Subscribers to the maxim of leadership and strategic thinking will
attest to the fact that any form of organization needs leaders. In fact, there
is no society that has succeeded without credible leadership in place. Forget
the type of leader a given institution or society may have as the fundamental
point is that there is always a figurehead at the apex of any organization
whose interest is to deal with matters of common good. This aphorism is
applicable in our everyday lives and more so at personal level. To be an
upright person, one needs to instill a great sense of personal leadership to
manage themselves. Societies have held together and transmogrified due to
committed leadership and every level of society. The reference to leadership
from the outset is aimed at contextualizing the discourse at hand because as a
nation, we have transitioned from one leadership to another since we attain
self-rule. To date, Zambia holds a proud record of peaceful handover of
political power from Presidents Kenneth Kaunda, Fredrick JT. Chiluba, Levy P.
Mwanawasa, Rupiah B. Banda, and Michael C. Sata to Edgar C. Lungu without any
form of mayhem.
This has not been an easy feat to achieve in comparison to what
other countries in sub-Saharan Africa have experienced. This discourse should
not be misconstrued to be speechifying personalities but the Presidency as an
institution of leadership in relation to the central role it plays in the
everyday Zambian society. In the history of Zambian Presidency, we are on sixth
President. This is not an easy feat to attain at all in comparison to other
countries who are stuck with one leader who seem to have anointed themselves as
the alpha and omega with an extreme sense of self-entitlement and no room for transition
in the nearest foreseeable future. If
one astutely looks at the
Presidents that Zambians have elected, each presented some exceptional form of
uniqueness that have contributed to the development of the country in their own
unmatched manner. This is not a wholesale statement but one which could be
subjected to detailed scrutiny and proved right. For this discourse, probing
the distinctiveness of Kenneth Kaunda, Fredrick JT. Chiluba, Levy P. Mwanawasa,
Rupiah B. Banda, Michael C. Sata and Edgar C. Lungu leadership style maybe a
topic for another day. However, it is cardinal to recognize that Zambia as a
nation has venerated the weight of leadership in the management of its affairs.
If the country has placed premium on leadership, it is cardinal for the nation
to set aside a day on which we recognize the Presidency as a driving force in a
nation quest to achieving greater heights at all strata of development. In view
of this recognition, it is this author’s proposal that Zambia declares 28th
April “Zambia Presidents’ Day”. This day should be set aside to reflect on the
past and present leadership as a means on preserving their legacy.
On 28th April, 2018, Zambia will be honoring the 94th
birthday of the founding President of the Republic of Zambia Dr. Kenneth David
Kaunda. This is the man who is venerated within and beyond the borders of our
country because of the significant role he has played in African and global
politics. It is not a secret that President Kenneth Kaunda remains a colossus
in Zambia political landscape after all, he and many other comrades of his such
as Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, Vernon J. Mwaanga, Peter
Matoka, Justin Musonda Chimba, Julia Chikamoneka just to mention but a few brawled
for the liberation of our nation from the pangs of colonialism. We have time
and time again recognized the selfless work of this cabal during national
events like Independence Day. For being the first President of the Republic of Zambia,
we have generally showered praises on this son of the soil. Praises are not
enough, there is need to do more. It is now time for us to put in place practical
measures that would see his legacy and that of other past Presidents to be
preserved through the ‘Zambia Presidents’ day. The interrogation that arises
obviously is the practicality of such a day. It is acknowledged that Zambia
already has well spread public holidays. In view of that, the 28th
April should not be declared a public holiday at all but an official day with a
build up to it through lessons, activities, and other national events that
honor the past and present Presidency. This is one authentic manner in which Zambia
can institutionalize on a national scale the preservation of Kenneth Kaunda,
Fredrick JT. Chiluba, Levy P. Mwanawasa, Rupiah B. Banda, Michael C. Sata, Edgar
C. Lungu and future Presidents’ legacy. One would further submit that the
Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs could play a cardinal role
in the modalities of how this day will be commemorated as it is at the
epicenter of guiding the nation. Organizations other key stakeholders should be
given the latitude to organize events that would help the nation celebrate the
efforts of the past and present Presidents.
Some people have spoken in jest that “Zambians have very short
memories”. While this remains a cliché, this author fears is this assertion could
turn out to be true because without deliberate efforts, the legacies of the
past Presidents may soon dissipate in thin air to the extent that we may have
to rely on outsiders to impart it in us. We should never forget that Zambia is
fostered on a solid foundation of moral, traditional, Christian, constitutional
principles. The primary custodian and example of these virtues is the
Presidency. It just therefore just makes worthy sagacity that the nation sets
aside a day that recognizes the past and the present leadership through this
proposed day. Declare 28th April Presidents’ Day.
The
author is a Lusaka based observer of African & international affairs.
For
comments send your email to bonaventuremutale@gmail.com