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President Mugabe

IN any society, there are men and women of critical thinking, reason and principles. Some are of expedience, shallow values, instant gratification, personal aggrandisement or gormandisers.
Principles come from reason and reason comes from critical thinking. Critical thinking is important.

Internationally, there is a National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking.  Richard Panul, author of several books on critical thinking, became director of the centre for critical thinking and chair of the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking. He gave lectures at various universities including Harvard, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and Amsterdam.

It is correct to say some rulers and leaders in politics, business or religion-based religious philosophy and theologism are principled critical thinkers.

Others are noisy empty vessels without principles. There are men and women of passion who act on expedience and emotion. They act for their immediate needs, personal social fulfillment and personal aggrandisement.

In politics, such people can easily turn to selloutism at the expense of national interests and sacrifice for the people. Kwame Nkrumah in the book Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah stressed the importance of principles in political leadership rather than leadership based on expedience. This requires critical thinking, reason and political consciousness.

Critical thinking and principles have guided true political leadership as shown by President Mugabe and the late Vice president Dr Joshua Nkomo. Having worked and been detained with Dr Nkomo for several years and also having worked and known President Mugabe  since the National Democratic Party days of 1960, I talk about their qualities authoritatively.

President Mugabe and Dr Nkomo guided the nation to independence selflessly and were at the helm of a government of the people of Zimbabwe by the people of Zimbabwe for the people of Zimbabwe.

During some meetings, President Mugabe remains quiet and listens while some members speak, others passionately shouting at each other or losing tempers.

In the end, he summarises and concludes with a solution or way forward. A critical thinker does not shout or sing neither do they make empty slogans without thinking when important decisions need to be made.

Wisdom and knowledge come from critical thinking recollected in tranquility. A thinker is a living person, in Latin they say “cogito Ego sum” meaning “I think therefore I am or I exist”. Critical thinking is an existential philosophy.

The issue of principled leadership is critical during this time where political external and internal threats are rife as we prepare for our elective congress. We have some people aspiring for various leadership positions. Men and women of reason and those of passion and expedience jostle for positions. In isiNdebele we say “uzinuke amakhwapha” and in Shona “kuzviwongorora”.

A principled, critical and rational person understands the political dynamics involved and the need for personal sacrifice in serving the people, the need for a dependable and reliable calibre to work with all people and to protect the nation.

When the security of the nation is at stake and an enemy dangles a carrot, is he or she ready to throw it away? Does that leader have leadership principles with the heart of a lion and tenacity of an elephant? We enjoy a free nation borne out of the sweat and blood of our comrades who are buried at Nampundwe Freedom Camp, Mukushi, Mboroma, Chimoio and Nyadzonya and within Zimbabwe.

Is the aspiring leadership committed to the principle of unity not only between the two former political parties Zapu and Zanu but also among all the people of Zimbabwe to maintain peace development and prosperity of our people?

Let us have critical thinking and let reason and principles be the cornerstone of our political leaderships.