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Golden Jubilee, labeling it as another talk show where African leaders make a show, but do very little.

Really? Just as well the Organisation of African Union was formed before the dawn of the social media, and just as well that Africa fought settler colonialism before the advancement in information and communication technologies. The revolutions waged would never have gone very far with armchair critics saying this and that, sometimes using vulgar language.

In Shona we say, “Rakapepeta rikasiya tsengwa”. Simply put it means brainwashed and bereft of anything useful. We need others to proclaim to us that Africa is the new global growth point. And, we need those who proclaim the message to come, initiate and oversee that growth, while we tear each other apart.

Anyway, I had my Golden Jubilee wow moment when I saw this week’s The Sunday Mail newspaper’s front page picture, with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff greeting President Mugabe while Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni looks on. It summed up what the past fifty years are all about.

Now I turn to author Nyaradzo Mtizira, his works and message all of which dovetail with the just-ended AU Summit and also point to Agenda 2063. For purposes of classification, I will give all the names he is known by: Caleb Nyaradzo Mtizira-Nondo. However, his pen name is Nyaradzo Mtizira.

The author of “The Chimurenga Protocol”, which was published in 2008 and is now a school text, Mtizira will soon be releasing his sixth publication, “The Regime Change Agenda: Focus on Zimbabwe”.

He has also written four books on the HIV and Aids pandemic that are all recommended for use in Zimbabwean schools. They include “Lethal Virus”; “A Deadly Twist of Fate”; “Reproductive Health, HIV and Aids” and “A Multiple Choice Approach to HIV and Aids”.

“The Chimurenga Protocol” was probably the first book to usher him into the literary world.
Its date of publication (2008) is also key to Zimbabwe’s socio-political and economic landscape. In an interview with this writer, Mtizira summed up the book as a “factual historical narrative that gives intellectual support to the land reform and indigenisation agenda that has been driven by President Mugabe and Zanu-PF”. The cover design speaks about this watershed moment with the rising sun signaling a new chapter in the country’s historical walk.

The book ends with the main character Magura reading a newspaper headline: “Land reform restores dignity and wealth to the people.” Crowing victoriously, the cockerel had come home to roost despite the hostile efforts of a decaying Empire. There is no going on land reform, he thought.

“Magura smiled contentedly. Silently, he thanked the dedicated and wise leadership of Zimbabwe. He knew that land reform was secure in the hands of the custodians of the people’s heritage”.

“The Regime Change Agenda: Focus on Zimbabwe” to be published next month is not only an extension of “The Chimurenga Protocol”, but it is intended to be an academic critique on the tactics used by the West to effect the overthrow of democratically-elected sovereign governments with a focus on Zimbabwe. It is an open secret that the regime change agenda was meant to reverse the land reform programme.

In the final chapter of the new book, Mtizira asks a poignant question: “Whither, citizens of Zimbabwe?” As if he is answering the question of their behalf he says, “The year 2013 is indeed the ‘defining moment ‘for the people of Zimbabwe who collectively are standing on the brink . . . The electorate must seek to impose their will at the ballot box; they must vote wisely in the face of an enemy that is shrouded in multiple disguises to confuse the ordinary voter”.

Mtizira does not hide his feelings when he concludes that “this book has cogently set out the case for a “Yes” vote for HE President R.G Mugabe and Zanu-PF”.
He defends his position when he also says, “A ‘Yes’ vote for the incumbent President will ensure that the deaths of 50 000 black men, women and children during the Second Chimurenga will not be in vain; it is clear that the ultimate sacrifice was made by these untold heroes and heroines of our liberation struggle.”

Mtizira is not a member of Zanu-PF’s commissariat or information and publicity section. In fact he is a qualified medical doctor, self-published author and publishing consultant who lives and works in the Diaspora.

He says that he is a Zimbabwean citizen who “believes that the production of literature is a medium in which critical information is disseminated into the communities that are the ultimate target.”

Having a strong parental background in the education field, he seeks to provide to the wider public accurate information about issues that affect their lives. He also says that the recommendation of his books for curriculum use in Zimbabwean schools means that they are well-received amongst the readership, especially the youths.

I also asked Mtizira an important question: the cover designs of both “The Chimurenga Protocol” and “The Regime Change Agenda” do not only show that these are books about Zimbabwe, but they also show that the author is either a Zanu-PF supporter and/or is sympathetic to Zanu-PF’s policies. “And, some readers say that you’re a patriotic Zimbabwean with strong commitment to the ruling Zanu-PF party. Is this a fair assessment, within the context of your writings”, I asked?

He gave a lengthy response: “Yes, this is a fair assessment. I believe that Zanu-PF is the only liberation movement in the world that has achieved its raison d’être, that is the purpose and reason for its existence.

“The People’s Party was formed to regain the political, social and economic power of indigenous Zimbabweans that had been usurped by brutal colonial power, Great Britain in 1890.

“After a sustained series of anti-colonial wars of liberation, the British political establishment and their Rhodesian Rottweiler (Ian Smith) conceded military defeat in 1979 and the Republic of Zimbabwe was born.

“Such passion for all things Zanu-PF leads to the accusation that I am a card-carrying member of Zanu-PF. This is factually incorrect: I am a private concerned Zimbabwean citizen who not only supports this party, but also believes in the ideals, policies and programmes enshrined in the DNA of Zanu-PF.

“These are exciting times that Zimbabweans are living in and I revel in the fact that I am alive to witness the most remarkable socio-economic revolution, carefully managed and driven by an even more remarkable leader in the form of the able HE President R.G Mugabe. Land reform and indigenisation are not solely Zanu-PF projects, they are national projects. Thus, every right-thinking Zimbabwean has an obligation to support HE President RG Mugabe and Zanu-PF. This is how I define patriotism.

“It was with honour that I presented a copy of “The Chimurenga Protocol” to Reverend Jesse Jackson when he was in Harare a few weeks ago on official business. Asking me to summarise the book, I replied that what he was to the black civil rights movement in America, HE President R.G Mugabe is to black economic empowerment in Zimbabwe and Africa. In other words, HE President R.G Mugabe is an enduring icon of comprehensive economic emancipation.”

This is the abridged version of Mtizira the man, his works and his message. Although he started writing in 1996, and is a busy man as a medical doctor, he says that he has a passion for writing on aspects of Zimbabwe’s rich national history and bringing out these aspects on the marketplace of ideas.

But, he decried challenges that publishers, especially self-published authors like him face.
“The challenges of being a self-published author mainly revolve around marketing my books. Marketing requires money and time. Money is needed to do book launches and road-shows to promote my books. Time is needed to ensure that I can fulfil these book launches and road-shows”, he said.

He added that “intellectual property rights is a problem and thinks that in order to curb the rampant illegal mass production of intellectual property, what is needed is tougher legislation on copyright laws and anti-piracy laws. In tandem with tougher legislation, stiffer penalties on wrongdoers will make piracy a less attractive option for tempted individuals.”

But it seems as though he is not deterred since another book, “Yemurai Zimbabwe: A Visitors Guide”, an up market travel book on Zimbabwe is set to be published at the end of July.

Despite their infamous, illegible, and okay, “ugly” handwriting, Mtizira is demonstrating that he is a medical doctor who has the time to write. Whether you agree or disagree with his viewpoints is another thing.