My open letter to the President of the great nation of Zambia H.E Edgar Chagwa Lungu
My message is a simple one, one from a concerned and patriotic young Zambian. Let me start by quoting the 40th President of the United States Ronald Reagan who said, “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” I am a strong believer in the following principle; that no one man holds all the solutions, but collectively we can conquer any problem or challenges we face. That’s where leadership comes in, your excellency I feel your role as the head of state of this great nation is to not only provide us with a winning plan but to also stir up in us the spirit to fight through any challenge we face. The battle we are faced with right now will require a collective effort for us to achieve what we all desire, which is Life beyond this pandemic.
This is a trying moment and an unprecedented one, and I do believe that you and your government are trying your best to protect our nation and have the nation do things the right way to survive through this period. You have mentioned countless times that you have appointed men and women who you feel are competent enough in managing our nation, yes these men and women, as you have put it, share your sentiments and opinions and you feel their judgment and words clearly represent your stance and decisions, and you feel that they will communicate effectively and manage us through this time. However, our nation needs more than just management, we need leadership. Like Peter Drucker said, “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Our nation needs your leadership your excellency, I feel you cannot subcontract anyone to give people hope, to assure people that everything will be ok or to earn our trust in your leadership; knowing that you will guide us through this trying time; this leadership duty lies in the man or woman the nation elects as its leader and that man is you.
I write this not to question your ability to lead or to say that you are not working to protect us or that you do not have the best interest of every Zambian, I would like to believe you do and it’s for that reason I write this to you so that you may hear the voice of your people. In my short journey as a leader in my own small sphere of influence, I have learned that true leadership is not the ability to command and do as you will, but it’s the ability to listen and do what’s best for others at the cost of self-interest.
For whatever reason you feel that it’s not necessary to urgently and frequently address the nation in times of crisis, but rather choose to speak to us through a third party, I would like to appeal to you that you reconsider that decision. We need you now more than ever, your excellency, to reassure this nation and this cannot be subcontracted to your ministers, press aid or social media team. The mantle to lead this nation lies in you and not any other man or woman, that great responsibility was placed in your hands by the people of this great nation, and the voice we need to hear at this moment should come from that man in whose hands we put that great responsibility. We need to move as one now more than ever and by your voice being absent in such a time only hinders our mission of collective effort.
My prayer is that you read this message and take this as a humble plea from one of this great nation’s sons and I would like to believe I speak for many; we need your voice and strong visible leadership now more than ever. I pray that we hear that voice now when it’s needed most and not when we begin to fight a battle we can’t contain; containment is now; action is now; prevention is now and your voice and leadership will help us achieve all this and avoid panic and confusion.
May God grant you the wisdom to see this nation through all its challenges.
Yours sincerely
Steven A.M Mwale
A Proud Son Of Mother Zambia
#teamProgress