Kenya’s Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission: A Political Gimmick or a Plausible Undertaking?

For close to a century, Kenya’s North Eastern and Eastern Provinces hereafter referred to as NEP and EP remained volatile, underdeveloped, and deliberately isolated by successive Kenya administrations. For years, residents of these two vast, sparsely populated regions inhabited by Hamito-Cushitic nomads have been subjected to years of extrajudicial killings, summary and arbitrary executions, torture, rape and violence against women, plunder and livestock confiscations by Kenya’s dreaded security operatives with instructions from the central headquarters in Nairobi. Yet, these calculated and disturbing ethnic cleansings failed to grab the attention of the international community despite a few concerned media outlets publicizing repeatedly for years the callous practices of the Kenya government. Kenya-Somalis and their cousins of like-semblance have been living under the reign of terror since Kenya’s attainment of independence from Britain in 1963 and yet not a single universal sovereign entity dared come to their rescue or raised objections at these appalling and aggravating military adventures. Kenya’s inhuman and reprehensible acts against its innocent, peace loving citizens continued unabated even with the knowledge of the Organization of African Union, (currently the African Union) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -Kenya’s next door neighbor. “The brutality of the implementation of emergency powers in the North Eastern Province; and the discriminatory "screening" of ethnic Somalis” has been documented by Amnesty International. (1) The crux of past massacres in the region has colonial roots. NEP and EP were formerly Somali territories as they fell under the Northern Frontier District (NFD) during British colonial rule. The region was split into two after Kenya became independent with Moyale, Marsabit, and Isiolo becoming part of Eastern Province. Despite majority of NFD residents opting for unification with Somalia in a referendum, the colonial administration ruled in favor of Kenya. British colonial government’s refusal to grant self-determination to NFD resulted from its fear of neighboring Italian Somaliland. Italy, a colonial power with irredentist tendencies was an avowed enemy of the British realm. This political miscalculation by the British crown resulted in prolonged simmering border clashes and the birth of the destructive Shifta war. The devastating Bale Revolt of 1963 in Ethiopia culminated in the signing of a Mutual Defense Treaty between Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and Haile Selassie of Ethiopia in 1964. Regarding Somali irredentism, Lord Earl Lytton of the British monarchy of the time, had this to say about Greater Somalia: “The idea of a Greater Somalia has been put forward by four eminent people at various times. First, there was Sir Charles Elliot, one of our greatest administrators in Kenya, about 1904. Then there was Mohammed Abdilla Hassan, commonly known as "The Mad Mullah", between 1899 and 1920. He is one of the greatest of the Somali poets. Then, the idea has been put forward by the Emperor of Ethiopia on a number of occasions, always with the intention of incorporating the entire Horn of Africa within the Ethiopian Empire. Finally, there was Mr. Ernest Bevin in 1946, and what he said is on record in Hansard.” (2) Though preceded by many human rights violations spanning many decades, the worst and most brutal skirmishes perpetrated by the military and police of post-independence Kenya in the region’s history occurred during the reigns of autocrats Mzee Jomo Kenyatta (1963-1978) and Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi (1978-2002) respectively. Moi who belongs to the Kalenjin tribe and Nilotic according to categorization of African tribes by colonial Anthropologists was vice-president at the time of Kenyatta’s death. Despite opposition from influential Kikuyu leaders generally known as ‘Kiambu Mafia’ and who were of the same tribe with the deceased president, Moi ascended the presidency immediately with little internal resistance. Forty-eight years later, President Mwai Kibaki, a man who was vice-president and minister on various occasions when these atrocities occurred, endorsed the formation of a Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission to divulge into the extent of enormities of past acts of violence committed against the people of the said region. Surviving families whose loved ones perished in the calculated, remorseless security skirmishes continue to pour into avenues reserved for a commission on a fact-finding mission. At first, Kenya-Somalis became skeptical of the make-up of the commission after realizing the presence of Bethuel Kiplagat who is perceived to have blood-stained hands and implicated in the masterminding of past massacres. The commission, drawn from cadres having differing professions even includes a high profile Somali, Major General Ahmed Sheikh Farah, a retired Kenya Navy Commander. They have so far traversed the province beginning their initial assignment in Garissa, a city that has suffered the brunt of Kenya’s premeditated repression. They have been listening to and documenting testimonies from various sectors of the Somali community. NFD as a region predates Kenya’s colonial history. However, demarcation of the international boundary between colonial Kenya and Abyssinia (Ethiopia) was completed in 1903. In 1925-1926, after Jubaland was transferred to Italian Somaliland, border marking was finalized between colonial Kenya and Italy. (3) With living conditions dictated by weather patterns, pastoral nomads from NFD and elsewhere in the Horn of Africa travelled between unsecured borders in search of pasture for their livestock. Apart from the search for greener pasture, it is these unrestricted travels and peripatetic lifestyles that rejuvenated the ungovernable male Bedouins’ search for brides and bridal paraphernalia, saints and saintly practices, war implements and other valuable provisions. The region’s fight for separation from Kenya kicked-off before Kenya proclaimed independence. Freedom fighters and founders of the Northern Province People’s Progressive Party (NPPPP), the main party that represented the region’s political aspirations, hailed from a variety of tribes. Among them was Alex Kholkholle, a man who was held in high esteem by the colonial administration and the Somalis themselves. A Rendille by tribe and teacher by training, Alex, who was the Vice-President of NPPPP favored separation from Kenya and unconditional union with Somalia. The Borana (also referred to as Galla), a tribal group that populates Moyale and Marsabit towns respectively, fielded the indomitable Wako Hapi, doyen of separatism and armed struggle. While Kenya security forces restrained the Shifta uprising from spilling into its border, Ethiopia, on the other hand, had a stranglehold on natives spanning its border. To have a glimpse of Ethiopia’s past imperialist goals toward its own people, one needs to read the views of the honorable British Lord uttered in 1963 in the following lines: “Ethiopia, within to-day's political boundaries, is, in a small part, the ancient Abyssinian Kingdoms of history, and, in a much larger part, the colonies conquered by the Emperor Melinek II, who was more or less a contemporary of Gladstone. The colonies are approximately the same age as our own. They are Somali and Galla. The only difference is that whereas we label our places as "colonies", the Ethiopians have described them as one Ethiopian people, and from time to time they say they are historically part of Ethiopia. That is not true.” (4) President Mwai Kibaki selected Bethuel Kiplagat to head the commission in 2009. However, Kiplagat was forced to resign in November 2010 after Kenyan’s of all walks of life decried his past inhuman practices. In a letter to Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo, the nine commissioners of the TJ&RC, citing powers conferred on them by the Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Act, asked for the removal of Kiplagat as chairman of the commission. He was subsequently replaced by Tecla Namachanja as acting chairperson. Factors that led to Kiplagat’s expulsion from the commission include illegal or irregular acquisition of land; the assassination of the Honorable Robert Ouko, and the Wagalla Massacre." (5) Because he was ruined by the same injustices he was supposed to investigate, Kiplagat issued a short statement that read in part: "In order to allow the tribunal to carry out its mandate, I am, therefore, as of today, stepping aside from my day to day responsibilities at the TJRC." (6) Kiplagat, a born-again Christian and former deputy general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, is accused of having been party to atrocities in Isiolo, Wajir, Malka Mari, and Garissa when he was in charge of security operations. The Wagalla massacre of 1984 happened during his tenure of office. Ironically, Kiplagat was Kenya's envoy to Somalia during Somalia's turbulent years (2003-05) until he was relieved by Ambassador Mohamed Affey, a Kenyan-Somali parliamentarian. I wonder how this man's heinous crimes escaped the attention of the Somali people all those years. Those critical of Moi’s autocratic rule implicate Kiplagat in the gruesome murder of Robert Ouko, Kenya’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the foot of Got Alila Hill near his country home in Nyanza Province bordering Lake Victoria. Likewise, his critics raise questions regarding his past relations with British business magnate Tiny Rowland and his Lornho conglomerate, and also his association with Mozambican rebels, Renamo. (7) Benson Kaaria, a man with no apology for past injustices in the region he commanded was the Provincial Commissioner (PC) for North Eastern Province during the Wagalla Massacre of 1984. All those officials who had a grip on the running of the province and who have been implicated in the horrible incidents meted on the poor, unarmed civilians of North Eastern and Eastern Provinces have distanced themselves from any wrongdoing. In the past, commissions after commissions evolved with government blessings. In the end, it was the commissioners who proudly walked to the banks with bursts of laughter without any sorts of resolutions to the issues investigated. I don’t see any sense in the existence of the Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission currently in full swing. Adan Makina WardheerNews, Kansas City E-Mail: Adan.makina@gmail.com References (1) Kenya: Taking Liberties, Yale University Press, 1991, p.269. (2) Northern Frontier District of Kenya, HL Deb 03 April 1963 vol. 248 cc600-36, Retrieved June 15, 2011 from http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1963/apr/03/northern-frontier-district-of-kenya. (3) Gufu Oba, Professor, Noragric, Department of International Environment and Development Studies, The Norwegian University of Life Sciences PO Box 5003, N-1432 Ås, Norway. Ethnic Conflicts on Ethiopia-Kenya Frontier: The Northern Frontier District of Kenya from 1903-1934, a draft Paper prepared for PRIO Seminar on NORKLIMA Project, Noragric. (4) Presentation of Earl Lytton before the British Parliament on 03 April 1963. Further readings available from http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1963/apr/03/northern-frontier-district-of-kenya, Retrieved June 15, 2011. (5) Kenya: Truth Team Wants Kiplagat Out, Retrieved June 15, 2011 from http://allafrica.com/stories/201004130975.html (6) Ex-diplomat, church official, resigns as head of Kenya truth body by Fred Nzwili, Retrieved June 15, 2011 from http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2010-11/ex-diplomat-church-official-resigns-head-kenya-truth-body. (7) Bethuel Kiplagat: Former Chairman of Kenya's Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, Retrieved June 15, 2011from http://www.africa-confidential.com/whos-who-profile/id/360/Bethuel-Kiplagat.

