President Peter Mutharika refused to meet civil society organisations (CSOs) leaders and also refused to receive the petition from the CSOs despite a court order.
According to his men, the CSOs’ leaders are not yet at the level where they can meet the President and that the CSOs’ leaders were expecting “too much”— in other words, the CSOs were expecting the impossible because Mutharika, a man who four years ago was on all fours begging Malawians to give him a job, is now a semi-god.
It seems the President’s men have mastered the art of aloofness that they no longer care what Malawians think about them and their master.
Take, for example, the response from Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Emmanuel Fabiano. When Malawians, who butter his bread and that of Mutharika, asked to be given the itinerary of their employee, Mutharika, as he goes to represent Malawians at the United Nations General Assembly, Fabiano’s reply was: “The President will leave and come back as he wishes”.
This response fell short of saying Mutharika does not owe any Malawian any explanation. He can do as he pleases. It is this sort of arrogance from the President and his men that is causing all these social, economic and political malaise Malawi is experiencing.
Partly, I agree with Fabiano, Mutharika can stay in the US as long as he wishes. There isn’t much that will change even if he stays for a year in New York. Mutharika is a man so withdrawn and distant from the real Malawi and issues affecting Malawians. This country is auto-piloted even with him around.
It seems, one thing that this country is blessed with in abundance, is leaders who are arrogant and aloof. You see them in almost every corner and sector.
Take the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) Walter Nyamilandu’s insult to Malawians whose only sin was to ask him to step aside and let others lead—after all, 13 years at the helm of FAM, the Malawi national team has gotten worse and there is no development worth mentioning that he has brought to football in Malawi.
Nyamilandu, just like all arrogant leaders that Malawi is cursed with, says he does not play football and that under his leadership, Flames now play like Barcelona.
If only many leaders humbled themselves and listened to people’s cries, they would see sense in what the people are saying, but they are too self-absorbed and have closed their ears to all calls for them to do better.
Such leaders are encouraged by those who clap at such arrogance. Mutharika is a servant of Malawians and when they ask for an audit of how he has worked or want to meet him, he should be the one on all fours and not Malawians. He should be the one to fear Malawians and not the other around.
This arrogance should never be applauded and has got to stop.
