On role models and bad governance

True role models are those who possess qualities which we would like to have and those who have affected us in a way that makes us want to be better people- to advocate for ourselves and our goals and take leadership on the issues that we believe in. This is an extract from American Heritage, published in 2005.

Role models can affect us in both positive and negative ways. In issues of governance, the latter form of modelling has spelt more disasters than the former. Many unimaginable forms of cruelty have surfaced from it from time immemorial. Those affected by it feed on the negative traits of their models until they automatically become like them.

Take Adolf Hitler, for instance. He might have had other reasons for being ferociously cruel, but a close look at his life reveals that he had a role model who believed in conquering territories and exercising dictatorial leadership.

Hitler idolised Fredrick the Great (1712-1786), who was a great king and warrior in ancient Germany. During his time, Fredrick made Germany a very powerful State by fighting many battles in Europe in which he was often victorious. He was also an ardent believer in the philosophy of no surrender.

In Hitler’s mansion, a huge portrait of Fredrick the Great hung on a wall, facing it was a chair where Hitler sat every day. Unknown to him, the portrait on the wall spoke to him unconsciously. It was not surprising, therefore, to see Hitler adopting the policies of aggression and dictatorship; his reign was red with blood that refuses to be wiped out by any solvent to date. He scored poorly in governance, a grade no one has beaten.

A notable case also happened in Malawi recently. The late president Bingu wa Mutharika, who had strong economic credentials, visualised an out-of-this-world image of Malawi which could take this country out of poverty. He had a powerful imagination about connecting Malawi to the sea through the Nsanje Port. He constructed many roads.

These colourful dreams, however, grew wings and flew away the moment he started wearing the image of the country’s first president Hastings Kamuzu Banda.

As if in a drama scene, he started the ‘Kamuzufication’ project. He saw this man as the best thing which ever ruled this country and someone he had to emulate despite that Kamuzu was the reason Mutharika went into exile. He never attempted to assess what his life was attracting from this dictator until the consequences of this borrowed image flew to world capitals such as London and New York before crash-landing in the pockets of his people.

In case there are some ‘born frees,’ reading this article, Kamuzu ruled our country with tyrannical hands and anyone who opposed him was killed or imprisoned for life.

But how did it all start? The late Mutharika started adoring the deeds of Kamuzu. He extended this subconscious energy into fashion by adopting the walking stick and a Wilson hat, which were the benchmarks of the former dictator. He started issuing decrees at the speed of lightning and withdrew them at a speed higher than that.

 Mutharika failed because of borrowing a bad form of governance, which he thought had no flaws. He could have done better if he had chosen to take after other role models who did better.

To all those in leadership positions today, the question is: Who is your role model? Who do you want to become? What is the source of your administrative energy?

President Joyce Banda could do better if she had some great leaders as role models, after whom she could strive to attain quality leadership. There are many great examples out there such as Abraham Lincoln, the late Professor Attah Mills and many others.

Governance is a science; we must labour to discover what made others to perform well. We, too, could benefit from their success stories and become a country that does not specialise in blunders.