NELSON MANDELA ONCE SAID THAT THE BRAIN HAS TO DOMINATE EMOTIONS TO GOVERN A COUNTRY WELL- HH NEEDS TO LEARN FROM THAT
When people talk of the legacy of Nelson Madiba Mandela, they are normally quick to talk about the ultimate sacrifice of spending 27 years in prison. And rightfully so. He refused to separate his freedom from that of his people and he only became free when the people’s freedom was guaranteed.
To me, without disregarding the 27 years incarceration, the legacy and iconic status of Madiba is further solidified by the things he said and did. He was that voice that not only spoke for his country, but the entire Africa. Until Mandela became President, that voice that resonated well across Africa and could be heard by citizens of other countries was no longer there.
Post colonial Africa, many people like Kwame Nkrumah, Leopold Senghor, Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda and Thomas Sankara, among many others, were the voice of hope and guidance on the continent. It is no wonder Africa’s foreign policy was shaped in accordance with what was best for the individual countries, their region and Africa as a whole. They endeavoured to drive a strong Pan African agenda where they became each other’s brother’s keepers.
However, many years after independence, many of our leaders overstayed in office, they clamped down divergent voices, became dictatorial and just lost the legitimacy to speak a message that could be heard and respected by all sons and daughters of our beloved continent, regardless of nationality.
So Mandela was that breath of fresh air and once again Africa had a voice that they could listen to regardless of where one came from. And Madiba never disappointed, he spoke well and represented the continent admirably.
He guided us well and left brilliant quotes on education being the answer for Africa; not making other people’s enemies our enemies, etc, but today I will dwell on the one he said that ‘the brain has to dominate emotions for a leader to govern a country well.’ This quote is very important today because we have a President that needs to get counsel from it.
President HH is too vindictive and emotive in the way he runs national affairs and deals with political opponents. The President should know that being in the driving seat comes with a lot of pros and cons and he should learn how to deal with both without resorting to using state power to deal with his real and perceived political enemies.
So in the words of Mandela, may the brains of the current leaders, especially President HH dominate their emotions so that this country is governed well. Otherwise the picture we are seeing now where their hearts are leading their brains will only get worse if we don’t remind them to take heart and be leaders for all, despite who they love or hate, or who annoys them or makes them happy.
Issued by:
Saboi Imboela
President- NDC
2 hrs · Public