Speaking at Nelson Mandela University’s South Campus Auditorium, under the theme “Embracing Purposeful Leadership of Comrade Raymond Mhlaba’s Generation: A Call for Today’s Leadership”, Prof Nkuhlu said he had structured his lecture as if having a heartfelt intergenerational conversation with Oom Ray.
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Back from left, Dr Ongama Mtimka, History and Political Studies, Xhanti Payi, facilitator, economist and strategist, Mrs Nondima Nkuhlu, Thabi Nkosi, businesswoman and agricultural economist, Professor Pamela Maseko, Executive Dean of Humanities, and Dr Jacqui Luck, Deputy Dean of Humanities. Front, Dr Muki Moeng, DVC Leaning and Teaching, Prof Wiseman Nkhulu, Prof Sibongile Muthwa, Vice-Chancellor, and Prof Andre Keet, DVC Engagement and Transformation.
He described Oom Ray as “a hero of the liberation struggle against land dispossession, racism, colonialism and apartheid. A man who risked his life for the sake of freedom and the dignity of his people”.
“I salute Nelson Mandela University for establishing the [Raymond Mhlaba Centre for Governance and Leadership],” said Prof Nkuhlu. “There is no better way of showing our gratitude for the sacrifices Tata Comrade Raymond Mhlaba and his generation made to fight and defeat apartheid and by so doing lay a foundation for the restoration of the dignity of the African people.”
Reflecting on the state of leadership today, Prof Nkuhlu posed a sobering question: “On receiving the invitation to deliver the lecture I found myself thinking ceaselessly about what Comrade Mhlaba would say if he were to see us today. Would he be proud of the progress we have made, or would he feel betrayed?”
Drawing from his book Purposeful Leadership for Africa, Prof Nkuhlu lamented how post-apartheid South Africa had “abandoned the aspirations of disproving the myths about the incapacity of Africans to govern themselves with integrity and competence”.
“Unfortunately, in 2007,” he said, “a leader who was unfit to lead was elected president of the ANC and later South Africa with the full concurrence of the ANC and its alliance partners. This event marked the beginning of a slide of the country into institutionalised corruption and economic stagnation.”
He said that the problem, however, went deeper than one leader.
“I point out the failure to deal with the economic legacies of colonialism and apartheid during the political negotiations in the early 1990s,” he said, adding that “the rapidly rising expectations and demands by the black elite for a bigger slice of the economy post-1994” compounded the problem.
Prof Wiseman Nkuhlu and Prof Pamela Maseko flanked by students who were part of the masterclass for students, earlier in the day.
Prof Nkuhlu also highlighted persistent structural weaknesses in present day governance.
“Since 2008, the ANC has failed to produce leaders with the intellectual capacity, wisdom, ubuntu, integrity and diplomacy needed to take the country forward. Because of this failure, the ANC has lost the confidence of the people and its historical role as leader of the revolution for justice and equality in a non-racial, non-sexist South Africa,” he said.
Calling for a radical reset in education and leadership development, he urged that South Africa inculcate a culture of valuing and respecting education and formal qualifications.
“We should learn from the Asian countries who were humiliated and colonised by the European empires like Africa, but have managed to lift themselves primarily through prioritising high-quality education and technical training,” he said.
He linked education directly to ethics and nation-building, speaking on a direct relationship between ethical conduct and one’s sense of self-worth.
“Self-worth is dependent on having a clear purpose for your life as well as confidence that you have the capacity and capabilities to pursue your life purpose,” he said.
Prof Nkuhlu also warned that democratic progress without a strong scientific and technological base would limit Africa’s ability to transform.
“Modernity has two pillars – liberal democracy and market economies on the one hand, and science and technology on the other. We are giving considerable focus to the first pillar, but not enough attention to the second,” he said.
Citing historian Yuval Harari to stress the importance of scientific mindsets, Prof Nkuhlu said: “It was breakthroughs in science and technology which enabled Europe to leap ahead of other civilisations from the 17th century onwards.
My submission is that in Africa we have not as yet launched such an intentional and purposeful intervention to close the gap in science and technology between ourselves and the developed countries.”
These reflections echoed points he raised in a masterclass with students earlier in the day, where he contrasted how Europe weaponised science and technology to dominate and colonise, while Asian countries such as China and India used the same tools to rebuild and advance their societies.
Prof Nkuhlu noted that Africa could similarly harness science, technology and innovation – guided by purposeful leadership – to drive sustainable development and reclaim its global standing.
Turning his keynote address to the need for strong African agency, he said South Africa needed strong men and women able to think critically and act independently to shape their own political, economic, cultural and intellectual futures.
He also cautioned against the perceived tendency of black intellectuals valuing the validation of external interests at the expense of the masses, calling it a dangerous path that distances leaders from the people.
Prof Nkuhlu concluded with a moving pledge to Mhlaba’s generation, committing this one to restoring and strengthening African agency.
“We will do this through focused conversations in our villages, classrooms, clubs, university campuses and in all the spaces at our disposal,” he said.
The public lecture also featured businesswoman and agricultural economist, Thabi Nkosi, and independent researcher and television show host, Fundiswa Skweyiya, as respondents, with economist and strategist, Xhanti Payi, facilitating the discussion.