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Lessons from resignation of New Zealand PM

Thursday, February 2nd, 2023 00:00 | By
Former New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. PHOTO/Getty Images

News of the resignation of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on January 19 reverberated around the world.

Even by the West’s liberal standards, this seemed quite a shocker. Although her peers, particularly in Europe expressed surprise at the unprecedented action, they portrayed massive respect and admiration for her five-year leadership term since she was elected in 2017.

Well, they say quit while you are still on top. While Ardern acknowledged that she is drained and not ready for the October 4 elections, she did not have to wait until her fatigue was manifest. She walked out with her head held high.

There are three lessons learnt from the blonde politician. One, we are all human, no matter how high we go in our careers or professions. Ardern maintained her womanhood in power. She gave birth while in office, and even travelled with her then three-month old baby to the United Nations General Assembly in 2018.

The second lesson, and may be the most important, particularly to power hungry politicians on this side of the hemisphere, leadership is a calling. The following quote from her resignation speech will suffice: “Leading a country is the most privileged job anyone could ever have, but also the most challenging. You cannot and should not do the job unless you have a full tank, plus a bit in reserve for those unplanned and unexpected challenges. I no longer have enough in the tank to do the job justice.”

What if Africa’s leaders did such an honourable thing when they feel exhausted or become unpopular, or even when unfit for office either due to advanced age or ill health, instead of dragging their countries down with them due to greed and obstinacy?

Well, the third lesson learned is clear. No matter how sweet the deal, we must learn the culture of letting go. Like a dog in a manger, we should not hold on to something from a sense of entitlement until we drop dead. As my community says, a coward usually returns to his or her mother’s warmth at the end of the day, and lives to fight another day.

Last year clips were posted of two African Heads of State in very embarrassing moments, one from incontinence and the other from senility. While I do not vouch for such blatant public shaming, the two leaders and others who are invalid ought to realise that they are mortal beings inescapably bound by the rules of entropy like everyone else.

The recently published 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey Key Indicators Report analysed many of the country’s social and economic trends. Although the report is comprehensive, the media seemed to have focused more on sexual matters. Sex sells, doesn’t it! On the bright side, however, the survey debunked some long held beliefs about promiscuity in Kenyan communities that are based on misinformation.

It came as a shocker to many, particularly residents in the troubled Mt Kenya region, that women from Murang’a county, long believed to be the best wife material, are actually the most promiscuous compared to the Kamba, who have for long unjustly carried this stigma. The deduction came from the fact that Murang’a women took the first position in the number of sex partners.

Still, we would have liked to know whether the Murang’a percentage was inclusive of women engaged in extra-marital affairs, which would be a game changer in many marriages built on trust rather than accountability. The revelation is a classic case of beliefs that people hold dearly, but which have no basis in fact or informed opinion. It also shows that quite a bit of what we believe in is mythical, as we conveniently bury our heads in the sand since we cannot handle the truth.

— The writer is a PhD student in International Relations

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