It is our leaders who are stupid

South Africa is the country that best signifies that our mumu as black people will never do. It is here that African leadership has demonstrated the stupidity of African leaders.

This is not to say that the rest of the continent has not collectively demonstrated leadership stupidity before. Or how do you label what happened when African leaders decided on the Lagos Plan of Action as their way forward to develop the continent.

Then the IMF came to them with a plan totally opposite their Lagos Plan of Action and they abandoned their Lagos Plan of Action and adopted the IMF plan instead.

South Africa is also our theatre of racism and xenophobia. Whites feel superior to blacks. Indians feel superior to blacks.

Some blacks feel superior to other blacks and everybody feels superior to blacks.

That is why Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa handed the government of South Africa to a bunch of Indian brothers. They then systematically began to take over the economic nerve centres of the country. One example will do for now.

Corruption in Nigeria is individual. It is opportunistic. It is usually perpetrated by single persons. Invariably, it would be one off.

In South Africa corruption is done on an industrial base – organised, systematic, long term and it is a gift that keeps giving.

The example here is that of the South African Airways, an airline company much beloved. SAA’s Johannesburg to Mumbai is one of the most lucrative of the routes the airline flies.

In 2010, Zuma’s Indians set their sights on seizing the route and passing it to their own airline Jet Airways.

It takes about nine years for a route to begin to make profit for an airline. In the first four years, the route loses money.

In the next five years the route begins to break even. In the tenth year it begins to make profit with 82% to 88% occupation per flight.

By the time Zuma’s Indians wanted to steal the Johannesburg – Mumbai Route it was already making profit. This how Zuma’s Indians went about getting it.

SAA is a state controlled company under the direct order of the minister of public enterprises.

The minister appoints the board of directors who appoint the chief executive officer of the company who is in charge of tenders and contracts of the company.

The plan of Zuma’s Indians was simple. They would appoint the minister who will appoint the board who will appoint the CEO who will give them the tenders and contracts of the company.

The first person to whom they offer the position of minister is outraged. She feels terribly insulted that Indians should be the ones to offer her the position of minister in her own country.

She complains to the President who asks her to be calm and take it easy. At no time does the president tells off his Indians for this behaviour.

Instead, she escorts her to the car that would take to the airport with two security men dressed in black wearing dark glasses and ear pieces.

In October 2010 the president sacks the minister who has a struggle history and would not take orders from foreign Indians.

In 2011 the board of SAA resigned en masses as a result of disagreements with the new minister. The president appoints his close ally as chairperson of the new board.

Soon after these appointments, SAA began to report that the Johannesburg – Mumbai Route was losing money and was no longer profitable. This was at a time when this route was usually 82% to 88% full.

Anyway, in early 2015 SAA announced it would cut the Johannesburg – Mumbai Route after 20 years of operating it. It was passed on to, no prize for guessing right, Jet Airways, of course.

That is, it took from 2010 to 2015 for Zuma’s Indians to deprive SAA of one of its most profitable routes.

Meanwhile, towards the end of last year there were clamours that SAA was losing billions annually and should be sold to private business.

Years ago, during the first republic that ended with the January coup d’etat of 1966, the chairman of the board of directors of Nigerian Railway Company acquired a number of big trailers for goods transportation.

He was accused of competing with the national company that he led. He rejected the accusation and insisted that he was not doing anything illegal. We know what became of the Nigerian Railway.

The only men and women who are except from the said stupidity of African leaders are those African leaders who lead with the followers.

There is a lot of talk about leaders who lead from the front. Well, such leaders never hear the complaints of those following them. They can only hear the urging of those who keep pace with the, and dictate their speed.

Those behind them who are slow, who are infirm, who must be helped along the frontage leader will never hear. Only the leader who leads with the followers avoid the usual stupidity of African leaders.

Such a leader was Nelson Mandela.

The racism of Zuma’s Indians is disgusting. One of the brothers said a gateman was stupid and black people are stupid and that is why they do not know how to make money.

When these Indians flew two hundred relatives in a Jet Airways flight into a military airport for a wedding in Sun City, they insisted that those serving at the wedding must be white.

Of course, the airline was fined eight thousand US dollars for the infringement.

Zuma had Indian problems before. His financial adviser was jailed for fifteen years because of his corruptive relationship with Jacob Zuma.

Nelson Mandela warned Zuma to keep away from Zuma plus a cheque for a million rands. But Jacob Zuma did not listen to Mandela.

Today South Africa is trying to begin the process of getting out of the rot that Zuma and his Indians, the Guptas, have led the country.

Thanks to ordinary South Africans, whistleblowers, the former public protector, journalists and the South African courts.

The on going Zondo Commission of inquiry into State Capture has revealed a lot of the criminality of Zuma, his Indians and their enablers.

Yet, Jacob Zuma insists that he has done nothing wrong. He is busy recording struggle songs in studios in order that the struggle history of South Africa may not be forgotten. His favourite song is “Bring me my Machinegun!”

bankole.omotoso@elizadeuniversity.edu.ng