Public Policy and Social Change

When used effectively, public policy can be a powerful tool to effect social change. Changing how society lives requires thorough thought and reflection. Implementing social change also requires commitment to the cause, living up to expectations, getting the approval of society through communication, and monitoring the effects it will have on society. Because of the many failures associated with policymaking, policymakers have a responsibility to remain focused on how the policies they legislate impact society. Millions of dollars may be spent on a certain public policy yet fail to materialize in the end. 

Currently, the American society is watching with keen interest the contentious tax policy issues being debated by the line-up of party presidential hopefuls competing to win the race to the White House. While taxation is a way of generating the financial resources required to run a government, public resentment can at times lead to tax evasions that drain the national economy. With fair taxation, government can be assured that business owners will not flee with their money for safe keeping in foreign countries. It is a social responsibility when lawmakers ensure business owners feel at home.

Organizations that conduct business in foreign lands have a responsibility to protect the indigenous or local people they encounter. Exploiting the environment and then leaving it depleted is a big plunder that can have catastrophic effects on entire humanity. Overworking or underpaying the locals that do the hard work is against the foundations of public policy.

Having a reliable public policy in place means that the living conditions of society will be sustained, their level of education elevated, and their health needs put to the fore. Seeing policy networks become internationally accepted norms means that governments have now more responsibilities than ever before when it comes to meeting the demands of society. Policy networks are state-interest relations (Thatcher, 1998) and inter-organizational with informal approaches.

 References

Thatcher, M. (1998). The development of policy network analyses: From modest origins to overarching frameworks. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 10(4), 389–416.

Stakeholder

Stakeholders are a group of people united by a common objective especially when working together to accomplish a common goal. The smooth running of any organization depends on how stakeholders effectively utilize available management tools and any success they usher in will affect many people who will be attracted to the organization’s keen interpretation of its existing vision and mission statements. Stakeholder analysis helps identify the right stakeholders for the right positions. There are benefits to using the stakeholder-based approach which is using the opinions of stakeholders in shaping the destiny of an organization at an early stage. Likewise, getting the help of influential and experienced stakeholders will assist in gathering resources and also will in the end make all project implementations successful. The most important action to take is to communicate with stakeholders at an early stage so that they can comprehend the nature of your project and give support where and when necessary. It is necessary to have a plan for your project so that people can understand where you are headed to. According to Bryson (2004), having a false impression of one’s stakeholders can cause a dilemma for an organization. Some unique characteristics of shareholders include having an understanding of the required context and understanding the nature of the people involved.

Stakeholders in a project may be your boss, co-workers, and customers; they can be shareholders, analysts, lenders, or suppliers; they could be trade associations, the public, the community, or interest groups (Rachel, 2011). To better understand and monitor stakeholder interest in your project, it is best to utilize Power/Interest Grid for prioritization. They can be classified as such: low power and high power and low interest and high interest. In high power, these are the interest group that you will need to monitor. You will need to satisfy and engage the high power group as much as you can. The high power-less interested group deserve to be engaged but not pushed too hard or else they feel uninterested in the message you are trying to convey. The low power-interested group needs to be sufficiently informed of the project by constantly making them aware of the ongoing processes. The low power-less interested group deserve monitoring without being bored with excessive communication.


References

Bryson, J. M. (2004). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Rachel, T. (2011). Stakeholder analysis: Winning support for your projects. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_07.htm

Servant Leader

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Servant relationship is when the leader provides selfless service to those that he/she leads. In this case, the leader espouses an admirably distinct leadership style that is acceptable to workers from diverse backgrounds. At this juncture, those under the command of the leader feel a sense of gratitude and elevated spirits. There is no universally agreed upon definition for the word ‘leader’. However, according to Keith (2009), servant leaders have three primary responsibilities and that is going to work to serve others, listening to colleagues and customers for the sake of identifying their needs, and developing colleagues. An effective leader is the one who coaches, mentors, and trains his colleagues in the workplace.

Transformational leadership is about introducing innovative working concepts that work well for everyone. Transformational leadership, if embraced by all stakeholders at all times without any lapse, can lead to overall satisfaction and increased production of resources and ideas in the workplace. Bass and Avolio, as cited in Hickman (1998), describe transformational leadership as an “expansion of transactional leadership” (p. 136).

References

Keith, K. M. (2009). Servant Leaders: Observe three basic principles. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&hid=22&sid=af9969b0-03b4-44b8-9eb1-eb1d9044e116%40sessionmgr10

Hickman, R. G. (1998). Leading Organizations: Perspectives for a new era. SAGE Publications Inc.

Comprehending Diverse Cultures in the Workplace

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America’s social makeup and way of life is changing day by day with the arrival of new immigrants having distinct religious practices. An important aspect that requires responsible administrators to have knowledge of is the religious beliefs of fellow workers. For example, some religious communities commemorate or celebrate special days or occasions that have not been included in the employer’s calendar. Leaders, regardless of religious or social upbringing, are required to be familiar with the religious needs of those under our command. It is good to listen to the religious views of even low-paid factory workers. Often, we hear of reports in the media regarding clash between employers and employees concerning disagreement over prayer and meditation needs.

In the US, religious tolerance got out of hand after the devastating 9/11 attack that shook the way of thinking of the ordinary American citizen. Mistaken identity has led to the fatal death of innocent civilians and reports of worker complaints regarding discrimination at work abound. Culture of hate and intolerance has manifested itself deeply in America (UNC, 2010). According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948), every human being has the right to practice religion of choice without harassment from employer.

Administrators will need to study the various religious practices of those under their commands including their own so that they will be familiar with the many religious sects and their practices. Broadly speaking, leaders need to understand the major five religions of the world. Having knowledge of others’ beliefs is a tool to comprehending the needs of other fellow humans. One must not be surprised to see a fellow employee wearing a necklace made up of chicken bones, lion paws, shells, amulets, and other types of paraphernalia in the workplace. It will be unfair to challenge other people’s beliefs because it could result in legal ramifications and loss of own job. Understanding obligatory from supererogatory prayers will help remove misconceptions when determining allocation of prayer schedules.

