Leadership starts with us

By Kayeye Cedric Ntumba

According to a paper delivered in 2004, “Strengthening African Leadership”, by Robert I Rotberg, the Director of the Programme on Intrastate Conflict at Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government and President of the World Peace Foundation, Africa has long been saddled with poor, even malevolent, leadership: predatory kleptocrats, military-installed autocrats, economic illiterates and puffed-up posturers. By far the most egregious examples come from Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Zimbabwe — countries that have been run into the ground despite their abundant natural resources.

But these cases are by no means unrepresentative: by some measures, 90% of sub-Saharan African nations have experienced despotic rule in the last three decades. Despotic leaders use power as an end in itself, rather than for the public good; they are indifferent to the progress of their citizens (although anxious to receive their adulation); they are unswayed by reason and employ poisonous social or racial ideologies and they are hypocrites, always shifting blame for their countries’ distress.

Before delving further into an elaborate discussion about leadership in an African context, I would like to contextualise some of the leadership experiences that have shaped my thinking on this subject.

Firstly, the DRC has provided Africa, and by extension the rest of the world, with an unambiguous, but rather convoluted, illustration of the potential consequences of inconsistent applications of sound leadership practices. A momentous collapse of our civil society, our economic platforms and our political structures led to a systematic deprivation of basic human rights for many Congolese in the DRC and the diaspora. The leadership of our post-colonial leaders eg President Mobutu Sese Seko et al has left a sad imprint on the minds of many Congolese that would take a couple of generations to erase.

However, through this calamity opportunities have been created by those who have identified that the status quo cannot continue and that leadership is not a concept that should be analysed outside self but rather that inward reflections provide us with the necessary conviction to carve out a different path. I use the word “our” because the DRC is the place I call home even though I reside in South Africa.

Secondly, the story of a professional woman, my wife, who for some time understood that the general provision of quality early-age education in Africa was not of a consistently high standard to enable young African children to compete on the regional, continental and global stages. To my absolute surprise, her attitude of “getting things done” came through very strongly and she promptly decided to “liberate” herself from the “trappings” of corporate life and embarked on a journey of self-discovery, which has already resulted in the education of approximately 200 full-time children in the past two years. Her conviction and leadership of self and her team has created a space for an entrepreneurial venture of considerable success.

Lastly, my reflections on a poignant leadership experience of a young war refugee who has overcome significant hurdles and challenges in his life, including fleeing from his family home in the DRC in order to relocate in one of Africa’s largest refugee camps in Uganda. Yet, he expresses neither anger nor bitterness towards those responsible for these circumstances. Instead, at 17 years of age, he mobilised many youths in his refugee camp and put together education programmes for the children of the refugee camp. His endeavours have now been exposed globally. As a result the global community is getting to appreciate that leaders do arise out of some of the most unexpected circumstances.

I am certain that each one of these experiences would be experienced differently by various folks. Leadership after all is experiential. One’s circumstances and frame of reference would significantly influence how a person not only leads, but how they also experience their leaders too. The abovementioned anecdotes may appear simple, however, are effective ways in which Africans are opting to exercise leadership and, in so doing, taking ownership for, defining and re-directing the development of the African continent.

If Africa has no clear indication of the leaders it wishes to produce to advance its various ambitious policies and aspirations, and it does not unambiguously define the qualities and characteristics of the leaders it wishes to vote into leadership positions in government, civil society or business, why then do we, Africans, complain about the quality of our leaders?

Good governance, in general, dictates that when identifying a leader of a country, corporate or civil-society organisation, it is necessary to clearly define the characteristics, qualities, qualifications and other factors that will assist in the identification and election/appointment of suitable candidates.

Former world sprinting champion Maurice Greene was quoted saying (quote was attributed to Roger Bannister shortly after running the first sub-4 mile):

“Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must move faster than the lion or it will not survive. Every morning a lion wakes up and it knows it must move faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn’t matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be moving.”

In order for Africa to improve on its overall global competitiveness it requires its leadership (across all sectors of society), and its followers to be aware of the almost relentless pace of global advancement and the complications these introduce to the requirements of leaders’ abilities. These require that Africans be alert to the real notion that the rest of the world will continue to regard it as the weaker gazelle in the herd, unless it picks up its pace. Africa has started moving, it now needs to pick up its pace. I know I am picking mine up. Are you?

Cedric Ntumba, a DR Congo national, is a chartered accountant (SA), private equity executive at one of South Africa’s leading private equity firms and the chairperson of the South African Ballet Theatre. He is an Archbishop Tutu Fellow, co-founder of The Little Ashford Playschools, a member of the African Leadership Network, member of Africa 2.0 and a growing social activist.