This is the 19th instalment in a 20-part “Pushing the envelope of knowledge” series in which Mawere attempts to provide some insights into the concept of corporate citizenship and the importance of improving the body of knowledge that informs our daily conversations
WHO is to blame? Where should we start to make it right? Who should change in order to make Africa the kind of continent that we want to see?
We all have a lot to say about what has gone wrong in Africa and, indeed, the world. When interrogated for solutions, it is not unnatural that we defer to other human beings in the sincere belief that someone out there owes the world and the future more than we do.
So when the late Michael Jackson (MJ) and Quincy Jones (QJ) were near the end of the recording for Bad, QJ called Glen Ballard (GB) and said: “Don’t you have anything else for us”, history was in the making. GB then called Siedah Garrett who composed the historic song that will probably rank among the best signature MJ songs.
On a Saturday, the song was written and the following day it was played to QJ who loved it and when Michael heard it on the following day, Monday, he also liked it.
What was so special about this song? Was it the vocals or the lyrics? What could have inspired such a title and lyrics?
History records that GB had the idea for the song when she was driving to the recording session after she saw a face in the mirror of her car and this inspired her to write the song titled “Man in the Mirror" as an addition to MJ’s album.
The song peaked at number one in the USA in early 1988 and was nominated for Record of the Year at the Grammy Awards. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks.
Following the news of the death of MJ last year, the song picked at number two in the official UK Singles Chart having re-entered the chart at 11 the previous week.
One of the two music versions of the song features a montage of footage from various major events such as the nuclear explosions plus notable individuals who impacted the world they lived in so visible and memorable manner that compels all of us to think about the real purpose of life.
What has inspired me to write about the “Man in the Mirror”? Today, 50 years ago, 69 unarmed people were killed and hundreds wounded when police fired into a crowd of 5,000 black South Africans protesting against racial discrimination under apartheid. After 16 years of democracy, the wounds of the past are easily forgotten but were it not for such sacrifices, some of us would not call South Africa home.
It took 5,000 courageous South Africans to create history and they must have looked at themselves and asked the question: “If not us, then who?”
It is easy for us to forget the connection between the past and the present and more importantly, between the present and the future.
As we celebrate today, the Human Rights Day, in recognition of the impact of the choices made by the 5,000 people that decided that this day would forever be remembered as an event that marked a significant turning point in the struggle for democracy, we cannot take lightly our obligations to the future generations of Africans.
It is easy to assume that the future is the responsibility of others.
When I woke up today, I got a call from a friend called Bimi who works for Builders Warehouse in Rivonia, South Africa. He was fired up after spending an afternoon with him last weekend, explaining the philosophy behind African Heritage Society (AHS) and the need to take ownership of the change agenda.
He was in the company of another young African and very much wanted to see me. When I met with the two, it was obvious that they were ready to move and all they wanted is a leader to tell them what to do. However, I told them that it would be a futile enterprise to look to someone to do the things that they want to see happen.
I told them that no leader has any more obligations to change the world than the people who benefit from the change that they desire. It was at that point that I remembered the following words from the song: “Man in the Mirror”:
I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The
World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change)
(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,Na Nah)
Bimi and his friend Tsepiso’s starting point was to consult with me instead of starting with the man/woman in the mirror. I said to them that even President Zuma is just another human being who happens to be a President of the country and, therefore, sought to highlight the critical importance of citizens taking responsibility for their own future than foolishly relying on the wisdom on one individual to see what we cannot see or do what we cannot do for ourselves.
Bimi and Tsepiso are just two individuals who prior to my interaction with them believed that leaders cease to be human when they assume state positions. I reminded them that no leader could ever be better than the people he/she leads.
MJ knew when he first heard the lyrics of this song that it is only when we look honestly at the mirror that we should pause and reflect on the kind of obligations that we have to make to make this world a better place. We have to look at ourselves and be the change that we want to see.
As the late Martin Luther King Jnr. said, the urgency of acting now can never be placed on the people who benefit nothing from the change sought.
It has often been said that Africa often gets the leaders it deserves.
The world can only be better because and not in spite of our actions. Is it not amazing that even in failed states, individual citizens wake up every morning with ideas of how best to advance their own personal and not national interests in the belief that the nation has no connection to their own actions and choices?
The mirror cannot lie. It exposes where the real problem is i.e. the very person who complains about the actions of other people and yet oblivious to his/her own actions. If we put a mask on our faces, the mirror will have no choice but to hide our identities. If we choose to be the change, the mirror will only reflect the change that we would have invested in.
We have myriad of challenges that require urgent action. It is often easy to point fingers at others while forgetting that it is only when we look at ourselves that we can begin to ask the right questions.
When the man in the mirror changes, the environment around him/her also changes. I told Bimi and Tsepiso that there is nothing that stops them from setting up, for instance, a New Mutual that can start with the three of us buying airtime together and sharing our networks.
In the quest for economic power, it is easy to be confused. Instead of a long walk to freedom, we all would want a short walk to the bank. For what is freedom without the means to enjoy it? In need, freedom is latent and yet the freedom we desire can only manifest itself when we choose to do something about it.
The poor are many in the valley and yet it is from the poor that leaders emerge and millionaires are born from. A millionaire is just another human being who chooses to look in the mirror and see what he/she wants to see. The people who at each transaction point exchange either time or money for goods and services make millionaires each day.
Great nations are a product of ordinary people who when they work together accomplish extraordinary outcomes. The 5,000 South Africans who knew what time it was showed that it is possible for a small group of determined people to change the course of history.
MJ, through song, has provided us with the words that we need to listen to carefully as we seek a higher moral and economic ground from which to pass own our heritage to future generations. Future generations may not remember the arguments and excuses we make in our quest to close our eyes when we look at the mirror but will not be blind to the products of the actions and choices we make.
Tsepiso, like Bimi, wants a better life for herself but I told her that no-one has the obligation to uplift her but she can start by looking at herself in the mirror. She lives in Soweto and it would be futile for her to expect that the future will come from the environment that she lives in, and she has a choice like all of us to either remain in the comfort zone or create circumstances that will give her access to the kind of people that can positively impact her future.
I gave her an undertaking that I will join her for lunch next week in Soweto and more importantly, I will invite my friends to join me so that we can work in the network that opens doors to the excluded.