Let us go elsewhere

s, or the disciples, wanted to manage Jesus. They enjoyed the hype surrounding his instant fame. But he knew, from his early morning prayer, that he had to move to other places.
The essence of leadership is to ‘go ahead’ (John 10:4), to know the way. When you think of the cell gate on Robben island clanging shut on Nelson Mandela in 1964, not to open for 27 years, you are caught up in the awesome mystery of leadership. How does a person have the courage to grasp a moment of history ahead of others and say, ‘this is the way’? When the British were confused by Hitler’s success in 1940 and some of their leaders wanted seek an accommodation with him, Churchill put into words a resolve to fight that people longed for but had all but abandoned.
Unfortunately history does not abound with examples of great leadership. Far too frequently we meet those who follow rather than lead. They follow the fears of their citizens or their own desire to enjoy power for its own sake. At a memorial service for the tenth anniversary of the death of the Israeli prime minister Yitzak Rabin, assassinated seemingly because of his efforts to respond to the concerns of the Palestinians, the guest speaker, in the presence of the current prime minister, said, ‘the people who today lead Israel are unable to connect Israelis with their identity.’ He explained that the present leadership constantly reacted to events in the Middle East pandering to the fears of the Israelis and totally failing to take a lead that would bring peace and security both to them and to the Palestinians.
Are those who lead Zimbabwe today able to ‘connect’ Zimbabweans with their identity? Are they able to lay hold of the deep longings of the people for security, respect, freedom and the basic necessities of life? Are they able to chart a course that will make Zimbabweans say, ‘this is it. This is what we want.’?
Or are they resolutely moving in the opposite direction?. Every day brings news of new restrictions and controls; bread, cooking oil, sugar and other basics are disappearing from the shops. Transport is no longer there on the roads. People take three days to travel from Gweru to Harare and those who grow tomatoes in Mutoko see them rot at the side of the road. And security? There is constant fear of arrest and assault.
Sadly many Zimbabweans are reacting by saying, ‘let us go elsewhere.’ They feel they have to for the sake of their families. What we are waiting for is the leaders to say, ‘let us go elsewhere.’ Or at least, ‘let us do things differently.’