JUST like any mortal person, second Republican president Frederick Chiluba may obviously not have been a perfect man.
Yet Dr Chiluba’s character as well as some of the things the late Zambian president did for fellow Zambians and the country at large are just too humane to be ignored.
Foremost, Dr Chiluba’s acquaintances and even those privileged enough to be close to him described him as a powerful speaker with a natural charm and charisma.
Dr Chiluba’s charismatic personality endeared him perfectly well to many Zambians.
His being raised on the Copperbelt perhaps contributed to Dr Chiluba taking up unionism, first as a trade unionist, a career that included the chairmanship of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions, and later as a politician.
A combination of all these culminated into him easily winning the 1991 presidential election. It is no doubt that under Dr Chiluba’s tenure, Zambia changed greatly, and a lot of these changes were for the good of the country.
For instance, as Dr Kenneth Kaunda is referred to as the father of the nation, having spearheaded Zambia’s independence struggle, Dr Chiluba is the father of Zambia’s democracy.
Under Dr Chiluba’s 10-year rule, multiparty democracy thrived in Zambia, with more than 30 political parties registered.
In addition, many people believe that the freedom of speech allowed under the presidency of Dr Chiluba would have been unthinkable for much of the first Republic.
Moreover, there suddenly emerged in Zambia a lively, free printed media, which sadly is said to have relentlessly and, in many cases, cruelly lampooned the country’s political leadership, including President Chiluba himself.
In a particularly harsh example, a writer Roy Clarke is known to have been running a column which clearly ridiculed the President.
Such public mockery of the presidency and general leadership of Dr Chiluba’s time was, and perhaps still is, unknown in many parts of Africa.
Although the free-market economy Dr Chiluba’s MMD regime embraced did not deliver the much-desired prosperity, the consensus among Zambia’s political class – opposition and government alike – remains that it is the only way forward.
The goal is to make the economy work better, and never to return to the days of price controls.
Lastly, though not least, Dr Chiluba was a fervent born-again Christian who did not only submit his life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ but went a step further, declaring Zambia as a Christian Nation whose clause remains enshrined in the Zambian Constitution to date.
Not surprisingly, Zambia’s second Republican president was acquitted of all corruption charges in August 2009.
All these, coupled with his decision to empower many citizens with housing, have made many Zambians thankful to Dr Chiluba.
We are still mourning this man who passed on shortly after the midnight of June 18, 2011.
Of course it is true that Dr Chiluba may not have left office a popular leader. However, when one looks at his achievements, one would conclude that the man deserves honours, and the way President Edgar Lungu has decided to rename Luapula University after him is just about the best.