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Zimbabwe fans celebrate a six by Zimbabwe batsman Stuart Matsikenyeri during the second Twenty20 international match between New Zealand and Zimbabwe at Seddon Park in Hamilton on February 14, 2012. — AFP

Elliot Ziwira Correspondent
IF we combine, the resilience in you My sister; coupled with your motherly glow, your robust attitude brother, our little brother’s intellect and analytical prowess, our great friend’s business acumen and our mother’s never say die spirit, don’t you think we will build a formidable fortress for our descendants?

Dear citizen, friend and countryman, a man whose heart harbours vengeance as opposed to forgiveness cannot also forgive himself, and as such he is the one who suffers the most.

In his mortal struggle against himself, he does not only inflict pain on himself   but the resultant scars will always be evident years after his demise. A man who fights against a losing battle against himself is he that looks in the mirror, and sees a man of colour, a white man.

An Asian, a Ndebele, a Zezuru, a Kalanga, a korekore or a Manyika, instead of seeing a Zimbabwean. We pride ourselves in being peace loving and tolerant but, is that what is reflected when we take a closer look at ourselves in the mirror? The scars that we inflict on ourselves and others, are they not a true reflection of our violent nature?

A few months before his assassination on October 15, 1987, the Burkinabe revolutionary, Thomas Sankara, who at one time rode a bicycle to work before he upgraded, at his Cabinet’s insistence, to a Renault 5-one of the cheapest cars available in Burkina Faso at the time”, (Paula Akugiziwe, Journalist), quipped that: “While revolutionaries as individuals may be murdered (or die), it is difficult to kill ideas”. A lot can be discerned here, in relation to the African story in general and pertinently the Zimbabwean one.

Great revolutionaries like Robert Mugabe, Julius Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah and Samora Machel, as individuals may exit the scene, but their ideas will remain behind as a legacy. Individuals per se are, therefore, not greater than their own ideas because they are outlived by them — so the ideas that they leave behind, may not only be a true reflection of their nature but may also surpass even their own expectations. It suffices that a revolutionary, as a mortal being departs the world but the revolution remains. Hence, as a product of the revolution, the revolutionary is not greater than it. As it is premised on ideology, the revolution is inheritable; that is why it remains perpetually on course after the demise of its pioneers-mere mortals.

It is against this backdrop that the great African revolutionary, President Robert Mugabe, in the interview with ZBC on the eve of his 90th birthday, advises his lieutenants about the folly of dangling the tribal carrot in the face of the people as this is detrimental to nation building.

He reminds them that as the custodians of the revolution, they are answerable to the people — the owners of the revolution.
The peace we are enjoying in this country has been a result of our leadership ability to play down the tribal scourge, which is rearing its ugly head to the surface as events on the political landscape suggest and the President’s speech confirms.

Political careers that hinge on regionalism do not only scathe individuals, but the wounds are also a great pain to the entire nation, as it fans acrimony and violence. Those with true political clout should have their mettle tested in the national fray instead of bullying others in the provinces.

The scriptures tell us that a prophet is never appreciated in his own town. This in itself does not mean that he ceases to be a prophet. It simply means that he should spread his wings and help others besides those from his own community. If he remains in his hometown, his prophecies will become questionable as they will not be clearly separated from reality-the reality that he already knows. But, if his reputation grows in other provinces, as is the case with true prophets, then, naturally, he remains a hero in his home area.

The late nationalist and vice president, Joshua Nkomo, earned the title Father Zimbabwe because of his unifying ideas. Despite being born Ndebele, his star shined brightest in Harare, formerly Salisbury, where his political career took shape. The values that he embraced as a Zimbabwean and not a descendant of Mzilikazi of the Khumalo tribe that left Zululand in the later part of the 19th Century, brought not only freedom to the Zimbabweans but the much needed Unity Accord of 1987.

On the other hand Ndabaningi Sithole and his Zanu Ndonga party dangled the regional carrot after falling out of favour with his Zanu counterparts — as a result he could not make a national appeal. His death marked the disintegration of the fortunes of his party.

Wilson Khumbula his successor could not escape the bane of tribalism, and as a result his traditional grip on the Chipinge region loosened, thus confining his party to the dustbins of history. As a prophet his prophecies had become too predictable to be of any impact on the national fray. The same can be said of Edgar Tekere and his Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM). It was modelled on regional ideologies.

The opposition today is driving itself into irrelevance because of regionalism. At its inception the MDC fuelled tribalism through acceptance that one from a particular tribe cannot be accepted nationally. This is evident in the party’s executive structures, and the incessant internal squabbles. Tribalism will really be its death knell.

All Zimbabweans who cherish their country should know that a divided team will never win any competition. A divided team is prone to outside interferences. Zanu-PF as the custodian of the revolution, should not let the people down, by hijacking and running away with it along tribal or racial lines.

During the liberation struggle we were supported by others who were not of our race and we sometimes found ourselves pitted against those of our creed, which is testimony that a Zimbabwean is not only that of colour.  Among our national heroes are people of other races who considered themselves Zimbabwean through their support of the people’s revolution. This pen knows for a fact, that there are graves at St Paul’s Musami Mission, of white priests and nuns who were brutally murdered by the apparatus of Ian Smith’s machinations because of their open support for our liberation struggle. We have people of other races here who pride themselves in being Zimbabwean but who feel ostracised because some of their flock spat in the open hand of reconciliation extended to them.

They should not be punished because of the sins of their fathers in the same way that tribalism should not be fanned because of past differences that we only know of through folklore.

We should embrace each other as a nation, devoid of the colour or tribal bars as siblings are wont to do. It is that which gives us pride as a people and helps in preserving the gains of our liberation struggle, knowing that constructive divergent views do not always constitute enmity.

The President’s dream has always been unity, prosperity and peace for his people as it is this that consolidates the economic freedoms enshrined in the revolution which however seem to be under siege as a result of individuals who “want to be seen first and foremost as regional leaders and not national leaders”.