Esther Mukyala
15 May 2008
Kampala — AFRICAN armies have been challenged to show good leadership qualities and promote unity to address the problems affecting the continent.
Chief of the South African National Defence Force Gen. Godfrey Ngwenya said good leadership was a prerequisite for lasting peace on the continent which has been bogged by civil wars.
He was on Thursday lecturing to army officers from Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan and the host Uganda, who are training at the Senior Command and Staff College in Kimaka, Jinja district.
The South African army chief urged the officers to emulate great African leaders who sacrificed to liberate their people.
"If I asked you what leadership is, you do not have to go to the library to define it. You just have to look around you," he said.
"Think of the ex-presidents Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, the first president of Angola Augustino Neto, Nelson Mandela and current leaders like Yoweri Museveni.
"Such leaders left behind a good legacy when they fought hard to liberate Africa which was initially called a 'dark continent," Ngwenya observed.
"We must stop blaming colonialism for past mistakes. You officers who are involved in peace operations in Africa are able to influence the situation. We should not rely on foreigners when we can sit together as brothers and iron out our problems."
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