By Georgina Asare Fiagbenu
We have just witnessed the end of the Presidency of President
Mugabe. It is very interesting that today we refer to him as the former leader
of Zimbabwe
 |
| *Robert and Grace Mugabe |
During
the last few weeks of Mugabe's rule, there was so much coverage about him than
any other African leader. Getting attention on channels like BBC, CNN and
Reuters is not for nothing. News on Robert Mugabe sells like tea to the British
and beer to the Germans.
I
am not sure that they are interested in him because he is the oldest President
in Africa . It appears the West was looking
forward to the day Mugabe will leave for them to ensure the reversal of some of
his unfavorable decisions.
His
situation got some Pan Africanists and pro African writers expressing mixed
feelings about how he rose as a hero and fell as a villain. It got me also
thinking about some of the things that he got right and wrong and what I can
learn from him. Looking at the Mugabe experience, there are a lot of lessons to
be learnt from his story.
Don't take your
people for granted: For several decades, Mugabe lived and worked for
his country. He went through many challenges to gain independence and to
establish self-governance. However after he became President he started doing a
lot of things which are reported to be worse than the colonists were doing. He
took his people for granted because of his previous achievements and he thought
they were going to stick with him forever. It doesn't work that way.
Never think there is
no one better than you: It is a fact that Robert Mugabe did a lot of wonderful
things in Zimbabwe
Don't undermine the
contributions of other people, especially the members of your own team: After so many
years in power Mugabe fired his Vice President. He forgot the contributions of
the people who helped him to be who he was. For any leader to succeed he must
have the support of the inner circle. Once the inner circle is broken it is
easy for others to infiltrate the camp.
Never let anyone
interfere with anything you have ultimate responsibility for: Mugabe forgot that
he was the elected leader of the country. When the Military and his associates
had indications that his wife had ambitions of replacing him, they showed him
the exit. He was the one they voted for and if he was no longer capable of
running the country he had to give that responsibility back to the people.
Don't let people
dilute your profile with bad things you don't want the world to hear: Mugabe has a rich
history which includes the fight for independence. I am not sure if he wrote
his own memoirs or profile what he will include. Reading
Leaders must know
when they have overstayed their presence. Elected or not, there is a reasonable
period for people to lead. It is a painful experience to subject yourself to a
leader who has overstayed his presence. It is worse when the leader is
reporting negative returns.
Leave at the peak of
your performance, not when things are worse; Leadership is not an
easy task. It can be very challenging when there is nothing to show for it.
When things are tough and a leader can no longer achieve the group goals, it is
better to handover to someone who is more experienced and skillful in that
area. It is a more respectable thing to do.
When it is time to
leave just leave in piece not in pieces. It is always better
for leaders to leave in piece. Some political leaders in Africa
and elsewhere have found crafty ways of extending their political offices when
there are clear rules for their exit. Such leaders must know that one day they
will be forced to leave and when that happens they will not leave in piece.
They may leave in pieces and that is not the best. If I were Mugabe I would
have not have contested the last two or three elections. Nelson Mandela's
record is therefore everyone to see.
ginafiagbenu@yahoo.com
ginafiagbenu@yahoo.com
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