The exit from the political stage of the post-colonial leaders ushered in a decline in the quality of African leadership — and brought the start of a generation of military rulers with little or no vision.

Notwithstanding capacity limitations, several of these leaders — notably Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Patrice Lumumba and Gamal Abdul Nasser — inspired their people and exuded a high sense of nationalism and patriotism in most of their activities.

They were less concerned, for example, about material accumulation unlike the succeeding generation of continental leadership. To the list can be added Nelson Mandela who fortunately is still with us and represents the moral conscience of the continent.

The exit from the political stage of the post-colonial leaders ushered in a decline in the quality of African leadership and the start of a generation of military rulers with little or no vision. A good many of these rulers dehumanized, terrorized and impoverished their population by looting their treasury.

To assure their unassailable grip on power, they invested not in human capacity or food production, or shelter for the teeming millions of homeless, but instead in military hardware and adventurism, lavish lifestyles and grandiose projects of little relevance to economic performance.

These so-called new generation leaders spared no effort in keeping the people disunited by pandering to ethnic

The election of the first female president in Africa has certainly sent an unmistakable message of a growing need for an alternative leadership style on our continent.

and religious sentiments among the largely illiterate population.

They indulged in systematic plunder of the people’s resources and deliberately worked toward minimizing the significance of qualitative education — an element so indispensable to the growth and development of Africa.

Ultimately, in perpetuating themselves in power, they ushered in a cycle of military overthrow and violence. Only recently has Africa ushered in a new path of governance, a new leadership committed to peace, democracy and development.

If I were to set the parameters of my understanding and appreciation of those elements that make for good leadership, especially in post-conflict situations, I will submit that the characteristics for leadership in many situations call for competence in a body of knowledge or discipline, integrity and responsibility of action for guidance — and courage and clarity to focus on the core values and principles that is expected of the one who leads by inspiration and motivation.

Today in Liberia, as we strive to usher in a new era of democratic governance in our post-conflict dispensation, the challenges of leadership must be assessed against the backdrop of years of a system of centralized and dictatorial rule that subordinated the state to the whims of an imperial Presidency with enormous power.

I believe that our recent post-conflict elections have settled a long-running political leadership struggle — and

We must take the lead in dismantling the imperial Presidency. This includes the liquidation of some of the prerogatives that made the Liberian Presidency a demi-god-like institution.

opened up a vista of opportunity for a new Liberia based on the tenets of good governance.

I believe also that the election of the first female president in Africa has not only broken the glass ceiling in this hitherto area of male preserve, but has certainly sent an unmistakable message of a growing need for an alternative leadership style on our continent.

I am equally convinced that the outcome of our election and our development agenda offers a ray of hope to a population in search of a new type of leadership. A leadership that is visionary, courageous and strong enough to address the numerous challenges facing our nation and our continent.

For me this is not a mere wish or a day dream. Our government is determined to bring to the leadership of our people, a high sense of respect for the rule of law, for protection of human rights and the dignity of all of our people ever mindful of their hopes and aspirations to achieve their potential in a secured environment of competitive productive endeavor.

Indeed, the new dispensation calls for a new set of values and morals if we are going to be up to the leadership challenges that confront us, as we emerge out of the debris of near self-annihilation and state collapse.

We must take the lead in dismantling the imperial Presidency. This involves the task of presiding over the liquidation of some of the prerogatives and trappings which have made the Liberian Presidency a demi-god-like institution.

Africa's so-called new generation leaders spared no effort in keeping the people disunited by pandering to ethnic and religious sentiments.

This requires not only a passionate commitment to democratic governance but a healthy dose of personal modesty, quiet self-assuredness and a vision of one's own place in history — not as a demi-god, but as a worthy citizen.

We are hopeful that with the political will now evident, we can use the widow of opportunity provided by our post conflict circumstance to design and implement the appropriate reforms that will make Liberia a truly democratic, participatory and just political order.

What we are up against as the new generation of leaders are populations that are war-battered, traumatized, impoverished and largely cynical.

What is needed in the circumstances is a leadership that inspires hope and optimism. One that is short on rhetoric and grandstanding — and long on positive actions and implementable policies aimed at demonstrating to our disenchanted people that indeed a new and progressive leadership day has dawned in Liberia.

One that is regionally oriented in its outlook and attitude with the capacity and the political will for peaceful regional coexistence.