It is imperative for the present generation to introspect on the trials and tribulations that we as a people have experienced and attempt to make a proclamation on the course of direction which we must pursue.
In his 1979 book, Unity and Struggle, Amilcar Cabral said: “We must avoid the obsession of some comrades that everything is spoiled, everything is over if they should leave the posting where they are. Nobody is indispensible in this struggle; we are all needed but nobody is indispensible.
“If someone has to go and goes away and then the struggle is paralysed, it is because the struggle was worthless … this is without mentioning cases of other comrades who think when they are transferred, they are going to die, because they have already established all conditions for working in one spot and are called upon to go to another. What blindness! As if our land were just a little corner! This shows a lack of awareness of the real reason, the aim and characteristics of our struggle.”
Our struggle for the liberation of Zimbabwe was not fought by Zanu PF alone. It was Zimbabwe’s struggle for self rule and independence, and all living in it fought and felt it. Its aspirations, hopes and dreams were aimed at ending all forms of discrimination, facilitate equitable access to the country’s resources and the greater enjoyment of a peace of mind which comes with such freedoms. It was never a personal struggle -- each and every man and woman played a part in ensuring that the settler regime was dismantled.
With the coming of independence in 1980, the nation lost its way in the euphoria of the black administration coming into power. We literally surrendered our rights into the hands of other men to define and chart the course of our destiny. In this, we allowed man and woman to build fiefdoms and empires of immortality aimed at self preservation as opposed to serving the nation
Personalities grew in stature and the national image dwindled. As Cabral clearly stated in his historical narratives, we need to deal with the ‘irreplaceables’ in our body polity.
The Southern African Development Community through its organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation seems to have struck the correct code. What it did on March 31, 2011, was to remind the political leaders of Zimbabwe on the virtues of the liberation struggle which they were fast forgetting.
Impliedly, the resolutions seem to point to the fact that the concept of sovereignty comes with responsibilities for the state actors.
The main challenge which confronts Zimbabwe today is too much investment in personalities. We are fast moving towards creating cults in our political leaders. Our artists are now relegated to dedicating their creative prowess in praise singing. It’s like the country pulse at one moment is on pause as dance, song, poetry and other forms of art congest media prime time slots in a bid to immortalise the mortals. Truly, these are not the founding principles on which the liberation struggle was waged. What the country fought for was the freedom to choose and other freedoms including living in peace.
Zanu PF has lost its legitimacy and mandate to see through the aspirations of Zimbabweans. The MDC factions, on the other hand, seem to be trapped in the political methodologies and facing challenges in interpreting the stage at which we have reached in the journey of the liberation struggle. This is a stage of understanding the realities of the nation, managing to lead the nation from the realities and providing practical solutions to these realities.
There is need for an overhaul of our politics, drifting away from the personification process towards a configuration of Zimbabwe where every man and woman is equal.
Tabani Moyo can be contacted at rebeljournalist@yahoo.com