Neal, L. S. & Corrigan, J. ((2010), Religious Intolerance in America, A Documentary, Retrieved from http://www.uncpress.unc.edu/browse/book_detail?title_id=1697

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a1

Leadership and Management: Similarities and Differences

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The task of a great leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been...Leaders must invoke alchemy of great vision. Those leaders who do not are ultimately judged failures, even though they may be popular at the moment-

Henry Kissinger

The terms “leadership” and “management”, according to many people's definitions, carry many connotations and is often used interchangeably in sentences and phrases (2009). In this essay, I will define leadership and management while endeavoring to highlight the main similarities and differences the two positions hold in societal and organizational levels. Depending on position of power, a leader is one, regardless of sex or gender, who sits on the top position of an institution or organization with the sole aim of motivating and inspiring a class of people working to achieve certain goals and objectives. Leadership, according to Blunt (2008), entails “...building value into the lives of others coming behind you, be they your colleagues at work or your young ones at home—or both”. Successful leadership in the 21st century, as elaborated by Hickman (1998), can be accomplished in any organization by ensuring the existence of maneuverability in times of adversity; offering exceptional quality customer service, capturing new ground and avenues, and gathering required resources.

Likewise, leadership is about inculcating diversity, injecting a sense of inspiration, enthusiasm, optimism, and commitment and finally, it is all about taking the mantle. Through hard work and determination and want of success, leaders act as role models by preparing followers for the long road to prosperity. Leaders are known for organizational reorientation, structural downsizing, meeting goals and deadlines. To be able to influence others, a leader must be full of energy. Clawson (2009) notes that “leadership is about managing energy, first in yourself and then in those around you”. Organizations usually experience dwindling performances because their leadership is likely to be weak.

The world of leadership has its own troubles especially when those at the top of the ladder jostle for power as was the case with Apple in 1983, when newcomer CEO John Sculley, former president of Pepsi-Cola, ran into disagreements with Steve Jobs, the legendary co-founder and Chairman of Apple (Bartol, 1991). Steve Jobs, the man in whose garage the first Apple computer was assembled, was forced to leave and pave way for the resuscitation of computer sales that had slumped nationally. Leaders use power to affect the behavior of others. At the same time they are endowed with legitimate power for controlling organizations and reward power to influence. Leaders usually apply coercive power to overcome those who fail to engage in desired behaviors. To be admired by others, leaders espouse referent power. Likewise they are endowed with expert power and information power.

Some variations in modern leadership include laissez-faire, transactional, and transformational styles. In Laissez-faire or passive leadership, the leader avoids responsibility. It is an aspect that implies self-management in which the leader shuns setting goals and clarification of expectations. Such a leader intervenes in organizational priorities only when problems occur. Transactional leadership involves a leader's demand for exceptional performance. This is a distinct leadership style where the leader is known to be observant of mistakes, irregularities, and performances (Renee, Frans, & Vasi, 2008). On the other hand, with keen observation and research on transformational leadership, Renee, Frans, & Vasi (2008), perceive transformational leadership to be all about idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration.

Management, on the other hand, is the art of “planning, organizing, and controlling a business activity” (Kroenke, 1992). Ricketts (2009) has a different description for management. To her, management is “to exercise executive, administrative, and supervisory direction of a group or organization”. Management is usually in charge of the supervision of either a homogeneous or heterogeneous workgroup. In homogenous workgroup, all employees are of the same level and mostly receive the same training and skills. In contrast, a heterogeneous workgroup involve varieties of roles and job descriptions. In essence, management enjoys inferior position of power and is responsible to the leader. By observing shared beliefs, traditions, values, and cultures specific to workers, work is reinforced under management guidance by observing workgroup norms.
Generally, management which is task-oriented requires knowledge of personal traits that include mastering of conceptual skills, technical skills, and human skills. Conceptual skill entails proficiency in certain types of jobs or activities. The ability to decipher ideas and concepts enable management to overcome barriers that hinder focusing on the big picture from a broader perspective. With a good understanding of technical skills, management is better-off rectifying technical and mechanical malfunctioning systems. Important paraphernalia for management is hands-on experience. Knowing how to fix defective industrial components help alleviate breakdown of company operations. If engaged by a software engineering firm, having an understanding of troubleshooting computer software is considered an added advantage for those wielding power in managerial positions. Also called “people skills”, human skills is the art of working with people to achieve required objectives. By working with people the manager remains alert at all times and aware of employees' needs and perspectives.

In conclusion, leadership and management are two powerful structures that exert considerable influence in the workplace. Management is responsible for producing order and consistency while leadership is specifically for the most part responsible for bringing in change and movement. Often, a leader is one who enjoys multiple roles, plays multiple games, has multiple characteristics, and serves multiple people for the sake of need of achievement. In government, heads of states employ visionary perspectives to attain levels of success and achieve desired goals. Burke (2011) contends that leaders are more personal while managers are more impersonal about goals. Regardless of the influential position of a leader, one thing is certain: having the necessary skills of management and being part of the workforce that make operations possible.

References

Article: Blunt, R. (2008). The Successes of Leaders. Retrieved from http://govleaders.org/successes_print.htm

Hickman, G. R. (1998). Leading Organizations: Perspectives for a New Era. SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Clawson, J. G. (2009). Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle Rive, New Jersey.

Bartol, K. M. & Martin, D. C. (1991). Management. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

Kroenke, D. (1992). Management Information Systems. Mitchell McGraw-Hill Inc., Watsonville, CA

Article: Eeden, V. & Cilliers, F. & Deventer V. V. (2008). Leadership Styles and Associated Personality Traits: Support for the Conceptualization of Transactional and Transformational Leadership. South African Journal of Psychology; Jun. 2008, Vol. 38 Issue 2, p253-267, 15p, 7

Article: Ricketts, K. G. (2009). Leadership vs. Management. Retrieved from http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/elk1/elk1103/elk1103.pdf

Burke, W. W. (2011). Organization Change: Theory and Practice. SAGE Publications Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA.

A New Era for Kenya-Somalis

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The recent national referendum held in Kenya and the subsequent promulgation of the constitution witnessed by representatives from the international community, foreign diplomats, and heads of some African states has placed the republic of Kenya at a remarkably elevated height in par with emerging democracies. Kenya of the yesteryears has been one dominated by favoritisms and clan politics-a dangerous precedent that continued for over forty-seven years. Since attainment of independence from England in 1963 when Mzee Jomo Kenyatta became the nation’s first president, minority societies lived under humiliating conditions and repressive emergency laws compounded by killings, rape and plunder, arbitrary arrests, denial of basic necessities, torching of villages, concentration camps akin those of Nazi Germany, unemployment, and recurring natural hazards like drought and famine, locust invasions, desertification and desertization.

After the subsequent death of Jomo Kenyatta in 1978, the reins of power fell on the hands of Dictator Daniel Arap Moi who imposed similar sweeping measures while ruling over a single party government dominated by his henchmen and party stalwarts. He introduced a form of leadership style analogous to that of his predecessor by pioneering a ruling establishment that came to be known as ‘Nyayo’-a slogan implying ‘footsteps’ where he boisterously and meticulously put to profound use without the least deviation whatsoever.

A failed coup engineered by junior ranking members of the Kenya Air Force (now 82 Air Force) in 1982 made Daniel Moi more ravenous, authoritarian, and perhaps more rabble-rousing in dealing with opposition. Moi was shown the door and sent packing in 1992 after the birth of multiparty democracy-a fight organized by courageous opposition figures and Smith Hempstone-the fiery U.S. Ambassador to Kenya at that time together with strenuous pressure from the democratic world. Thus, Moi’s successor, Kenya’s current head of state, Mwai Kibaki, became the nation’s first leader in democratic Kenya .

Even with the implementation of political pluralism, political tensions flared-up in 2008 after a dispute arose between the two major political parties in a fraudulent election that saw opposing sides slaughter each other in the glare of television cameras leaving approximately two-thousand civilians dead and over three-hundred thousand displaced mainly in the agriculturally productive Rift Valley region. This ugly scenario between the forces of Raila Odinga who is the current prime minister and Mwai Kibaki led to an international intervention that brought in acclaimed dignitaries like Bishop Desmond Tutu, Graca Machel (widow of former Mozambican president Samora Machel and current wife of Nelson Mandela, former president of the Republic of South Africa), Kofi Anan (former Secretary General of the U.N.), John Kufuor (former president of Ghana), and Benjamin Mkapa (former president of Tanzania) among others. This international intervention led to sharing of power between the Nilotic Luo and Bantu Kikuyu respectively.

