The Juju joyride... - Thought Leader

All the provincial leadership structures of the ANC Youth League have been reported to stand behind their besieged president, Julius Malema. They believe their man is under attack from unscrupulous characters who are involved in clandestine power struggles to determine who will lead the ANC in 2012 when it holds its next big elections.

It is a good thing that the ANCYL is a tight and solid organisation that gives unconditional support to its leader.

Unity is strength.

But it is funny that my reading of this development collapsed into what I consider that “aha!” experience in life when things fall out of place. I was suddenly able to relive the powerful moment of “I told you so” when a young child refuses to do as they are told only to end up burning their fingers.

I do not think the provincial structures of the ANCYL clearly understand the meaning of their stance in this Malema issue. Of course any leader, no matter his age, who spouts the radical politics of “nationalisation” and threatens the interests of capitalism is going to be a target.

Those who see him as a risk to their material interests are going to leave no stone unturned in both “exposing” his follies and making sure he goes down. This is what happened to Patrice Lumumba in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1960s, for instance.

There is more to this Malema issue than meets the eye.

But the issue at hand, for me, is for the youth leadership, who are the custodians of the aspirations and hopes of the future, to clearly understand those subtle, often unconsciously unidentified discrepancies between what you do and what you say.

What the youth leadership of this country needs to understand is that they cannot afford to settle for quick-fix solutions. We expect young people, especially leaders, to understand the deeper level of their decisions and not be afraid to take a stance that will be at variance with popular figures in powerful positions.

I am not suggesting that Malema is guilty of any crime for pulling himself up by his boot straps or accumulating wealth that he cannot explain. But the fact that a young leader has a larger-than-life personality, speaks truth to those who wield economic power, is confident and very popular does not, necessarily, make him a great leader.

These are not essential qualities for a future leader of a country.

These are just traits that make up the personality of the man but tell us very little about his character. The young leaders of this country cannot afford to focus on the personality of a leader and thus forget the character. This will ultimately make the chickens come home to roost.

If a so-called leader uses political strategies and public-relations tactics to say what people expect him to say, to whip up emotions with rhetoric while his character is fundamentally flawed, then there is a big problem.

If people cannot match what a leader says to what he does, his whole character will be haunted by duplicity and insincerity. And this will, inevitably, breed distrust and lack of confidence.

In the long run, his sayings or utterances will be perceived as manipulative and some people may lose faith in his organisation and withdraw their support.

It simply makes no difference how good your public speaking is or how well you articulate the ideals of a 1955 document that are not government policy; if there is little trust and your actions do not match what you say, there is no foundation for future success.

People will always be judged by what they do more than what they say.

Yet sometimes leaders who are very good with the technique of pressing the right emotional buttons do get away with murder. It would be ridiculous for a well-fed man who lives in a mansion and drives around in expensive cars to tell the poor that he cares for them.

Much as the masses are gullible, you will be judged by what you do with … er, your money to improve the lives of the disadvantaged. In the short run, the youth leadership has done the right thing to rally around and give unconditional support to their president.

But this is a quick-fix approach that is not a permanent solution.

Eventually, if there is no deep integrity and fundamental character strength, the people will reveal their colours and failure and self-destruction may plague the ANCYL.

Youth leaders must be an example of all that is good, admirable and, above all, people of integrity.