ISSUES AT STAKE: Unleash the power of traditional leaders

There was a time before the powers of traditional leaders were eroded by governance systems, when the word of the kings carried enormous weight.

It was a time when kings were above petty squabbles, and hence were viewed as the final arbiters and unifiers in our communities.

Today, unfortunately, their powers have been usurped and as such they are increasingly only seen as ceremonial leaders.

Theirs, though, is a very important institution to hold our fragmented communities together.

Those with selective amnesia have forgotten the role traditional leaders played when bloodletting erupted in the mines, and indeed throughout the country, when political intolerance threatened to divide the nation.

In fact, the buy-in by the traditional leaders ensured that we had a somewhat smooth transition.

Seeing that the elected representatives are preoccupied with their proximity to the feeding trough while our children and women are massacred, perhaps the traditional leaders are now better positioned to stem the tide.

It is only when our communities unite that we would be able to isolate the brutes who target the vulnerable.

It is perhaps time for the kings to talk directly to their subjects and revive the real meaning of ubuntu.

Legitimacy

No one can deny the entrenched legitimacy of traditional leaders in many communities.

It is therefore time for traditional leaders to demonstrate their relevance to the nation by tackling the current challenges.

Even the recalcitrant brutes might undergo a mindset change once they get to know who they are and how they fit in the bigger picture.

Cynics would argue that traditional leaders do not hold sway in urban areas where the majority of these dastardly deeds take place.

The truth is, the majority of those who flock to the cities have deep roots in rural areas.

In other words, in one form or other, their allegiance is with a traditional house.

Those who undermine the influence of traditional leaders are simply ‘captured’ by the treatment meted out against traditional leaders that sometimes tarnish their good names and weaken them.

We must remember that we are all Africans and we are in Africa. Today is not only an opportune moment to clearly define the role of traditional leaders, but also to accord space for these traditional institutions to play the critical role they should in our quest for moral regeneration.

Our children and women need our united voices to get us out of the mire we find ourselves in.