Leadership Without Guarantees

By Sonala Olumhense

Last week, Zambian leader Levy Mwanawasa died in Paris. He had suffered a stroke during the African Union summit in Egypt in June, and was taken to France. Mr. Mwanawasa was only 59.

During his six years in office, his health was a national issue. Indeed, four months before the 2006 general elections, he suffered a minor stroke, which returned questions about his health to the front pages. But he was returned to office, and continued to change his country for the better.

"He was a great leader," Kenneth Kaunda, the nation's former President, said. "People loved him. We all loved him. He did great things."

Mr. Mwanawasa was an unusual African leader. In 2006 he actually ran his re-election on the basis of his economic record. The people of Zambia agreed with him.

He said he would fight corruption, and he did so courageously and openly. That included his historic fight with his predecessor, Mr. Frederick Chiluba. Soon after he assumed office, he got the former president's immunity from prosecution lifted, accusing him of misusing millions of dollars of state funds while he was in office. That parliamentary process was upheld by the Zambian Supreme Court the following year.

One of the charges against Chiluba was filed in the United Kingdom in 2005; he was accused of defrauding Zambia of $35 billion and hiding the money abroad.

His policies were so successful that many developed countries were flocking to his support. And it is remarkable that this year, while many African leaders were hiding behind excuses about the situation in Zimbabwe, Mr. Mwanawasa was openly critical of the controversial election and the violence.

As we sympathize with the people of Zambia, the parallels with the situation in Nigeria are astounding. As was the case in Zambia, our President is not in the best of health. And as had been the case in that country where Mr. Mwanawasa had been hand-picked to lead the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy by Chiluba; Umaru Yar'Adua was awarded Nigeria by then president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

There, perhaps, the similarities end. While it must always been borne in mind that Yar'Adua has spent only one year in office, it is equally true that nobody in Nigeria is talking about how inspiring he is, or his impact. His biggest compliment is that he is slow.

Now, that may not be such a bad thing to be accused of, particularly since federal officials claim that he is not being slow, but deliberate. The problem is that in a situation such as Nigeria's, "deliberate" is clearly a dangerous investment.

The most obvious challenge is the war on corruption. While Mwanawasa was courageous enough to fight corruption even at the level of the man who brought him to power, Yar'Adua's war is a comedy. Recently, James Ibori, the former Delta State Governor and a man with a plethora of charges against him, was given his diplomatic passport. He traveled to two lavish parties in South Africa to mark his birthday. Another report said he went to China in a federal delegation to watch the Olympics.

The most worrisome aspect of the comparison between Mwanawasa and Yar'Adua is in their definition of time. Mwanawasa approached his job as if he knew he had only a brief period to make a difference. That is why he is being celebrated worldwide as a democrat, humanist and anti-corruption champion. Zambians mourn the loss of his leadership, integrity, and nationalism.

Yar'Adua, on the other hand, has approached the job as though it were a long distance race, a 26-mile marathon where the first 25 miles can be spent half-awake. Hopefully, the death of Mwanawasa reminds Yar'Adua of the falsehood of that assumption, and the fickleness both of life and power. The issue is not whether he might die; it is the impact he makes while he is certain he has the chance.

When I speak of impact, I do not refer to words. Yar'Adua had made many a pronouncement about his beliefs and what he intends to achieve. The problem is that we have heard similar pronouncements from many a Nigerian leader; at the end of their tenure, they are so betrayed and so compromised they cannot walk around their own country in freedom like Kenneth Kaunda or Nelson Mandela. Instead they hide in fortresses behind their hypocrisy, armoured tanks, layers of armed guards, and dogs.

In Yar'Adua's one year, he has not developed agriculture, like Mwanawasa did; instead, he has sewed questions. He has not convinced the public his anti-corruption war would admit of no sacred cows, like Mwanawasa did; instead, he seems comfortable with smoke and mirrors.

Let us remember that Mwanawasa was in very poor health following a terrible road crash in 1991. Yet, that frail man it was that brought Zambia back from the road to ruin, conquering inflation, restoring the civil service, and controlling domestic debt and borrowing.

And it was that man-his speech impaired-who spoke far better than orators on such issues as combating corruption, and the bigotry and short-sightedness of African leaders.

The challenge before Yar'Adua is to remember what they say about good intentions and the road to hell. What Nigerians are being persuaded to accept, by his administration, is that his presidency will serve our nation thoroughly and competently when it gets off the ground.

After one year, in a nation as dubious and complicated as Nigeria, that is hardly an ingenious argument. It completely neglects the question of the tone of the Yar'Adua administration. Yar'Adua said he would fight corruption, for instance, but he seems to have deliberately left out a zero-tolerance approach. That would explain why his "battle" seems to be in so much confusion.

Hopefully, the President is beginning to recognize these contradictions. If not, then the problem is bigger by far than we first imagined.

Whether a leader lives or dies, the truth is that Time does not, and cannot stand still. In the end, it is the most essential commodity of all.

