiapartheid movement, he was instrumental in moving the nation toward multiracial government and majority rule. He is revered everywhere as a vital force in the fight for human rights and racial equality by South Africans and people around the world.

For more info: http://www.anc.org.za/people/mandela.html

Julius Nyerere, who was former Tanzanian president and elder statesman led his country to independence in 1961 and served as president from 1962 to 1985, when he became only the second post-colonial African leader to leave office voluntarily (Leopold Senghor of Senegal was the first). Although his bold experiment in building a socialist society did not fulfill its promise, Nyerere stayed above the Cold War rivalry of the era, making his country an oasis of peace. He also opened the way to multi-party democracy in Tanzania and in later years allowed the emergence of free-market economics. One of Nyerere’s greatest legacies was his success in building a country where national identity was more important than tribe. He continued with his efforts to bring peace to the region right up until a few days before his admission to hospital, mediating talks aimed at ending the civil war in neighboring Burundi. At his funeral sixteen African heads of State and government, European royalty, senior officials from organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations came to pay their respects.

For more info: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/441768.stm

Emperor Haile Selassie I (1892-1975),  “King of Kings. In 1935 there was just one man who rose out of murky obscurity and carried his country with him up & up into brilliant focus before a pop-eyed world. But for the hidden astuteness of this man, there would not now be the possibility of another world war arising out of idealism generated around the League of Nations in behalf of Ethiopia. But for His Majesty Haile Selassie, the year 1935 would have been a distinctly different year. If by some unhappy chance the Italo-Ethiopian war should now spread into a world conflagration, Power of Trinity I, the King of Kings, the Conquering Lion of Judah, will have a place in history as secure as Woodrow Wilson’s. If it ends in the fall of Mussolini and the collapse of Fascism, his Majesty can plume himself on one of the greatest feats ever credited to blackamoors. January 6, 1936, Time Magazine Man Of The Year

For more info: http://www.angelfire.com/ny/ethiocrown/Haile.html

What makes one “African”? Is it the colour of your skin? Is it your ethnicity? Is it your culture?  Is it the language you speak? Is it your ancestors? Is it your heritage?  Is it because you were born in Africa? What really makes me “African”? or does Nkwame Nkrumah’s quote ring true:

“I am an African, not because I was born in Africa but
because Africa is born in me.”

We must bond together about the history and heritage of our continent, the magnificence of our nation, our common humanity and interconnectedness which is Africa’s gift to the human family.  We must reflect positive images of African solidarity, compassion, camaraderie as well as the spirit of Ubuntu.

We must be Ambassadors of African Unity by using our divine talents and creative genius to delve deep within sacred spaces to create avenues of harmony through song, poetry, story, dance, theatre, writings and paintings to be the images and voices of hope.  We as Africans must uplift our people with creations, lifting them out of despair and hopelessness, to soothe fears and elevate their hopes.

Right at the heart of Ubuntu is a wealth of a shared sense of values that we as Africans naturally identify with:  unity, cooperation, support, sharing, compassion, grace, forgiveness, self control, humility, collaboration, honesty and the list goes on.

“We identify ourselves as somebody – I belong to this religion, this culture, this tradition, but we forget the basic identity that we are human beings. When that stands first and foremost, all other identities follow behind that.  Then, I think that we can achieve what we are really looking for.” ~ Sri Sri Ravishankar

“I do feel that absolute integrity is a cornerstone of a successful presidency. Integrity, character …” ~ President Gerald Ford

Remember, to be an African is not an automatic entrance into some privileged cultural space.  In world history, those who have helped to build the same culture are not necessarily of one race, and those of the same race have not all participated in one culture.

First of all, being African includes but is not limited to: people born in Africa, those that are of African descent, those that love, care for and identify with this continent, those that are rooted in it, those that are patriotic about it and those that have invested in the renaissance and success of this continent – Ma Africa.

Let us as African’s unite and celebrate our uniqueness.  Africa is our home, our world and all we have. Let us all pull together and help to make it a better place for all.

WHAT MAKES AFRICA GREAT?

Is it the strength of our diversity? Is it the beauty and the variety of the African landscape?  The World is deeply divided in many respects. There is a growing ideological division between those of different faiths and this is accompanied by the increasing chasm between rich and poor.

The miracle that is Africa today is perplexing, to many, but can be seen in the idea of “Ubuntu”.

List of state leaders in 2020 »

