Leaders must inspire us to build great legacies

The world over, certain individuals build positive or negative legacies. Both Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Martin Luther King Jr championed for change through non-violent resistance; referred to as satyagraha.

THE UNTOUCHABLES

Nelson Mandela led South Africa to freedom by ultimately embracing multiracialism and forgiveness. Julius Nyerere was the father of Ujamaa (communityhood) and Utanzania, that is developing a nation out of diverse ethnicities.

Back home, Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Prize for her passionate promotion of green culture. Former president Mwai Kibaki rescued Kenya’s collapsing economy, universalised primary education, revamped infrastructure and led the country in giving itself the 2010 Constitution.

Legacies can also be of a negative variant. Adolf Hitler will be remembered for the Holocaust — the World War II genocide of European Jews.

Critically, legacies are created by people from all walks of life and not just eminent politicians. Mother Teresa was a simple Catholic nun who built a legacy around empathising and making life liveable for the poorest of the poor, the untouchables of India’s slums.

VALUES AND BELIEFS

Kimberly Wade-Benzoni defines legacy as an individual’s or leader’s inspiring and exceptional work that “enables (one) to have influence well into the future — even after (one is) out of the picture …” So, legacy is what we consciously do to leave our imprint in society. Through a legacy, an individual seeks to perpetuate themselves; to live a life of purpose and impact which outlives the person. Wade-Benzoni calls this the acquisition of ‘symbolic immortality’ produced by dedication to achieving that which substantially benefits one’s generation and future generations. Legacy becomes a bridge to connect “multiple generations”.

He further states “ultimately your legacy is all you’ve got. Think about how you want to be remembered by other people and act on those thoughts”.

Each individual has innate power. You can bear and raise a family that becomes a leader in its chosen sector or pathway. We often acknowledge such and such a family has great children and is founded on strong “values and beliefs” as opposed to mere “material possessions”.

BECOME CO-CREATORS

 In Kenya in the 40s, 50s, and early 60s, brave men and women led by Dedan Kimathi sacrificially fought for land, independence and freedom. Later, others decided to reverse the negative legacy of dictatorship to restore democratic government through the promulgation of a new Constitution. Mwai Kibaki, as stated earlier, began the legacy of rescuing an economy in shambles. Therefore, legacy creation of the future revolves around building on the work of these past greats and generations.

Although we talk about legacy as an individual’s achievement, nobody can build a legacy alone. However, the leader of a group, community, organisation or country which creates a legacy is often the midwife of that legacy. Therefore, in the question, ‘what will be your legacy?’ is the hidden question, ‘who will be part and parcel of the creation of that legacy?’

In any country where the citizenry takes their life seriously, the totality of lives will be productive. Cumulative legacies create an indomitable nation of legacy. Leaders must inspire the people under them to become co-creators of legacies.

ERRANT LEADERS

Over our six decades of independence, we have struggled to overcome negative ethnicity which, truth be told, is principally fuelled by an errant and self-centred political class. Ordinary Kenyans, outside the electoral season, harmoniously live together. But politicians have formed a culture of mobilising their followers on tribal basis and then seeking tribally-based alliances.

Once a tribally inclined formation captures power, the people of the concerned regions make it their business to monopolise State benefits.

Apart from the Big Four Agenda, I have heard President Uhuru Kenyatta talk of the imperative of replacing Ukabila (tribalism) with Ukenya (Kenyahood or nationhood). Definitely this social pursuit would create a formidable legacy by the leader and his partners.

But also, well planned and executed, the universal health coverage (UHC) is potentially a huge legacy.

CORRUPTION

The fight against corruption can bear a significant legacy. Corruption and Kenya cannot coexist. At least now many public officials have begun to think twice before engaging in corrupt activities. When instructed to engage in malpractices, junior officers are beginning to demand written instructions from their seniors.

I strongly believe those who work tirelessly but strategically in the area of youth empowerment will derive impactful legacies.

In Kenya, Africa and elsewhere, youth inclusion in all societal aspects is perhaps the most urgent preoccupation of our time.

We need to have a genuine youth conversation from the grassroots to the national level about youth insecurities, problems, expectations, self-worth and the road towards sustainable empowerment.

SERVE WANJIKU

King Kaka may have irritated some leaders, but it is foolhardy to wish away his message. Young people can create legacies in leadership, innovation, creativity and deployment of technology among other fields.

Another legacy attracting area is the entrenchment of devolution. There should be no contradiction between the national and county governments on matters devolution. Both levels of government serve the same Wanjiku.

Change in Kenya is currently synonymous with devolution and constitutional renewal. However, a Constitution should be enforceable and not mere paper.

I challenge each of us to commit to live a legacy-bearing life. People from poor backgrounds have produced legacies. The State and the political class must create an environment within which all can potentially be great.

LIFE MATTERS

In conclusion, Michael Rucker states: “The crux of legacy is that we look for ways to be existentially reassured our life mattered.”

After all, what is life for if it is lived in monotony and unproductively to its end? Years come and pile on each other. This is why I believe most faiths teach that life should be lived virtuously or in righteousness so that, at its end, it yields to another glorious eternal life and thus a legacy of immortality.

Prof Kibwana is Governor of Makueni.