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The rise and rise of Yo Maps

  Yo Maps Originally published in the Zambia Daily Mail  By VICTOR KALALANDA For any ardent follower of Zambian music, there appears to be enough reason to believe that celebrated Zambian artiste Yo Maps (real name, Elton Mulenga) is nothing short of extraordinary. If he was average, as his detractors would desperately have us believe, he wouldn’t have lasted more than six months on the local music scene after releasing his smash hit song “Finally.” He would have disappeared like snow in the summer sun. The unwritten rule in the music industry is that without a decent prior music catalogue, any artiste who happens upon instant fame is destined to become the infamous one-hit wonder. In any cut-throat field of human endeavor, big doors don’t swing on small hinges. The roots must run deeper than outward appearances, or else nothing lasts. For an artiste that keeps exceeding public expectations since rapturously coming to the notice of the nation in 2018, Yo Maps proves that not on
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Making the case for Jito Kayumba's celebrity

 

Jito Kayumba

By Victor Kalalanda, The Pilgrim, October 27, 2023*

For some time now, acerbic critics have been aiming for the jugular of Jito Kayumba, an apparently key advisor to President Hakainde Hichilema at State House. I’ve tried to ignore the sustained criticism, which strikes with metronomic regularity, especially on social media.

I have seen two public pieces that epitomize this criticism. My goal in this column is not to call out the critics, but to engage the crux of their censure in the interest of free thought and debate.

Let me cut to the chase: the critics have been calling for self-effacement in the discharge of duties at State House. They strongly express disapproval for the type of media celebrity Jito has acquired, citing it as a potential cause of discord.

They feel that the president’s advisor shouldn't feature on the cover pages of glossy magazines, associate with journalists, or constantly appear in the media giving opinions on national matters. They also suggest it's inappropriate for him to draw social media fame.

The image they propose is clear: the president’s advisor ought to merge into the background. 

But this is the kind of self-presentation that we should dismiss. It’s the kind of outlook concomitant with timidity, mediocrity, incompetence and unproductivity. If you have worked in any high-profile environment around the world, you know all too well that modesty is a strategy that doesn’t sell.

If you want to be humble by Zambian standards, you don’t really need to work at State House. Perhaps a market stall would be ideal. This is obviously something Jito himself knows too well.  

There is nothing egregiously wrong with media celebrity in relation to officials at State House. It's easy to see why this is a tenable position on this issue. When State House officials like Jito assume prominence, they make the presidency accessible. 

We all know we cannot readily have audience with the president. But we need to know people who can easily reach him. This access shouldn't be the preserve of a single communications officer. It must be distributed. This is particularly true of African settings where oral communication is concomitant with culture.

Every time Jito leaves the hallowed halls of State House and visits the streets, I believe he's able to appreciate politically and economically what is obtaining on the ground and draw on this information when advising the president.

You might say, but where is the intelligence team and their briefs? Unless you think of the intelligence team as some esoteric system, anyone at State House, including the president’s children, can be a source of intel.

It’s also quite unreasonable to attack Jito for simply trying to do his job well. His LinkedIn says he’s the president’s senior advisor and special assistant. In a manner of speaking, he is the president’s right-hand man.

Rather than view him as a disruptor, he should be considered an innovator. The way in which he has mobilized social media in bridging the gap between the public and the presidency illustrates this.

You see, there is a parallel and precedent for this. Jito is like a young Henry Kissinger, who joined the Whie House as an assistant for national security affairs in 1968. Kissinger, in his prime, was like Jito: flamboyant and media savvy. 

Soon he became head of the National Security Council and eventually secretary of state. I can tell you one thing: Kissinger did not rise in such meteoric fashion by being quiet and trying to feign humility. He propelled himself to the notice of the nation and the president then, Richard Nixon.

Henry Kissinger

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said “The only unhappy people about praise is when that praise is going too much toward somebody else.” If some people are upset that Jito is becoming the center of attention, they perhaps need to up their performance rather than try to hush others down in the name of self-deprecating humility.

We have a country to build, and the development will not be televised. We all have to leave the comfortable perch of our homes, including State House, and go out there to grind. Let us serve the nation with honor and dignity rather than calling out names.

*This column was originally published in the Zambia Daily Mail

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