THOUGHTS TO PONDER

• What is Africa’s unique DNA?
• Who are Africa’s past, present and future great Leaders?
• What is Africa’s unique genius?
• What are Africa’s national symbols?
• Who are Africa’s great inventors and their inventions?
• Who are Africa’s great women?
• Who are Africa’s great sports people?
• Who are Africa’s great scientists?
• Who are Africa’s great artists?
• Who are Africa’s great writers?
• Who are Africa’s great politicians?
• Who are Africa’s great poets?
• Who are Africa’s great musicians?
• Who are Africa’s great scholars?
• How can we showcase our diverse cuisine?  There is something for everyone
• Who are Africa’s great painters and sculptures?
• What is great about our continent?
• How can we showcase our natural history?
• What is our heritage?
• What are our values, morals and ethics?
• What is Africa’s greatness, wisdom and beauty?
• What can we learn from Africa’s history?  Colonism?  Slavery??
• What is our creative spirit and collective energy?    We express ourselves through our love of  music, dance, praise poetry, fables, folk tales, epic narratives, proverbs, riddles, jokes, chants, rituals, legends and myths – our creativity carries us
• Our wild life and environment is rich, unique and diverse
• We have a long and illustrious history of inventions and discoveries and what are they?
• How has Africa’s population grown?  It now stands at 840 Million people living across Africa
• What are Africa’s challenges and solutions with regards to Educational, Citizenship; Health; Economic;  Social;  Political;  Developmental;
• What does the future hold for Africa?
• Why is there so much war in Africa?
• What are the remaining scars and blood clots we sustained from slavery, war, colonisation and oppression?
• What is the moral basis in African politics?
• African politics and spirituality
• As a public broadcaster how can we insure Unity in Africa and entrench our identities in a uniquely African way?
• Do we know African languages beyond South African ones?
• Trade in Africa
• Do we take note of news from other African countries?
• Learning from each other
• Where are the best practice institutions in Africa?  Are there any?  If not, when are we going to start?
• What is our attitude to each other?
• What do we value as Africans?
• What is our definition of success, wisdom, greatness, truth?
• What is the African mindset and how far are we with our hegemony?
• What is it about Africans and reading??
• Leadership and Gender??
• Do we stimulate the creation and preservation of wealth?
• Are we all on the same page with regards to African Renaissance?
• How does African leadership compare to European, Asian, American, etc. leadership?

OUR IDENTITY – WHO WE ARE

We, the People
….Are diverse, unique, beautiful in all the shades of colours, ethnic groups and cultures that live in harmony in the spirit of Umoja or Unity.

We, the People
….Are thoughtful, kind, generous and display an ever willingness to help and guide those visitors who land on our shores…

We, the People
….Celebrate each new day with enthusiasm and pride in our rich Africanness…

We, the people
…Have created a shared history of triumph over adversity, joy over pain and success over ignorance

We, the people
Recognise that diversity is our strength and that acceptance of our differences make us strong and noble.

We, the people
…share with the world our unique natural and cultural heritage…

We, the people
invite all to partake and participate in the 2010 World Cup Soccer games as a symbol of our unrelenting spirit and courage to Dare to Change

We, the people
Celebrate our universal values of love, peace and hope in a land that has been deemed ‘God’s gift to humanity’ — Long Live Africa

I AM AN AFRICAN BY THABO MBEKI
(Former South African State President)

I am an African. I owe my being to the hills and the valleys, the mountains and the glades, the rivers, the deserts, the trees, the flowers, the seas and the ever-changing seasons that define the face of our native land.

My body has frozen in our frosts and in our latter day snows. It has thawed in the warmth of our sunshine and melted in the heat of the midday sun. The crack and the rumble of the summer thunders, lashed by startling lightening, have been a cause both of trembling and of hope.

The fragrances of nature have been as pleasant to us as the sight of the wild blooms of the citizens of the veld. The dramatic shapes of the Drakensberg, the soil-coloured waters of the Lekoa, iGqili noThukela, and the sands of the Kgalagadi, have all been panels of the set on the natural stage on which we act out the foolish deeds of the theatre of our day.

At times, and in fear, I have wondered whether I should concede equal citizenship of our country to the leopard and the lion, the elephant and the springbok, the hyena, the black mamba and the pestilential mosquito. A human presence among all these, a feature on the face of our native land thus defined, I know that none dare challenge me when I say – I am an African!

I owe my being to the Khoi and the San whose desolate souls haunt the great expanses of the beautiful Cape – they who fell victim to the most merciless genocide our native land has ever seen, they who were the first to lose their lives in the struggle to defend our freedom and dependence and they who, as a people, perished in the result.

Today, we keep an audible silence about these ancestors of the generations that live, fearful to admit the horror of a former deed, seeking to obliterate from our memories a cruel occurrence which, in its remembering, should teach us not and never to be inhuman again.

I am the grandchild of the warrior men and women that Hintsa and Sekhukhune led, the patriots that Cetshwayo and Mphephu took to battle, the soldiers Moshoeshoe and Ngungunyane taught never to dishonour the cause of freedom.

My mind and my knowledge of myself is formed by the victories that are the jewels in our African crown, the victories we earned from Isandhlwana to Khartoum, as Ethiopians and as the Ashanti of Ghana, as the Berbers of the desert.

I am an African. I am born of the peoples of the continent of Africa. The pain of the violent conflict that the peoples of Liberia, Somalia, the Sudan, Burundi and Algeria is a pain I also bear. The dismal shame of poverty, suffering and human degradation of my continent is a blight that we share.

I am the child of Nongqawuse. I am he who made it possible to trade in the world markets in diamonds, in gold, in the same food for which my stomach yearns. Being part of all these people, and in the knowledge that none dare contest that assertion, I shall claim that – I am an African.

When you’ve acquired a taste for dust,
The scent of our first rain,
You’re hooked for life on Africa
And you’ll not be right again
Till you can watch the setting moon
And hear the jackals bark
And know that they’re around you,
Waiting in the dark.
When you long to see the Elephants,
Or to hear the coucal’s song,
When the moonrise sets your blood on fire,
You’ve been away too long.
It’s time to cut the traces loose
And let you’re heart go free
Beyond that far horizon,
Where your spirit yearns to be

Source: www.wikipedia.com
http://www.ltl.co.za/public-library/what-is-african-leadership-1/