Reflecting on Dr. Mwanawasas farewell message to the nation
By Dr. Chiyaba Njovu
When I first heard about our late president’s pre-recorded message to the nation, I wondered what the message was all about; could it be related to his desire for his preferred successor? Could it be about his views on the corrupt people or just what could it be? Just why did he record this message? Well, after reading the message in full from different parts of the press, I have come to realise that people perceive power and indeed use power differently. Some people perceive power as a status symbol, others perceive it as a control tool or a measure of their greatness and yet others perceive power as an honor to have their chance to help better the society they lead. Reading that message again, I have come to realise that people do perceive and live their lives differently. Some people live their lives by the day and cannot care less about what happens tomorrow. Others lead a purposeful life that makes them reflect on the past, present and possibly the future. They care about others and value other people. Dr. Mwanawasas message teaches us two things about him. It tells us about him as a person and him as a person in power.
Dr. Mwanawasa as a Person
As a person, Dr. Mwanawasa lived a purposeful life. I am saying this because I had an opportunity of meeting him in different capacities, as an ordinary citizen and as republican President. He spent time thinking about his immediate family, his relatives, his friends and the nation. He demonstrated these traits in different ways. He guided people genuinely with all his heart with the view that they too could develop and live meaningful lives. He openly told people what his views on an issue would be and encouraged people to think seriously about their actions each time. He advised people about the dangers of living beyond ones means and the dangers of an insatiable desire for wealth. In other words, his desire was to see his family, his relatives, his friends and the general populaces in Zambia aspire for better lives. He espoused the value of the rule of law in society at all times. He wished people a life of opportunities for themselves, a life of desire through hard work, honest and sincerity. He fought against injustice, poverty, ignorance, exploitation of man by man and disease. He viewed these as traits that were obstacles to people’s desire for meaningful lives. He viewed a society devoid of these vices as a better society. He reflected on the plight of the poor; cared about the children, the orphans; the disabled, the sick irrespective of who they were and indeed all the disadvantaged people in society. And above all, he detested treachery and dishonesty. In other words, he did unto others as he would expect them to do unto him.
Dr. Mwanawasa as a leader
As a leader, Dr. Mwanawasa had the desire to help better the society he presided over. He reflected on the plight of the nation in keeping with his purpose in life. He gave deep thoughts about the nation and what he could do to help better the nation. He identified key issues in a better society, opportunity creation through prudent resource management; honest in public office; integrity in dealing with others and indeed care for the human being irrespective of their status in society. A look at his actions in life confirms this in many ways. And this is what won him international accolades. He was modest in all his dealings. He was never afraid to tell anyone his piece of mind and was prepared to say sorry whenever he made a mistake. He never showed any desires for materials, and encouraged people to lead modest, humble but genuinely honest lives. Though he had access to all the trappings of wealth one can imagine, he never showed any desire for glamorous things and went on his business as if he was an ordinary citizen. He worked as hard as anyone on his businesses and showed that, like anyone else, he could earn his living as an individual and not using his office.
Fight against corruption
His fight against corruption was motivated by his desire to make Zambia a better place and not malice. It was a fight to demonstrate that people in leadership must respect public resources. It was not a fight against any individual and there was nothing political about it in his mind. It was a fight to serve as a lesson to serving leaders and those that aspire for leadership. Though we are all entitled to our own opinions on this, an objective assessment of the facts emerging from the courts of law and the conduct of those accused of corruption only serve to confirm that some people committed crimes for which justice was demanded. There is nothing wrong in spotting a crime and demanding that the culprit be brought to book. This is what justice demands. This is what Dr. Mwanawasa demonstrated. He demanded justice for all irrespective of ones status in society. It is such bold and courageous actions that can help shape Zambia into a better nation. A nation governed by the rule of law; a nation where people respect each other as human beings; a nation where people could be proud of doing business without the fear of being conned. A nation where each individual feels proud to own what they would like if they can genuinely afford it. I am a strong believer of the hard work culture. I respect honest hard working people. I respect people who genuinely work for what they own but I detest dishonest people no matter what favors they would shower at me. I detest acquiring wealth dubiously or indeed taking advantage of ones position to acquire wealth. Dishonesty is a cancer that has destroyed many families and indeed many societies. Dishonesty coupled with an insatiable desire for meaningless wealth has created wars and shuttered many societies. I have had the privilege of traveling extensively and have visited countries where these have happened and would never wish such a scenario for anybody. A corrupt nation cannot inspire people. Corruption creates helplessness and hopelessness in the disadvantaged and blinds the tricksters from reality. A corrupt nation is a doomed nation and there is no better way to describe it. These are all lessons we can learn from Dr. Mwanawasas leadership. We shall dearly miss him. May his soul rest in peace.
