Maravi

‘I am not a dictator, I am just stubborn’

‘I am not a dictator, I am just stubborn’
Written by Editor

“I am not a dictator, I am just stubborn.” This is what Rupiah Banda says he is: stubborn but not a dictator. Being stubborn is not a good thing in public life, in politics, especially when one occupies a very high public office like that of president of the Republic. And the Holy Bible is full of verses that denounce being stubborn and we are all urged to avoid that type of attitude or conduct. In Proverbs 1:30-32, we are told:

“You have never wanted my advice or paid any attention when I corrected you. So then, you will get what you deserve, and your own actions will make you sick. Inexperienced people die because they reject wisdom. Stupid people are destroyed by their own lack of concern.”

And Proverbs 9:7-9 adds: “If you correct a conceited man, you will only be insulted. If you reprimand an evil man, you will only get hurt. Never correct a conceited man; he will hate you for it. But if you correct a wise man, he will respect you. Anything you say to a wise man will make him wiser, whatever you tell a righteous man will add to his knowledge.”

In Proverbs 9:8, we are warned: “Sensible people accept good advice. People who talk foolishly will come to ruin.”

It is very difficult to understand how Rupiah can be proud and boast about being arrogant when “no one is respected unless he is humble; arrogant people are on the way to ruin” (Proverbs 18:12).

And moreover, the Bible advocates punishment for arrogance: “Arrogance should be punished, so that people who don’t know any better can learn a lesson. If you are wise, you will learn when you are corrected” (Proverbs 19:25).

It is said that “the most stupid fool is better off than someone who thinks he is wise when he is not” (Proverbs 26:12).

And what is the difference between being a dictator and being arrogant? There is no good sense in being an arrogant person. And “a ruler without good sense will be a cruel tyrant” (Proverbs 28:16). “If you get more stubborn every time you are corrected, one day you will be crushed and never recover” (Proverbs 29:1). And “arrogance will bring you downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected” (Proverbs 29:23).

If this is what is said in the Holy Bible about arrogance, how can a sensible person brag or boast about being arrogant? This is why it is said that honesty makes a good man’s life easier, but a wicked man will cause his own downfall. People who can’t be trusted are destroyed by their own dishonesty. Anyone who loves truth, anyone who wants to do good welcomes knowledge and wants to be told when he is wrong. “It is stupid to hate being corrected” (Proverbs 12:1). “Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice” (Proverbs 12:15). And “pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall” (Proverbs 16:18).

We are also told in Sirach 3:26-29: “Stubbornness will get you into trouble at the end…a stubborn person will be burdened down with troubles. There is no cure for the troubles that arrogant people have; wickedness has taken deep root in therm. Intelligent people will learn from proverbs and parables. They listen well because they want to learn.”

Listening to Rupiah, it becomes easy to see why it is said that “a skilled craftsman is admired for the things he makes, and a leader’s wisdom is proved by his words. Someone who speaks rashly and recklessly is feared and hated by everyone in town” (Sirach 9:17-18). It is said that arrogance is like a fountain pouring out sin, and whoever persists in it will be full of wickedness.

Humility and self-respect are very important things, especially for a leader. It is very important to keep one’s self-respect, but remain modest. Arrogance is dangerous and does not pay. There is need to value oneself at one’s true worth. No one respects a person who has no respect for himself. It is better to admit when you are wrong and avoid embarrassment. Arrogance doesn’t take anyone anywhere but to destruction.

And when we speak of corruption, Rupiah should realise that we include arrogance, lack of humility and abuses of power. Some people begin to change, to be deformed, as soon as they have a little responsibility – a little, not much, power – and we think that, the more power people have, the greater the risk; that’s a fact. We think it requires being aware of the danger and every alert, ever vigilant against it.

If you are humble, truly humble, you won’t be arrogant. If you are unassuming and have a clear understanding of the worth of people and yourself, you won’t be arrogant. There is need to maintain eternal vigilance about this throughout one’s life, and be very self-critical, especially if one is a leader. There is need to always examine everything one has done, checking to see whether it was correct or not, whether or not one let oneself be carried away, whether or not pride or arrogance had anything to do with it.

Rupiah’s arrogant position over Frederick Chiluba’s corruption, acquittal and withdrawal of the appeal against his acquittal has introduced veritable chaos in the nation. If you start a process in which all of a country’s values and institutions begin to be destroyed, that process is very negative. If you destroy the authority, the prestige of the country’s judiciary and the entire judicial process, the consequences can be terrible. It’s a matter not of analysis or criticism of problems, but of the destruction and negation of all the value, merits and integrity of our state institutions, of our judicial process. Rupiah and his minions made enormous mistakes by failing to foresee the consequences of what they were doing and by not doing the right thing to reach the goals and purposes they proclaimed.

Many strategic and tactical mistakes were made and were viewed as the correct way of doing things.

As Sketchley Sacika correctly observes, if Rupiah was so concerned about ensuring that his friend Chiluba does not go to jail, he could have allowed the courts to make their own decisions and convict him and then free him via a presidential pardon. This would still have been undesirable, many Zambians would have still opposed that pardon. But Rupiah would have acted perfectly legally – undesirable as it may be. And this would have left the standing and integrity of our judicial process intact. The magistrate who decided that matter would have preserved his integrity, the Director of Public Prosecutions would have been saved this ridicule and scorn that he is today subjected to. But of course there is a reason why Rupiah decided to take this route. Rupiah had dreams of how to use Chiluba in the 2011 elections as he still believes the man is popular and could be of some political value to him. This being the case, he didn’t want him to be convicted and carry that image into the 2011 campaigns. And this may explain why Rupiah insists Chiluba is innocent even when his own government has a judgment in which this same man has been asked to pay over US $40 million he had stolen back to the Zambia people. How can Rupiah explain all this? This just goes to show the crookedness of Rupiah in all this.

And it’s this lack of explanation that makes him rely so much on arrogance. A humble person, an honest person, cannot do or say the things Rupiah is saying about Chiluba’s corruption; it’s only a corrupt and arrogant person who can say the things Rupiah is saying about Chiluba because they don’t make sense and defy logic.

Those who had doubt about what happened with the Chiluba case, how he was acquitted and why Rupiah’s government withdrew the appeal that was already in court opposing Chiluba’s acquittal, now have an opportunity to clear their doubts. This is nothing but a stinking corrupt scheme that will leave a very big dent on our judicial process for many years to come. It is sad that our friends in the Law Association of Zambia are blinded by political affiliations, sympathies or connections with the Rupiah government and are failing to see what is crystal clear. But in the future, they will have to answer for all this. The president of the Law Asociation of Zambia and his colleagues will have to explain why they failed to see that which was very clear and come up with a correct stand. We do appreciate the fact that for some of them, Rupiah was their client a few months ago and their partners are today part of his government.

But no one forced them to take up leadership positions in the Law Association of Zambia that would conflict with what they have done or are doing with Rupiah. If there is a conflict of interest, they are free to leave and go and serve Rupiah’s interest than to circumvent a legitimate institution of the people. This is what happens in a nation when values are lost, when principles are traded on the altar of political expedience.

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 12:01 AM