When talk comes round to
leadership in the office where I work – which, let’s face it, is fairly
often – I’m constantly reminded of the legend of the Sword of Damocles.
Damocles was a vain, ambitious and probably ruthless nobleman in the
court of King Dionysius of Syracuse, a city on the island of Sicily.
Damocles
basically coveted the crown for himself and spent all his time telling
Dionysius how lucky he was to be born into such a great, wealthy and
powerful position to the point where it all got a bit too much for the
king and he invited Damocles to try out being king for himself. Only
Dionysius didn’t tell the Damocles that he’d arranged magically for a
massive, razor sharp sword to hang above his throne, held mysteriously
by just a single strand of a horse’s hair.
All of
which is to say that Damocles learned quickly that with power and
authority came a price, and being a leader wasn’t so easy. It’s a lesson
we might remember today. We’re often very keen to criticise leaders,
and often rightly so. In fact, I’m about to do so myself. But before I
do, I want to give a big shout out to two African leaders that have
recently done their office proud, Macky Sall of Senegal, for proposing a referendum to reduce his own term in office from seven to five years, and Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan, for accepting defeat graciously in Nigeria’s own recent election.
We
need more of these examples in Africa, we really do, and this is where
I’m going to get critical. Leadership responds to the needs of its time:
in a more distant past, for existential reasons, we might have followed
a leader that was the strongest in the pack and this blueprint still
survives in many respects today whereby a leader is selected on their
perceived credentials for best protecting the interests of the group.
Times
change, though, and social structures, flexed and melded by trade and
migration, have evolved. The Igbos of Eastern Nigeria, from where I hail
for example, evolved an interesting governance structure based less on
centralised, hereditary leadership and instead on networks of councils
of elders whose decisions were upheld as law. Other societies across the
African continent developed more centralised political kingdoms along
the lines of European monarchies.
But here’s the
thing: society needs to adapt its leadership structures to match the
challenges of the time. The slave trade and the colonial era may have
both left ravaging scars on the structure and fabric of our society but
it’s no longer an excuse for the miserable leadership so many of us
suffer. Today, more than ever, we need to look ahead, not backwards, to
define the leadership to make the 21 century Africa’s century but
instead all too often we are left to get by surviving under power
structures that are well past their sell by date, propped up by
institutions that are not – and probably never have been - fit for any
kind of purpose.
So here’s my wish list for a
modern Africa leader: first they need to be democratic. It sounds
obvious but in too many parts of our glorious continent it is still
lacking; in practice even if not in name.
Second, I
want an end to strong man politics. Leaders that legitimize their power
through force and physical manifestation of strength are basically
dictators. They belong in the dustbin of history like all the other
wrong ones from times past.
Next comes a
commitment to dialogue, followed by inclusiveness and vision. These are
the attributes that should inspire trust and followership; not bribes,
inducements or threats. And lastly agility; to be able to spot the
fast-moving, fast-looming dangers ahead and steer ones people towards
calmer currents.
I’m really not asking for much but that is the point: this is leadership 101 and as a continent, as a people,
we Africans need to get it right. If we do, we can build the
institutions, nurture the talent and unlock the growth to make our
emerging continent a place where people want to live. There is no other
way to banish the poverty, hunger, extremism and intolerance that has
haunted us for too much of our past. Damocles taught us the perils of
being attracted to leadership for the wrong reasons: only those with a
good heart and grim determination need apply.
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Boko Haram terrorists
Mücahid Cihad Han, a
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station 2000 TV
24 year old Nigerian Super Eagles player and Chinese Super League,
Guangzhou R&F striker, Aaron Samuel welcomed a baby girl with his
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The 13th of June is set to be a date for a major power shift on the
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