Hard to Let Go but it is right to let go

Tony Blair addressing his Labor party for the last time as leader said ‘It is hard to let go but its right to let go, for the country and for you, the party’. He said ‘The truth is, you can’t go on forever, that is why its right this is my last conference as leader’.

It was a remarkable speech. This is what is meant by a true servant of the people. Blair acknowledged that when one stays in power too long (too long of course as defined by the mood and sentiment of the people) fatigue sets in and the people would be reluctant followers.

This concept of what it means to be a leader is a foreign concept in the vast majority of African countries including our own Ethiopia. Our leaders (I rather call them self-appointed) see leadership in a different light. They see the continuing existence of the Ethiopian nation and polity as if inextricably connected to their very existence. What a sad state! They keep on anointing themselves leaders with a bit of reshuffle here and there.

Nothing good can and should be expected to come out of such personalities. It is up to you and me and the rest of us to constantly make it clear that enough is enough.