A democrat need not believe that the majority will always reach a wise decision. He should however believe in the necessity of accepting the decision of the majority be it wise or unwise, until such a time that the majority reaches another decision – Bertrand Russell

A lot of commentators have opined why Jacob Zuma is not fit for high office and have went a little step further to paint a doomsday scenario of what will happen to South Africa if he is allowed to take power. On the first count, I agree with most commentators that Jacob Zuma seems not to possess the skills necessary to lead a post apartheid South Africa, I disagree however with the assumption that if elected President he would turn out to be another Mugabe. One has to scratch the surface to know that while Jacob Zuma may not possess academic degrees he is not an imposter like Robert Mugabe (a man with seven academic degrees) and the ANC is not ZANU-PF. The rhetoric that South Africa may be on its way to Zimbabwe is excessive, the South African constitution is one of the most progressive in the world, I agree albeit slightly that the South African economy may cool a little bit but it wouldn’t be any different from when Americans elected Andrew Jackson because they love him for totally the wrong reasons (in progressive eyes), he disappointed those who voted for him massively and turned out to be a nationalist.

Some have also pointed out that Jacob Zuma promised his supporters plum political offices and so on, in 19^th century United States, it is an open fact that state machinery were built on patronage, this is after 100 years of democracy. If the United States can cope with a President Millard Fillmore, a man who promised conflicting legislation to the two main zones of the United States, he signed the fugitive slave act to appease slave holding Southerners and abolished the slave trade in the District of Columbia to serve as a form of appeasement to anti-slavery Northerners, South Africa would not go down the hill under a potential Zuma presidency.

I would not want this piece to be construed as an endorsement of Jacob Zuma’s politics, infact I find him repugnant but just as well as reasonable progressives did found Richard Nixon repugnant but he went on to win a re election with the highest margin as of that time. We all knew what happened after Nixon won his second term, the American people almost lost faith in their government and the economy faltered. But because this democracy was built on institution not on individuals, after a little while they were back on their feet again, Watergate and Nixon all but bad memory. The significance of a potential Zuma ascendancy will be while the majority may not always reach a wise decision as suggested by Russell it must be allowed to stay until such a time when they reach another decision.

I am confident that the South African experiment will blossom and succeed eventually, Jacob Zuma can not undo the injustice of over 300 years, he can make an attempt at some wealth redistribution but that’s all its going to be, an attempt, after settling into the presidential mansion he will not be any different from an Andrew Jackson that turned his back on the South that elected him after he realized the enormity of the task ahead of him.

It is amazing to read pundits assume that the west have always been democratic and civilized. The two greatest democracies in western civilization ( USA and Great Britain) have had their share of mistakes and have at various times in their history elected outright outlandish candidates.

South Africa has started well, Jacob Zuma or any other Mugabe wannabe is not capable of derailing this African dream.

Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia writes from indianapolis, Indiana

Robot  # 1 | 26.12.2007 23:56

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