Consequently, Kenya’s newly promulgated constitution will replace the old one inherited from Kenya’s colonial master-Britain. It is a constitution that will equally apply to all Kenyans regardless of religion, race, gender, political affiliation, color, and sex. Provincial administrators will be replaced by elected governors; the nation will have upper and lower houses to be elected through the ballot; parliamentarians will be replaced by senators, and the law will apply equally to all in due course. Muslims and minority tribes who suffered for decades under former regimes will now have a say in the governing of the nation. Undoubtedly, the long neglected eastern and northeastern provinces dominated by Somalis will rise from the ashes of destruction and see dramatic rise in their levels of education, health, sanitation, infrastructure, and marketability. What was once the prerogative of the majority and the wealthy will finally and for the foreseeable future change hands and elevate the ranks of the downtrodden.

The Controversial Arrival of Sudan’s el-Bashir for Kenya’s Constitutional Promulgation

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A well-organized ceremony with heightened security convened in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park for the promulgation of Kenya’s new constitution, left many surprised at the arrival of the President of Sudan, Hassan el-Bashir. According to Kenya’s media sources, the nation’s airspace remained closed to air traffic for four hours. Instead of arriving at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where all heads of states frequent, el-Bashir’s presidential jet landed at Wilson Airport which is usually reserved for smaller aircraft.

Members of Kenya Parliament, cabinet ministers, and the public felt offended by the presence of el-Bashir-a man who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes of genocide in his country. Even the President of the United States, Barack Obama, commented on the issue of el-Bashir in Kenya. Kenya is a signatory to ICC and many wonder why el-Bashir was invited in the first place.

Flanked by Najib Balala, Kenya’s minister for tourism, el-Bashir took part in the promulgation of Kenya’s new constitution without any problems. Ironically, even Raila Odinga, Kenya’s Prime Minister was not notified of el-Bashir’s coming to Kenya. From this incident, we learn that Kenya is not a country whose affairs can be dictated by outside forces and that it will apply all the necessary means to safeguard its sovereignty and neighborliness.

Sudan is a neighbor of Kenya and Kenya has played a big role in the implementation of peace in Sudan in the past. Kenya’s current special envoy to Sudan is Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi-a man who has been in the forefront of restoring peace in many parts of Africa including neighboring Somalia, Rwanda, and Burundi. Arap Moi preceded Mwai Kibaki as president of Kenya. He is regarded in Kenya as a statesman and peacemaker.

Managing Effectively while Inculcating Equality

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All cruel people describe themselves as paragons of frankness-Tennessee Williams

We now learn from the scientific and biological fraternity that all humans are a product of X and Y chromosomes. Geneticists can now reveal to us that there are 35,000 genes in the human DNA and 3 billion chemical base pairs in the human DNA. This is a testament to human equality before the Almighty God. Overemphasizing differences hides prejudices that are disgracefully inappropriate in context. Overemphasizing similarities is the best tool to attaining accomplishments in the workplace. The belief that “all men are created equal” should be the best applicable emphasis.

The first thing to have in a modern workplace is a balanced culture, if not code of regulations to be equally observed by all regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, political affiliation or sex. Rules that call for tolerance and harmony in the workplace must be applied to ensure tranquility and serendipity. A good leader is the one who discourages negative behaviors like incivility and other detrimental actions that are appalling in perspective.

Self-reliance Criterion
Having close affinity to employees of like racial group sets a bad precedent as it is a harbinger for discrimination and favoritisms. Here is a parable of two managers: One would always speak in his native tongue to some select employees he/she shared cultural background with while the other discouraged speaking in his mother tongue. The later is the kind of leader ripe for multicultural leadership. Organizations can discourage leaders not to rely solely on self-reliance criterion when making strategic decisions by acknowledging the cultural backgrounds of individuals and groups by first using the golden rule that states: “do unto others as they would have them do unto them.” It is important to empower the leader to learn contrasting cultures even though the implied cultures may be in disagreement with one’s values. Leaders must instill social justice, harmony, and moral development and also have contact with different cultural groups so as to create a healthy atmosphere through a succession of cultural exchanges.

The Monitor Role
The monitor role has long appeared less interesting to many people because of their futile beliefs that it entailed keeping a watchful over other people’s daily activities or mode of operations. But to a leader or manager with modern thoughts and processes, it carries much weight in “maintaining high performance in both individuals and groups" (Quinn, Faerman, Thompson, and McGrath, and St. Clair, 2006, p.113).

The Mentor Role
The mentor and facilitator roles are the two most important key managerial leadership roles as they are tasked with establishing effective relationships. The mentor role, also called the concerned human role, is reflected in the science of caring and empathy where the manager is supposed to be thoughtful, selfless, and responsive and open to discussions and not shunning ideas, be friendly, openhearted, and reasonable. A mentor is a good listener who attracts new ideas, is appreciative, rewarding, and influences employee actions by motivating. Failure to observe the mentoring role leads to derailment, pseudo-transformational leadership, dictatorship, arrogance, and intolerance. Understanding self-worth opens the door for understanding others. Delegating effectively and developing employees is part of mentoring. In the real sense of the word, the remark “mentor” has its meaning rooted in Greek, which may mean trusted counselor, coach or guide and therefore derives its true meaning from The Odyssey, a poem written by Homer and addressed to Odysseus asking him to tutor his son Telemachus. Understanding the keys to effective delegation involves conscientiousness, influence, and answerability. Thus, the mentor role is about understanding self and others, communicating effectively, and developing employees.

The Facilitator Role
The Facilitator role rests on three important pillars namely: building teams, using participative decision making, and managing conflict-all part of the organizational improvement process. Furthermore, group work means having a commitment to a common goal or purpose, having a concrete sense of mutual responsibility, sharing information and having common communication structure, and setting clear roles and responsibilities that are equally interdependent in outlook. Roles are sets of expectations relevant to the individual and others in a given situation. With role clarity implying the absence of two demanding conditions notably role ambiguity and role conflict-role ambiguity entails interacting with others while role clarity leads to inconsistency or contradiction of information. Sending conflicting information is cause for role conflict. The facilitator role requires knowledge of the levels, sources, and stages of conflict. Differences in values, attitudes, beliefs, needs, or perceptions have been shown to cause conflicts.

Handling Communication Overloads
Ironically, the flow of information has transformed tremendously over the years and taken major leaps and bounds since the discovery of microchips and other technological advancements such as nanotechnology. Our capability to store and retrieve information through optical scanning and “data compression” and our ability to do research without resorting to the olden ways of searching through library shelves, is a clear testimony as to how we have advanced “two steps forward” and “one step back” though we have heavy responsibilities of “taming the electronic tiger” as we advance towards new innovations and immeasurable outputs. Thus, it is imperative for today’s managers to grasp the importance of modern office keeping by observing the TRAF system-which connotes to mean Toss, Refer, Act, and File-a novel way of overseeing the predicted modern paperless office.

On the other hand, recurrent work interruptions and overloads caused by excessive messages such as telephone calls, voice mails, cell phones, Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs, faxes, the intranet and internet, and e-mails should not instill fear or cause alarm but rather create challenges and enhanced momentum if effective management is to be observed in the workplace. Today’s managers are emboldened by their fervent desire to exploit the universally accepted sets of procedures known by the acronym OABC which stands for Opening, Agenda, Body, and Closing-four valuable tools for deciphering written messages regardless of whether they are in the form of a memo, circular or other regular correspondences. Likewise, face-to-face meetings are as essential as other forms of communication and should not be taken off the table. Teleconferencing, a contemporary hi-tech inclusion invented as result of human necessity, has been found to be in conformity with the international superhighway. Monitoring demands analyzing core processes, monitoring the value chain and output like judgments and opinions given, resources allocated, decisions made, mistakes detected, products planned, commitments negotiated, and courses taught.

The Myers-Briggs Type Inventory
The Myers-Briggs Type Inventory which is based on Carl Jung’s works highlights the five-factor model or basic tendencies with each factor named for one of two ends of a continuum namely neuroticism, extraversion, open to new experiences, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Agreeableness and extraversion are interrelated in that with no explicit leadership, the one who emerges with extraversion, agreeableness, and emotionality emerges the informal leader.