Robot  Villager

# 1 Leadership Without Guarantees By Sonala Olumhense L...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 24.08.2008 05:09

akuluouno  Villager

# 2 Dea SO and Villagers, I bring you the blessings and peace of the Almighty God through his only true Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Personal Saviour on this Sunny Sunday Morning. May the soul of Levi rest in perfect peace. He was indeed the only one who dared to call a spade a spade wrt Zimbabwe and Mugabe. Coming to Nigeria, I hope UMYA will borrow a leaf from LM like SO rightly observed. We still have a lot of sympathy for UMYA given the huge problems he inherited from Emperor. He seems to be making that paradigm shift away from Emperor but his health and the Supreme Court seem to be two remaining albatrosses on his way:eek::eek: While only God can guarantee health ( prolonged by god medicare facilities), UMYA may wish to borrow a leaf from LM and literally see if he can make history by fighting the cancer of corruption to death. If he can only leave this legacy, he will live forever in the minds of all patriotic Nigerians:idea: May the blessings of God Almighty, the father, the son and the holy spirit, be and remain with us all, this day and forever, Amen. (icon showing Aku:rolleyes::rolleyes:wondering in which mood to tell villagers he is in) Posted by akuluouno| 24.08.2008 06:15

denker  Villager

# 3 ...if he can make history by fighting the cancer of corruption to death. ..my dear loving sista akuluouno, ....dat na impossible situation..how can mallam UMYA fit do dat while holding tight on his 'corruption BOOTY'...lol! Posted by denker| 24.08.2008 06:25

akuluouno  Villager

# 4 The Rt Hon Denker, Recall that LM rode on the corrupt back of Chiluba, I hope that was his name into power. I remember the Judge in London rebuking him for having such a stupendous wardrobe including many high-heeled :evil::evil:shoes to boot while his nation suffers poverty. UMYA can overturn his corrupt heritage and "just do it" like Nike:D:D Posted by akuluouno| 24.08.2008 06:55

aguabata  Villager

# 5 Just for a wider perspective- Mwanawasa criticised Mugabe, initiated a free market policy and got $140million in European aid for 2008 poverty eradication in Zambia. One of his famous quotes is that "Africa is in the hands of Europe but needs China's economic aid''. Mwanawasa's first election was widely acknowledged as rigged by his mentor Chiluba. Chiluba has an immense grip on the ruling party and Mwanawasa's next move was to de-emphasize the party by electing opposition members to ministerial posts, next he stripped thieving Chiluba of immunity and began prosecution. Mwanawasa has run a very successful fiscal policy, but the reason why he turned against Chiluba is more for political control than his disdain for corruption.(in my opinion). Posted by aguabata| 24.08.2008 11:40

ebiasain  Villager

# 6 My dear brother, 'I feel your pain' as former president Bill Clinton would say. Did you mention Yar'Adua is a comedy? And Nigerian 'officials' are giving him credit for being 'delibrate'? C'mon, say it like it is: Yar'Adua is more than a comedy of errors! The man is confused, completely disingenious, an unapologetically corrupt politician and whose middle name could well be, UMaru Ineptitude Yar'Adua! Go figure why Nigeria is at the bottom of all socio-economic and political indexes. Isn't it a low point for a Nigerian leader to be compared to a dead Zambian president? Posted by ebiasain| 25.08.2008 13:00

abdulmumin  Villager

# 7 Thanks Sonala for this beautiful piece. Unfortunately, our own president is completely clueless. History and circumstances thrust a man unto the pedestal of the presidency and he remains awed by the trappings of his office for more than one year without showing any inkling of a direction. His ailment like you have rightly said is no excuse for his comatose approach to governance. Face it! The man is as corrupt as they come even though he has mastered the art of palying as if he were innocent and totally above board. He surrounds himself with all manners of crooks and low lives then plays the saint for the cameras. Come on! We can't all be fools especially those of us that know the inner workings of government. Writing about this a million times would not help as UMYA does not have it in his DNA to be courageous or to be a change agent. Pity Posted by abdulmumin| 25.08.2008 14:07

BiafranPrincess  Villager

# 8 Again, I reapeat...I AM DEEPLY, DEEPLY DISSAPOINTED IN MY PRESIDENT. If Segun Adeniyi is reading this, pls can you convey to the president my deep and profound sadness at his lack of clear leadership, at his lack of inspiration, at his poor grasp of the gravity of our situation, at his directionless ......Stop hiding under this 'rule of law' toga and LEAD, Mr President! Does he not understand that these are very critical times? Does he not know that the era of rhetorics/platitudes should be over? This is not the time to keep listing the problems with the Nigerian State but of taking concrete actions! This is not a time of expensive trips and unending meetings rather of rebuilding a battered nation. Step out of Aso Rock, visit the States without fanfare, SEE d true suffering in the country, inspire your ex-fellow governors; inspire a new generation Let him STOP all these same old, same old way of doing things and begin a NEW chart. How difficult can it be to fix roads????? How difficult can it be to provide water???? Pick a sector or two...any sectors...perhaps ENERGY/LAW ENFORCEMENT and focus on it with total zeal and commitment....do something!!!!!! HE SEEMS TO BE WITHOUT A PLAN, JUST 'LEAD AS YOU GO' aka (Pay as you go). We don't need a reactive president but a preemptive one. Again, just totally deeply dissapointed...... Posted by BiafranPrincess| 25.08.2008 20:11