The naming of the world’s tallest building after President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan was a great gesture.
This act by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, during the spectacular opening ceremony on January 4 can only be described as blessed.
It stands as a grand testimony to the deep brotherly feelings between the two great leaders, made stronger by the ties of blood between them.
This reminds me of the poem I addressed to Shaikh Mohammad on the occasion of his third accession anniversary in January 2009.
In it, I said to Shaikh Mohammad: “You are to Zayed and his sons kindred in roots and legacy.”
In fact, I do not want to talk here about Burj Khalifa as a marvellous engineering masterpiece, an iconic building or a great achievement that draws the attention of people from all over the world. This is because such talk is on everyone’s lips wherever we go.
Instead I want to shed light on Shaikh Mohammad’s outstanding ability to take charge of public affairs perfectly and direct them towards the right track, and his creativity and insistence on excellence.
And if these two qualities wise leadership and artistic creativity are combined in a leader, they effectively help in achieving high quality results and production.
In fact, the perfect performance of the leadership adds quality and effectiveness to production and adds an exceptional degree of excellence and uniqueness to the leader.
Most important is the ability of Shaikh Mohammad to develop a harmonious multinational society that embodies the perfect coexistence between people from various nationalities and cultural backgrounds.
It is a society based on the principles of coexistence, which makes one enjoy the feeling of solidarity and accepting the other, as well as the feeling of reassurance and psychological stability.
If you examined the faces among the crowds of people who came from different parts of the country, whether Emirati citizens or expatriate residents, to see the opening of Burj Khalifa, you would have noticed the joyful look on these faces.
This would make one realise that Dubai is seen by all these people as the city of goodwill, love and peaceful coexistence.
In Dubai, anyone can see the city’s unique cultural diversity and the unlimited harmonious coexistence enjoyed by all people living here undisturbed.
No one can claim exclusive rights to this urban and refined existence or the right to reap the fruits.
A few might occasionally appear from among the majority of people calling for selfish privileges and disturb others by this unacceptable call, but such incidents remain few and far between.
In short, establishing an advanced civil society and highlighting its civilised image within the framework of human solidarity are not Shaikh Mohammad’s only achievements — however, they suffice to make him a great leader.
Shaikh Mohammad will go down in history as a capable and sound leader and his acts will always stand as landmarks of honesty, firm will and determination.
Abdul Ghaffar Hussain is a UAE researcher and writer.
