Uganda’s electorate should learn from Nehemiah’s model of leadership

_____________

OPINION

By Rt. Rev. Dr Fred Sheldon Mwesigwa

As Ugandans prepare to vote, there is a need to consider qualities of good leaders instead of being influenced by money, ethnicity, religion or other inconsequential considerations that may not lead to effective representation and thereby service delivery.

Nehemiah is a towering biblical Jewish leader in the Old Testament, who led the Israelites to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile.

What distinguished Nehemiah from all other great biblical figures is his visionary leadership, his concern for the people, courage and boldness to appeal to King Artaxerxes to allow him to lead the work of rebuilding, his prior assessment of the breadth and width of the task, team mobilisation and delegation, high level integrity and accountability plus persistence and focus.

Nehemiah had a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish, and that was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, thus fulfilling the wisdom of Solomon that, without a vision, a people perish (Proverbs 29:18).

Unfortunately, in Uganda, there is a tendency for people to vie for particular positions such as Member of Parliament without even doing a background check of the legislative roles and competences.

These include approving the budget, checking on the independence of the Judiciary and Executive, shaping the country's policies, community engagement and social welfare of citizens, among others. Nehemiah identified with the people’s pain and refused privileges others would take (Nehemiah 5:14-19).

Conversely, in Uganda, the eye on the ball of political leadership seems to be on the cash, the perks and privileges that come with the office.

It is not surprising that many sell their prized possessions with the hope of bigger pecuniary returns, yet sadly, many have been disappointed after discovering that the big sums come at a cost not worth having secured loans or selling their property.

Nehemiah was a bold and courageous leader who had the temerity to request permission from the tyrannical King Artaxerxes.

A mere servant, cup bearer and a refugee, asking permission to go and restore what the king had destroyed was suicidal!

How often do we see leaders who are willing to speak the truth and stand for particular positions even when the majority think otherwise?

Nehemiah was good at strategic planning since he conducted careful assessment of the task before acting and had a detailed plan of delegated tasks among families and groups (Nehemiah 3).

A manifesto for a politician should be a blueprint of one’s projected action plan once elected in office.

However, what we see is candidates holding small scribbled pieces of paper instead of printed action plans.

Nehemiah was morally courageous, called for accountability and modelled ethical leadership.

Nehemiah defended the poor against the rich and privileged (Numbers 5). He further led political and religious leadership, plus the Israelites to repent of wrong and commit to do good.

A political leader worth his salt should be able to galvanise people for addressing corruption and associated ills in society and call for social welfare and harmony.

Relatedly, a political leader should have the capacity to communicate his vision and action plan, much in the same way as Nehemiah did.

Interestingly, in Uganda, we are witnessing several candidates who vie for political positions, even for Uganda Parliament, where the lingua franca is English, who cannot ably express themselves well.

In the cut-throat political space, where lobbying and resource distribution is part of politicking, we need Nehemiahs who will represent us, but perhaps not the likes of Jezebel, Judas Iscariot, Ananias and Saphira, who were selfish and not concerned about the needs of others, let alone their lives.

The writer is the Bishop of Ankole Diocese and Chancellor of Bishop Stuart University. smwesigwafred@gmail.com