Johari Window
Named after Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, the Johari window is another exemplary framework that helps increase one’s self-awareness. The Johari window is divided into four compartments namely: open, blind, hidden, and unknown. Hidden inconsistencies and hypocrisies including hiding, rebuffing, and evading learning about themselves, has been found to be a common attribute of many people. Sadly though, popular television shows, movies, and books are acted in such a way that the end results, because of concealment of true feelings or lack of self-awareness, characters may end up skeptical or tolerant.

Effective Interpersonal Communication
With acute logjam to effective interpersonal communication evolving as a result of inarticulateness, hidden agendas, status meant to impress and not offend, hostility due to lack of trust, and differences in communication styles, Chris Argyris of the Harvard Business School implemented what became known as “the left-hand column issues” which implies “what is thought” and “the right-hand column” in reference to “what is said” so that “discussables” can be differentiated from “undiscussables”.
The golden saying, “nature has given men one tongue but two ears that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak”, as noted by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus, is a superior contemplation in the real sense which requires that we understand what is being said by others. The use of reflective listening helps us understand what others are saying and instills empathy in our inner souls.

Understanding Conflict Resolution
Understanding conflict resolution in the intrapersonal and interorganizational levels could be an added advantage. Avoiding approaches, accommodating approaches, competing approaches, compromising approaches, and collaborating approaches are some of the dimensions used in conflict management strategies. However, there are advantages and disadvantages of conflict management approaches. Also, as research has shown, allowing some degree of conflict could propel new ideas, innovation, and change. Conflicts can be stimulated and agreements managed by introducing guidelines for advocacy groups.

Team Building Strategies
There are informal approaches to team building and barriers to team building. Team building is an ongoing process and not an event. One approach to team building is for the team members to understand each other and have the willingness to observe each other consistently so as to generate substantial results. Social interaction among members like sharing a meal after work, holding annual holiday celebrations, and other important events opens a plethora of opportunities and other out of the ordinary accomplishments. Ironically, barriers to team building resurface due to not having the knowledge or experience of team building. One major factor that hinders team building is the lack of planning and coordination. Creating incentives to reward employees with exceptional performance emboldens employee resolve and attitude, increases social and economic standings, and lowers tardiness and the impervious “free will” attitude. Autocratic, consultative, and group decision making are some of the strategies used to define who should participate and when.

Effective Meeting Management
Meetings may be horrifying and end in disasters because of poor facilitation or they may be well managed, heartening, and all-inclusive. Understanding the rules of effective meeting management, coming up with the required tools, and setting the stage with certain objectives in mind is a prerequisite for modern management. Understanding the meeting objective, creating appropriate participation, selecting the time and place of the session, and preparing and distributing the agenda in advance is a requirement if pitfalls are to be avoided. However, running the meeting with sets of priorities in mind is a good way of giving the attendants a new lease of life. For a meeting to be professional it is essential to have someone take the minutes; the leader should review the agenda; make certain participants know each other; do not diverge from the agenda; ease interruptions; promote overall membership; and bring to a close the meeting by reviewing decisions reached.

Understanding Four Dimensions of Leadership
Influencing others depends on having a concrete understanding of the values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations (VABEs) of the people involved. Having the feeling that it is a God-given responsibility to change how others feel and believe leads to underestimation of those under your command. Those endowed with authority should grasp the benefits of morality, ethics, legality, and cultural context. Individually determining what’s right and wrong is known as morality; ethics is a body of knowledge and established and conventional guiding principles of conduct created for groups of people or organizations; legality implies acting upon the established laws of humanity; while cultural context refers to observing the cultural values of others in the workplace. In public and professional conduct it is best to apply ethics and in private and for personal values wrap yourself around the garb of morality. When dealing with those under your authority, always keep in mind that what goes around comes around. It was Charles Grodin who once said, “It always surprises me that otherwise intelligent people don’t realize that if you treat people badly, it will eventually come back to you”. To give you an example of what goes around comes around, it is worth looking back what history has to tell us. “In the year 260 C.E., the Roman Emperor Valerian fell captive to Sasanid forces. He spent his last years at the Sassanid court in Ctesiphon, where his captors forced him to stoop and serve as a mounting stool when the Sasanid king wanted to ride his horse". (After his death, the Sasanids preserved Valerian’s skin as a memento of their victory over the Romans), (Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler ). One’s leadership qualities should not be repugnant to justice and to the subjects providing essential services or else there could be serious ramifications resulting in the dissolution of the entire enterprise. For example, a medieval law stated that “if two persons fell under suspicion of crime, the uglier or more deformed was to be regarded as more probably guilty” (Wilson and Hernstein, 1985).

Elements of Individual, Professional, Organizational, and Societal Levels of Multicultural Competence

Martin Luther King, Jr. via last.fm

Understanding the importance of individual/personal, professional, organizational, and societal levels of multicultural competence carry heavy weight in modern management/leadership styles. Comprehending cultural competence in multifaceted dimensions helps alleviate ethnocentric monoculturalism, ingrained biases and prejudices, hate and fear of others at the individual/personal level. No one is born to fear and hate others but that it is learned. As suggested by Sue (2001), cultural incompetence begins at birth. Likewise, misinformation about others’ cultural differences is not acquired through free choice but imposed through a process known as social conditioning (Jones, 1997; Carter, et al., 1998).

Overcoming personal belief systems, behaviors, and emotions for both trainers and trainees could be a personal journey to overcoming cultural incompetence and a major challenge for leaders.

In order to believe in justice and democracy, it is equally important to overcome the biases that threaten our self-image. Understanding how our own biases and actions perpetuate and constitute injustice helps every concerned leader bear greater responsibility in order to administer powerful change. Honesty and openness for each other, overcoming fears, fostering concern for all groups of society and being acquainted with the effects of prejudice and discrimination and how it affects others opens equal access and opportunities for all people. However, Sue (1999, 2001), provides four helpful and important principles that could herald for individual cultural competence. Initially, individuals will have to familiarize with and learn from different perspectives and not exclusively rely on the media or what the neighbors say. Secondly, immersing in the culture to be learned generates a balanced analysis of what is expected to be reaped. Thirdly, supplementing realistic intellectual capacity with practical certainty of individuals from that culture is a way of identifying with that culture and can be applied as a supplementary encouragement. On the professional level, management and leadership styles have been shown to over and over again experience the impacts of cultural values, beliefs, traits, and decision techniques.

Different cultures view leadership from dissimilar perspectives. In American cultural way of thinking, leadership is portrayed as forceful and independent whereas in Japan, good leadership is based on the theory of harmony and fairness. The latter Japanese view is the view I share and scrutinize wholeheartedly. In France, a manager is expected to answer a subordinate’s query accurately. American mangers and leaders are regarded as problem solvers who take time to provide answers to the subordinate’s concerns after thorough examination and head scratching. In modern Japanese culture, respondents described a leader as one who displays fairness, is flexible, has good listening skills, is outgoing, and is responsible while American respondents described a leader as one who is intelligent, honest, understanding, determined, and possesses effective verbal skills.

Leaders who value multiculturalism have organizational structure that treats all employees, suppliers, and customers equally. For leaders to be competent, the organizations they serve have the responsibility to create strategies, policies, procedures, and implementations acceptable to their employees.

Though organizations have contrasting procedures in the way they deal with cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, and gender issues, overcoming conflicts and misunderstandings in the workplace should be a prerequisite for any organization willing to do away with institutionalized monoculturalism.

Monocultural organizations are those organizations that operate on Eurocentric and ethnocentric ideologies. A prime example is the former apartheid regime of South Africa whose mode of operations was built on racial divide and racial superiority. Based on outright exclusionism, either explicitly or implicitly, the former Boer regime of former apartheid South Africa marginalized people of color and other minority groups. This means, people were divided into racial categories. With Whites on top of the privileged ladder, Indians and Coloreds enjoyed the center stage while Blacks remained at the bottom. Besides the Whites, all other races were persona non grata in exclusively reserved white neighborhoods, white shopping centers, and white schools. Blacks lived in the Ghettos with no jobs, no sewage, no viable infrastructure, and no decent schools. In other words, South Africa of the yesteryears was a discriminatory organization where the color of the epidermis and the sex of a person determined where one belonged in the government registry of races and sexes. On the other hand, the strong believe in the melting pot and equal opportunity for all should be a driving factor for cultural equality. Culture should have the least impact on management.

