• Eric Shikobela writes:
South Africa is at a breaking point; nothing so far is going right. Good news and progress have become a stranger to our ears and the hope of many is dwindling rapidly.
All joy is lost, because nobody has confidence of a better South Africa anymore. The pain of witnessing my motherland drowning gives me sleepless nights, because I know what great potential this diverse nation of ours has, and I owe it to my own self to ensure that I contribute towards unleashing all its potential to make our nation a better place for the next generation.
Pride, ignorance and arrogance make our leaders say, “All is well in our nation, or, soon things will be back to normal,” whilst we can see our country is like a sinking ship that needs salvation quickly! And although we might draw it back from its sea of troubles, to think we will find it in its normalcy is far-fetched. I don’t even want to mention the problems and challenges we’re having, we all know them; however, it has become easier to criticise the efforts of leaders than to come up with solutions that will assist them to become better leaders, and uplift our nation.
I quote Chief Albert Luthuli, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
I often have this question: As a leader, when you close your eyes at night can you proudly say ‘I’m serving the purpose of my life’, because serving the purpose of your life is understanding that leadership is not a career, but it’s a calling that comes with great responsibilities. Once we can understand our calling then we will be able to fulfil our responsibilities successfully.
This letter aims to serve the purpose of a call to unity as leaders of this blessed and beautiful country; despite our political, racial and religious differences. We should find a way to put our personal philosophies and ideologies aside and adopt a common vision, that is to see our nation overcoming every obstacle.
Leaders must unite, as there is no individual that can save South Africa. Working together can bring hope that has been lost. Leaders must prioritise the nation above their egos, the agendas they’re sent to drive through their positions, their organisations and political parties. I concede, it’s not as easy as it sounds, but a leader who is more concerned about building him/ herself a name will find it hard to work with others, because working together builds a nation, not just a home.
I quote Mother Teresa, “I alone cannot change the world but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples”.
Lucrative positions should be the last thing on our minds at this point. Leadership unity can turn our breaking point into a turning point. Once leaders find certain grounds to unite, the possibilities of building a powerful nation are endless. A call to work together doesn’t necessarily mean we should become ignorant to poor leadership and the need to accountability by leaders that are failing the nation, but it’s a sacrifice of putting the nation first. Besides, from ancient days the blame game has never resolved any problem, it’s merely politics. There is no leader that can make everyone happy, it’s highly impossible. However, a good leader will build a nation that is proud to be under his care. A nation that is at peace with itself, a wealthy and healthy nation.
I deeply believe that our country is at the crossroads and crucially imperative decision-making is necessary, but we can only be certain that the route to success will be our choice if leaders unite in the best interest of the nation. We have truly gifted people in our country, but they waste time fighting to prove a point rather than progressing the nation. When opposing each other is our main agenda, believe me one day we will wake up only to realise that there’s nothing left to fight for.
I humbly call on all leaders from distinguished organisations to unite, both senior and junior leaders, to save and serve our beautiful country. We can create more job opportunities, we can create the best education and health system in the world. We can fight crime and corruption together, we can empower struggling businesses, and establish new ones. Lastly we should create a nation that will engage in dialogues at different levels for progress. Remember, discussion is impossible with someone who claims not to seek the truth, ready to oppose it.
I quote Dr Kofi Annan, “When leaders fail to lead, people take charge and leaders then have to follow.”
Leadership must unite to engage in short and medium-term dialogue that will bring forth initiatives and strategies that will redress our problems and make our nation better and fruitful. Once we fail our own nation, we have failed ourselves. We all want personal achievements, but that desire shouldn’t exceed the passion of living in a ‘first world’ country. We have to unite with a purpose. We can’t agree on everything, but if there’s one thing we can agree on – making South Africa a place we will all be proud to call our home.
I quote Jomo Kenyatta, “Our children may learn about the heroes of the past. Our task is to make ourselves the architects of the future.”
