Page 31 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 8

CUMMUNITY

quote verbatim, I’ll only quote in
effect what he said, that a leader is
a servant, but he stands out because
he’s ready to go the extra mile. To
receive insults and to accept them
gracefully but always to do right for
that which is the general good. It’s
not because he is better than them
but because he has been given the
honor and privilege of service. That
is what true leadership is all about.
And I was citing Carter G. Wood-
son in order to introduce my favor-
ite leaders in Afrika and how they
have performed, and history has CONVERSATION, WHERE Ghana, with my friend Wamkele
born them out. First in the panthe- YOU EXPRESSED CONCERN Mene from South Afrika as its
on, is Mwalimu Julius Kambarage ABOUT THE ON-GOING, YET first leading official. But that has
Nyerere, this man, whom I had POORLY COVERED CON- now been postponed because of
the honor and privilege of working FLICTS IN AFRIKA. PLEASE Covid19, but contemporaneously
with, in the 1990s, was humility TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE with what we see now, it was recog-
personified. Whether you liked ABOUT THE CURRENT SIT- nized, and I’m repeating this that
him or not, you cannot deny that. UATION IN THE DIFFERENT you needed to silence the guns. But
A patriot, a servant leader, who had PARTS OF AFRIKA, WHAT IS as I look at Afrika now, the guns
no personal wealth. It is only when CAUSING THEM AND WHAT are not silenced and just give me a
he died that a beautiful house was SHOULD THE APPROACH little latitude to take you around the
made for him in Butiama. Tell that BE IF WE ARE TRULY TO continent.
to our leaders in Kenya who are en- SILENCE THE GUNS AND Look at the entire Sahelian region
gaged in theft on an industrial scale. BRING AN END TO THESE and when I am talking about the
Mwalimu Nyerere demonstrated CONFLICTS AS THE AU IS Sahelian region I’m talking about
that it can be done and you can PUSHING FOR IN THE CUR- Mauritania, I’m talking about Mali,
see in Tanzania, even those who RENT THEMATIC YEAR? I’m talking about Niger, I’m talking
have succeeded him, whether it was Afrika now finds herself in a very about Burkina Faso – the Northern
Mzee Ali Hassan Mwinyi, or now interesting situation, we are at Burkina Faso - and if you permit
the late Benjamin William Mkapa, crossroads and the pandemic now me I can even go up there to Libya
or Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete or John christened Covid-19 has exacerbat- which as you know, has become
Joseph Pombe Magufuli, you can ed the situation but in the recent the Afghanistan of Afrika. If you go
see some humility. past and that recent past must mean to Sudan in the Nuba Mountains
So Afrika has had good leaders, about the last 10 years, Afrika has in Darfur and in the Abyei area,
these are servant leaders, men, and been going through introspection there is once again an insurgency
women who know that their greatest on what she can and must do in informed by the misconduct of the
claim to fame is service. There they order to realize her potential. We Khartoum government; I know
are, and I’ve only talked about the recognized that in order to achieve Prime Minister Hamdok is trying
political angle. There are leaders in all these things, you need peace. but there is an insurgency there.
business, there are leaders in differ- So, this year was declared as the You go to South Sudan there is a
ent sectors but I talk about politics Year of the Silencing of the Guns fragile peace. You go to Eritrea, it
because politics is overarching and as a prerequisite to the creation is locked up, nobody knows what
politics informs and underpins all of a conducive environment for is happening, you go to Ethiopia
else.
socio-economic development and which is being led, in my view,
indeed it is this year that the Africa reasonably well by Prime Minister
WE HAVE TO ALSO CONSID- Continental Free Trade Area was Abiy, but you can see the Oro-
ER SOME OF THE OTHER also to kick in, in the month of July, mo insurgency is still alive and
ISSUES THAT YOU RAISED headquartered as it is in Accra, well. You go to Somalia; you still
DURING OUR EARLIER

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