Historically, courageous men and women spent time and effort to fight American discriminative policies of the 60s. Mention is to be made of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Nobel laureate who lost his precious life while fighting human injustices. Despite civil and human rights activists dying for the cause of equality and justice, disparities in employment, education, employment, and social facilities do exist in modern America.

On the contrary, nondiscriminatory organizations are more culturally significant and sympathetic. However, foot-dragging remains an impediment to the advancement of affirmative actions; equal employment opportunities are taking a grudging stand, prejudice and biases do exist, and policy implementations remain inconsistent and elusive.

Assumingly, the United Nations is the biggest nondiscriminatory organization the world has seen. Looking back at its past line-up of hierarchical leadership history, we find that the top echelons were drawn from multifarious nationalities. Formerly the League of Nations, the United Nations, came to fore after the end of World War II. Its first Secretary General was Trygve Lie of Norway (1946-1952) followed by Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden (1953-1961), U Thant of Burma (1961-1971), Kurt Waldheim of Austria (1972-1981), Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru (1982-1991), Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt (1992-1996), Kofi Anan of Ghana (1997-2006), and currently Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea (2007-). Because the world is regarded as a one big society, the position of the Secretary-General of the United Nations is based on equal distribution between the various continents. So far, Western Europe and others had three secretary generals; Latin American and Caribbean Group had one; Asian Group had two; while the African Group had two secretary generals.

The greatest challenges facing the United States today include the issue of race, the existence of unfair disparities between racial/ethnic minorities and Euro-American groups that are invisible and deeply ingrained, and the absence of open dialogue regarding racial inequalities, and bigotry and racism. Despite the efforts of former President Bill Clinton in his issuance of Executive Order No. 13050 and his creation of the Race Advisory Board to examine race and racism, a lot needs to be done in the fields of racial reconciliation. The issue of race in the U.S. is so ingrained in the minds of the American social fabric and that the society itself is ill-equipped to tackle it alone.

The glorification of racism has been used as an unbending instrument by monoculturally ethnocentric fanatics whose strong cultural superiority is based on past biased historical legacies. The presence of the Ku Klux Klan and others of like mind must be cause for alarm in America’s racially divided nation. In conclusion, knowledge, skills, and awareness in leadership in a diverse and multicultural environment could be an added advantage for millions in management worldwide.

Somalia Government Flexes Muscles

The current Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) headed by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has long been accused by the international media and by a cross-section of impatient Somalis as being inept, incompetent, and corrupt. For some, the TFG has been a government only in name; its sphere of influence is restricted to the presidential palace-also known as Villa Somalia-which translates to a few blocks in a city of eighteen counties and a population exceeding over a million inhabitants.

Besieged by armed insurgents on all sides, the president and his retinue of dignitaries remain under the protection of AMISOM-an armed contingent provided by the African Union and funded by the international community. Perhaps a little less than a division and a legion, AMISOM is an amalgamation of select forces from the nations of Uganda and Burundi. The roughly 8,000 AMISOM force currently in Mogadishu remain guardians of the harbor, the airport, and the presidential palace. Lack of effective management and scarcity of funds has hindered the TFG's prospect of ushering in the much-needed peace and security.

Bickering and clan affiliations remain the major destructive tool for disgruntled parliamentarians with intent to further divide and plunge the nation in to a cycle of abyss. Rival militias integrated in to government forces switch sides by joining the Jihadists who continue to wage war on all fronts with the ultimate goal of toppling the infant and fragile TFG.

With patience and constancy the TFG is headed to reversing previous negative trends that posed a threat in the past by winning the hearts and minds of its war wary citizens. With thousands of newly-graduated troops and committed commanders on the ground, the TFG has now flexed muscles by covering and capturing new ground.

In the past few days, loyal government forces overwhelmingly captured the strategic city of Beletweyne from Hizbul Islam militia. Likewise, government forces and AMISOM troops have been pushing back the confrontational al-Shabab militant group from various segments of the city of Mogadishu thus allowing the safe return of displaced persons to their rightful homes.

Besides, the TFG has become a beneficiary of millions of dollars from the international community earmarked for the reconstruction and development of Somalia-the latest being money to the tune of $300m. The recently concluded conference in Ankara, Turkey, will be followed by a similar one to be held in Spain before year end. Which brings us to the conclusion that Somalia will in the long run reclaim its lost glory and once again become a major force to reckon with.

Modern Leadership Practices

Leaders are not born, they are made. There are many types of leadership styles. The best leadership style I prefer is the transformational leadership style. Transformational leaders are significantly more innovative than transactional leaders. Transactional leaders are those leaders who clarify tasks while at the same guiding and motivating those under their authority. Most politicians play this kind of leadership style. In contrast, Contingency leadership is not efficient in atmospheres of accelerated change because leaders place themselves into positions matching their leadership style.

Furthermore, leaders need to recognize how knowledge is valued so they will be acquainted with how the learners will react to a variety of learning opportunities. Being intentional and goal-oriented leads to planned change and this is what many organizations perceive as an accidental occurrence. Given the right tools and techniques, anyone with the right intentions can be a change agent. A change agent can be a manager or non-manager. On the contrary, an organization may be resistant to change due to chaotic randomness.

By building support and commitment, fear and anxiety will diminish. It will be a solid requirement to initiate emotional commitment to change so that inconsistencies may pave way for positive efforts. One thing that is of paramount importance is to undertake full-scale negotiation to lessen the level of resistance by addressing core individual and collective needs.

To avoid potentially high costs, negotiating with all concerned parties could herald an ever-lasting negotiated settlement. Another easy method of overcoming resistance will be the use of cooptation which usually leads to endorsement from those resisting change. Giving key roles to those resisting changes may be defined as a ‘buy off”. Unfortunately, coercion may be on the last of the list of overcoming resistance to change.

To better understand the true meaning of motivation, Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs best hypothesizes its definition when he categorized the well-known theory of motivation into five components:
1. Psychological: It includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs.
2. Safety: Includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm.
3. Social: Includes affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship.
4. Esteem: Includes internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement; and external esteem factors such as status, recognition, and attention.
5. Self-actualization: The drive to become what one is capable of becoming; includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment.

Experts in the field of Organizational Behavior often use different power tactics to achieve their objectives. The use of upward influence, downward influence, and lateral influence is used in different parts of the world depending on the culture of the organization. The collection of power tactics that work best for many include rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation as they tend to be more effective to influence people in the top management level and their subordinates. However, if the use of “softer” tactics fails, one will have no other option but to apply the “harder” stand which involves the use of formal power regardless of the costs and risks incurred. The use of ingratiation helps to better define a problem. We can draw from these statements and conditions, some drawbacks of the rational decision-making model:
1. It entails a great deal of time.
2. It requires a great deal of information.
3. It presupposes that considerable conditions exist to be agreed upon.
4. It assumes precise, unwavering, and absolute knowledge of alternatives, preferences, objectives, and outcomes.
5. It assumes a rational, reasonable, non-political world.

Leadership and Economics

Going by the expanding nature of global economics and varying national economies, today’s leaders should be compelled to understand that the best, much-applauded, and unanimously accepted form of fundamental economics is the capitalist market economy which contains many buyers and sellers of numerous goods and services where all of them are interested primarily in their own well-being. From the Greek word oikonomos, economy denotes to mean “one who manages a household.” However, according to the great 19th-century economist Alfred Marshall, “economics is a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life.” In essence, economics is the study of how society manages its scarce resources. [1]

Two prominent economists, Adam Smith and David Ricardo inspired the modern economics we cherish today. Adam Smith’s 1776 book titled An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, shed light on the subject of trade and economic interdependence. Likewise, inspired by Adam Smith’s writings, David Ricardo, millionaire broker turned economist, in his 1817 book Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, developed the principle of comparative advantage as we know it today. The principle of comparative advantage explains interdependence and the gains from trade. As a member of the British parliament of the day and in his defense of free trade and his opposition to the Corn Laws which restricted the import of grain, Ricardo put his economic beliefs to work by displaying total rejection and repugnance at the British government’s infringement on free trade. Undoubtedly, the legacies left behind by Smith and Ricardo continues to empower the values and ideals of today’s capitalist economies.

