During my days in human resources, there was a new wave of human capital development solutions that probably replaced the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People at the top of management trends. It was called Emotional Intelligence and one of its leading proponents, Danel Goleman offered a definition of leadership as, “not domination, but persuading people to work towards a common goal.”
By Albert Gumbo
The years of the liberation struggle from the first uprising in 1896 to the second Chimurenga were marked by a sense of overwhelming commitment to the liberation of the country from the grip of an occupying settler force. The last few years of the fight for independence saw compelling slogans such as “the year of the people’s storm” and “the year of the people’s power.” If war was not such an ugly and tragic thing, one would say those were heady days as if one were speaking about a hippie movement. In 1980, the year of our independence, the sense of euphoria and optimism for this jewel of Africa was beyond the Richter scale and nothing, it would appear, could or would go wrong. After all, we had the most educated cabinet, man for man, in the world! The leadership in the years leading up to and immediately after independence was arguably very impressive.
Yet as we all know, barely three years in to the newly independent country mass murder of the civilian population, at the hands of government forces, was taking place in the infamous Ghukurahundi campaign that lasted until 1985. The country continued to be soaked in the blood of the innocent, one evil regime replaced by a brutal one, black leaders in settler skins.
But this did not stem our naiveté with many commentators and much of the population going as far as saying if the President had resigned in 1990, he would have left with his honour intact! This is a significant part of the tragedy of Zimbabwe; when one section of the population could not be bothered by what happens to another. For the avoidance of doubt, the majority population was not shocked by Ghukurahundi. Thereafter, when four white farmers were killed as a prelude to the chaotic farm invasions, it was not really an issue for the majority to worry about. Operation Murambatsvina saw close to 700 000 people evicted from their homes in a “red” 2005 and still we shrugged and said “shame,” and moved on. Even after factory invasions targeting business executives started, the Zimbabwean people still saw events from afar and it was only until the government turned against “everyone” who they considered an enemy (rather than classify them by tribe, race or social class) did the people finally realise they were dealing with a monstrous regime. It is an indictment on the people and the idea of shared values.
I do not know about you but this is clearly, not the Zimbabwe I sought! Judging by the fact that nearly half the country’s population has emigrated, some to live in very difficult conditions away from home, is proof that push factors have helped to determine the fate of many a Zimbabwean citizen.The obvious question then, is what is the Zimbabwe that we seek?
The answer is fairly obvious: individual health, wealth and a respectable prosperous nation, not a pariah state and certainly not one that displays the desperate and embarrassing picture we have seen from 2000 to date.
Photo credit: www.sundaynews.co.zw