Based on decentralized control and delegation, a leader who has the will and commitment to steer a nation to its right course must understand that micromanaging economies, people’s lives or jobs is nothing but a futile enterprise. Likewise, a leader cannot save, motivate, and satisfy everyone. Leaders must understand that when people associate no risk or cost to something, they will abuse it. That is why all social programs like welfare, social security, and Medicare fail to have rigid foundations despite concerted government efforts at their resuscitation. With markets being a good way to organize economic activity, boosting trade makes everyone better-off. Though not always positive, governments can sometimes improve market outcomes. During the Cold War era, the former Soviet Union and her Communist allies in Eastern Europe experienced retarded economies because their economies were based on outdated centralization systems managed by irrational central planners which culminated in their collapse in the 1980s. Because of corruption, insecurity, coup d’états, political obscurantism, dictatorships, and a host of other natural and human calamities, Africa, a continent abundant in natural resources, remains entangled in a protracted economical mess that make it a laughing stork in every sector of the economic scale and a burden to international financial institutions like the IMF and the World Bank. Lack of human capital, grinding poverty and diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria, and the collective theft of state coffers, has diminished the continent’s prospects for economical prosperity and political maturity. Despite minor modifications, the economic principles left behind by Adam Smith and David Ricardo continue to drive the nerves and fibers of many nations including the United States while resourceful African nations continue to suffer from self-inflicted economic woes without any prospect for recovery.
Some important aspects of managing a capitalist economy include:
(1) A strong national defense-if people do not feel safe, economic growth will be retarded and suffering and destitution will reign.
(2) Property rights-when people own something, they have the tendency to invest and protect it.
(3) Judicial system to handle disputes.
(4) Low taxes and low regulatory environment.
(5) Few entitlement programs like welfare, social security, and Medicare. These programs are inefficient and wasteful (transfer payments-taking money from one citizen and giving it to another is always counterproductive). A program like welfare falls under what economists refer to as “the Law of unintended consequences” which occurs when government actions or policies fail to produce the desired results. Initially, welfare was intended to help the poor but only created more poverty and an underclass that grew reliant on government. We have to be careful what behaviors we reward because if people associate no cost or risk to something they will abuse it.

Said another way, production possibilities curves can be expanded with the following in mind: (1) movement towards capitalism and free trade (India, China), (2) education, (3) technological advances, and (4) discovery of new natural resources. By raising taxes, consumer and producer surplus is destroyed beyond measure and automatically the standard of living of the ordinary citizen is lowered. Leaders need to understand that people get what they earn and that there are no other solutions except trade-offs. Thus, growing economies need energy to safeguard and maintain their demand and supply. A country’s standard of living depends on its ability to produce goods and services.

Consequently, leaders and politicians have caused extensive miscalculations to numerous national economies by thinking that they know more about economics than economists. In broad terms, this is what is referred to as “fatal conceit” by economists. Both golden rule and fatal conceit, malevolent in context, are based on self-interest and are detrimental to the economic well-being of any nation and must be shunned at all cost.

One other form of unwarranted government exploitation or practice that places unnecessary hardships on businesses is price gouging. A firm’s costs are a key determinant of its production and pricing decisions. This practice is outlandish and absolutely authoritarian in nature. Leaders fail to grasp the theory that demand is based on ability and willingness to pay. On the ability notion, one may have the ability to pay but unwilling to pay for the product either because the product is inferior or exorbitant. Apparently, wary consumers understand the implications of buying cheap and inferior Chinese products that flood the markets. Everything, regardless of make or model, has a price attached to it. Unquestionably, above that price, no one is willing to pay. Supply and demand of goods and services determine price. As a result, when the price of a commodity goes up, demand goes down; when price goes up it provides an incentive for suppliers to supply more of the goods or services if they can. One other principle why prices rise is when government prints too much money. Nations experience inflation when there is an increase in the overall level of prices in the economy. An observable fact where prices in the economy rose by similar standards was experienced by Germany in January 1921 when the price of a daily newspaper that cost 0.30 marks rose to 70,000,000 marks in less than two years later. The best tool to defeat inflation is to limit the growth in the quantity of money. The U.S. experienced high inflation in the 1970s and high inflation in the 1980s because of high and slow growth in the quantity of money. Despite the U.S. experiencing “Every time we break down barriers to trade and investment, we open up new markets for American ranchers, farmers, workers, and entrepreneurs. ...” [2]

Economics and leadership are two inseparable and intertwined subjects with significant advantage and contributions to free market economies. To have an effective economy, it is of vital importance for a leader to come up with effective planning and implementation. Economists are of the view that planning is never perfect and that plans are absolutely nothing without action and that at all times the trickiest thing to do is executing a plan.

There is a popular consensus among economists which affirms that in economics demand is easy and there is no limit to the wants and needs of human beings. The most difficult thing is meeting the supply of goods and services. What a country can do to encourage its people and how corporations and businesses can supply the necessary products and services demanded by the people is a pressing issue and a daunting task in the science of economics. As mentioned earlier, the answer of course is capitalism as reflected in the decentralized economy. An important resolution could be the 70 % solution adopted by the US military and corporations which states that if you feel that you have 70% of a problem covered –take action!! Because of the law of diminishing returns, trying to make a plan perfect is futile. The art of economics consists not merely looking at the immediate but at the longer effects of an act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.

Because people respond to incentives, leaders must remain rational by weighing or comparing benefits and costs just as those they govern perceive it to be so. A situation in which the market price has reached the level at which quantity supplied equals quantity demanded, is called equilibrium. Also called market-clearing price, equilibrium is found where the supply and demand curves meet. At the equilibrium price, the quantity supplied equals the quantity demanded. In free markets, a so pervasive phenomenon that brings into balance the quantity of goods supplied and the quantity of goods demanded is referred to as the law of supply and demand-meaning the price of any good adjusts to bring the quantity supplied and quantity demanded for that good into balance. In economics, deadweight loss is referred to as the fall in total surplus that results from a market distortion, such as a tax. Because taxes cause deadweight losses, they prevent buyers and sellers from realizing some of the gains from trade. What determine whether the deadweight loss from a tax is large or small are the price elasticities of supply and demand. Henry George, the 19th century American economist and philosopher, in his 1879 book, Progress and Poverty, argued that the government should raise all its revenue from tax on land. To him, this “single tax”, was both equitable and efficient. However, not many economists of our era and age support George’s proposal for a single tax on land. Because governments have no money, the only way they can obtain it is through taxation which carries with it a deadweight loss to society as a whole.

With rigorous debate mounting in the U.S. regarding immigration, opponents and proponents of this contentious issue base their arguments on the supply of labor. Some factors that would cause the labor supply curve to shift include changes in tastes, changes in alternative opportunities, and immigration. For instance, when immigrants come to the United States, the supply of labor in the United States increases and the supply of labor in the immigrants’ home countries contracts. The never-ending policy debate about immigration centers on the effects of immigration and its effect on labor supply-equilibrium in the labor market.

A new field of economics known as behavioral economics has made basic psychological insights into human behavior. Some exclusive studies on human decision-making have come up with the following findings:
 People are overconfident.
 People give too much weight to a small number of vivid observations.
 People are reluctant to change their minds.
Because economists have differing views regarding the imperfections of Homo sapiens, some economists have suggested that humans are “near rational” or that they exhibit “bounded rationality”. It was Herbert Simon, a social scientist who worked at the boundaries of psychology, who suggested that humans should best be viewed as satisficers and not rational maximizers. Thomas Sowell, an African American economist stated that the mark of a good economist is "thinking beyond stage one". In essence, this is part of leadership. Professor Richard Epstein University of Chicago Law School, commenting on Thomas Sowell’s book Applied economics: Thinking beyond Stage One, had this to say, “In Applied Economics, the companion volume to his earlier work, Basic Economics, Thomas Sowell uses rudimentary economic theory to unmask the cant that surrounds too many policy debates.” [3] To further add more weight to Sowell’s book, the Publishers Weekly had a commentary that read: “The great achievement of Sowell's book is its simplicity. His writing is easy and lucid, an admirable trait considering the topic at hand. . .His target audience is the average citizen who has little or no economics background, but would like the tools to think critically about economic issues.” [4]

In broader terms, economics is an appealing subject, informative, and educative to the core. It is part sociology, part philosophical, and undoubtedly a subject meant for every human being seeking to overcome barriers in daily financial and economical handicaps.

N. Gregory Mankiw: Principles of Microeconomics (2007). Thomas Higher Education, 5191 Natorp Boulevard, Mason, OH 45040.
http://www.ustreas.gov/
http://www.tsowell.com/Appliedecon.htm
www.publishersweekly.com

A Black Imam for the Grand Mosque

Islam prohibits racial segregation and superiority of one race over another; it calls for human equality and justice. An Arab is not superior to a Persian nor is a Persian superior to an Arab. Likewise, the white race is not superior to the black race; all humans sprang from the seeds of Adam. Despite the good teachings of the Qur'an and the authentic Hadith, many Muslim nations have been adamant at giving racial equality the chance to flourish. Whether in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, UAE, Syria, or Bahrain- almost everywhere in the Middle East-people of color continue to suffer tremendous racial discrimination and other forms of human injustices. Despite the existence of such demeaning and dehumanizing practices for a long time, Muslim/Arab leaders vested with authority have been adamant in one way or the other. Even places of worship like mosques have not been exempt from racial segregation/discrimination. For a long time, it has been impossible (and continues to be so to this day) for a black Imam to lead a congregation of Arab worshipers in prayer.

Finally, a distinguished, black Islamic scholar has found his dream come true. Sheik Adil Kalbani has been appointed the Grand Imam of the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia. He is young, articulate, educated, and well-versed in the Qur'an and Hadith.

Perhaps, other Arab nations will follow suit and give racial equality a chance to thrive. Don't the Arabs see the wind of change that has swept the U.S.? Allah has given talent to all humans regardless of race, creed, color, or national origin.

Young and talented leaders for Somalia

Finally, after almost two decades of conflict and power vacuum, Somalia has found the blessings of two young under-fifty talented leaders: President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Shermarke. The President is known worldwide as a peace loving moderate Islamist who is always in favor of dialogue and reconciliation. Since December of 2006 when his faction-the Union of Islamic Courts-was kicked out of Mogadishu by the heavily-armed Ethiopian occupation forces, President Sharif has been in the forefront of garnering support from warring Somali factions and the international community for an everlasting peace for Somalia. Besides, President Sharif had his university education in Sudan and Libya respctively. On the other hand, Prime Minister Omar is the son of slain President Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke. Omar is a graduate of a reputed Canadian university and has been a longtime employee of the United Nations.

So far, most of the deafening big guns of Mogadishu have fallen silent and that even some of the volatile Jihadists and vicious warlords who have been the cause of lawlessness and destruction have been given ministerial posts in the 36-member cabinet. Despite sporadic fighting in some parts of the country, the most we can say for now is that Somalia is headed towards the reclamation of its lost glory in the international political arena.

Does Somalia need tribal elders?

We now know leaders are made and not born. In African tribal communities, predominantly male leaders publicly known as either 'chiefs or chieftains', 'tribal elders' or 'communal heads' wield considerable wealth, respect, and power to an extent they have their rightful places in the legal and constitutional frameworks of their respective governments that give them executory muscle to handle matters pertaining to declaration of war, restoration of peace, and judicial deliberations, if need be. Thus, they run double-faced parallel foundations that sometimes do more harm than good to the communities they serve and to the constitutions they pledge allegiance to. We learn from the history of slavery and slave trade how African chiefs played great roles in the selling and enslavement of their own kith and kin and how they monotonously depleted the natural resources that collectively belonged to those under their commands.

While chieftainships in some peaceful African states spearhead social integration and coherence, oversee spiritual and religious commemorations and the observation of political stability, what boggles the mind is the sorry state of the devastated sparsely populated nation of Somalia whose sense of pride dissipated when tribal chiefs and warlords took over control of its affairs beginning 1991 when the central government collapsed leaving behind a big power vacuum.

Depending on clan, dialect, region or locality, Somali tribal elders are known by various names. Most commonly and before the emergence of the modern state of Somalia in 1960, a powerful leader could be referred to as "Boqor", "Ugaas" or "Suldaan" which implied they enjoyed Kingly statuses. Ahmed "Gurey" or "gran" (the left-handed), a man whose identity and nationality is shrouded in mystery because he is claimed by several Abyssinian tribal groups, enjoys greater popularity among Somalis because he is regarded as the most powerful leader in Somali history and therefore is categorized as king and a religious figurehead. Most of the wars he fought were directed at the Christian kings of Abyssinia. The man the British Empire nicknamed "Mad Mullah", Muhammad Abdille Hassan, was a "Seyyid" as he epitomized a religious figurehead and not a king. Mad Mullah fought vigorously for over twenty years until his sudden death in 1929 in the village of Imey in the predominantly Somali inhabited Ethiopia-occupied Ogaden region. Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan had direct military and diplomatic cooperation with the Mahdi of Sudan; he performed pilgrimage in the Holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia at a time when few dared travel great distances ; he received his religious education in the Middle East and he is regarded to this day as the best poet Somalia has ever had. Thus, his elevated profile, his poetic eloquence, his struggle for Somali nationalism, his unchallenged worldly adventures and his military prowess remain challenges for modern Somali men to this day.

In contrast, men who play the roles of "Malaaq", an inferior designation commonly reserved for tribes inhabiting the central and southern regions of Somalia, wield little power and influence. Lately, Malaaqs have become popular in several central restive regions, in Mogadishu and its environs. Their proliferation among rural communities has hampered the effective delivery of humanitarian supplies by relief agencies whose employees often become victims of extortion, assassinations, and abductions because the types of administrations these Malaaqs oversee are dependent on the strength of highway robbers and armed hooligans drawn from a wide range of hardcore criminals whose livelihood is dependent on the subjugation of law and order. The scramble for land and competition for dwindling resources have seriously hampered the powers of most Malaaqs who, due to worldly temptations, finally jump on the bandwagon to fully participate in any conceivable illegal activity as a last resort.

Amazingly, most Somali transitional governments collapsed because they could not receive the unanimous or collective blessings of the multifarious tribal structures operating in the country. Some powerful tribal leaders threw their weights behind the transitional governments of their choice. Others rejected them forthrightly because of difference of opinion or categorically refused to endorse any entity due to the existence of tribal schisms with the respective head of state or with his immediate trusted lieutenants. Ironically, when the military junta was in power, Somali tribal chieftains or tribal elders hardly received any attention in the government-controlled media. They started emerging and receiving ethnic recognition after 1991 when law and order dissipated.

Currently, the largest and most famous clan-based tribal leadership in the center of Somali conflict is the so-called Hawiye council of tribal elders headed by Ahmed Dirie. Despite the existence of Somali tribal elders since time immemorial, there has never been a time in recorded Somali history when community heads failed to reconcile warring tribes other than today where tribal animosity has become an incurable affliction whose remedy has evaded divine admonitions, jurisdictions, and interferences of the international community, friendly and neighboring states, saintly scholars, and even the peace-loving layman. The irony is that even Somali academics and government heads of our modern era fully support tribal elders and revere them so fondly such that they are considered to be living saints.

Ironically, all previous reconciliation efforts blessed by these tribal leaders were either short-lived or ended in disarray. Somali tribal elders have no offices to operate from; many are illiterate; because they are not deeply religious, they cannot be categorized as Imams; they are never elected by popular vote; all came to dominate the throne of authority by way of inheritance or through automatic succession after the eventual death of next of kin.

In a male dominated society like that of Somalia, often, no mention is made of an incumbent female tribal elder or chieftain. Somalia's most idolized female leader is the historically famous Arawelo-an astute woman mentioned in oral literature who was notorious for castrating male offenders. The national origin of Arawelo is in doubt though popular opinion states that she was of Portuguese descent and not Somali as many would want us believe.

Since Somalia's tribal elders have a hand in the prolonged conflict, is it not wise to reduce their powers and the considerable influence they have in society? In my view, the era of tribal leadership is over and without an iota of doubt, I am overly convinced that tribal chieftains are the major cause of Somalia's two-decade civil disobedience and that this position of influence should be abolished whenever a stable Somali government emerges from the ashes of destruction.