Zimpapers Logo

While some of our urbanites and leaders may have forgotten the values, the rest of the villagers, like this one, will not.

The village soothsayer, the ageless autochthon of wisdom and knowledge has given knowledge using prudent sayings on wisdom itself, judicious encouragements, warnings and even quirky advice on learning, patience, unity, wealth, poverty, community, family, love and marriage — so it helps to grow up in the village.

Zimbabwe, this our Zimbabwe is on the verge of holding watershed elections this monthend, and that election pits veteran nationalist President Mugabe against mainly United States and European Union backed MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
The other Presidential hopefuls add up the numbers and, do elders not say the more the merrier? Welshman Ncube, himself a chip from the same EU-US regime change template, can be a distant or close third.

The truth of the matter is that outside being projects of the West, Tsvangirai would not contest President Mugabe, for, he really admires the man. However, his slave attitude, has allowed the West to force march him into contesting President Mugabe, again and again.

His masters, though, know that Tsvangirai needs “a lot of hand holding” but have no option but to push him on, because in the end, which toy does not need a lot of hand-holding?

He is a toy, a very flexible one, and willing to twist and turn at the handling of the master, yet, no normal man would want to be another man’s toy.
President Mugabe has had many admirers even among his most pronounced opponents.

The full import of it is that they are merely contesting him because they are projects being pushed by foreigners. They are the Trojan horses of the godfathers in the west.
Does anyone still remember what then US ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Charles Ray said when he met President Mugabe one Tuesday afternoon at his Munhumutapa Offices in Harare?

Mr Ray told journalists after the meeting that President Mugabe is a knowledgeable person.
“The man has an encyclopaedia for a brain; any discussion with him is fruitful.”

That came at a time when another former US Ambassador Christopher Dell described Tsvangirai as “weak, indecisive and likely to do what the last person tells him to do”.
Tsvangirai himself, speaking at a conference in Johannesburg, insisted that President Mugabe had a legacy.

“I suppose Robert Mugabe has been portrayed as a demon. But, there is also a positive contribution to our country that he has made. Remember that he is the national liberation hero, and so those are positive things. I suppose there is the personality conflict between a hero and a villain, of which you have to make an assessment. History will have to judge him.”

“He is a founding father of the nation as well as the liberator, rather than the villain he has come to be associated with.”
Finance Minister and MDC-T secretary-general Mr Tendai Biti also poured out his admiration and high regard for President Mugabe, describing him as Zimbabwe itself whose importance would be realised after he is gone.

Minister Biti, once a fierce critic of President Mugabe, said the President was widely misunderstood.
“He is a fountain of experience, knowledge and, most importantly, a fountain of stability. There are a lot of horrible things that would have happened in this country if he had not said, ‘No’.

“History will prove the correctness of this statement. He has been the number one symbol of stability . . . Us, the younger generation, are lucky to have gone through his hands.

“We find counsel and wisdom in him. His importance in this country will be seen once he is gone. When he is gone that is when you will see that this man was Zimbabwe. Some of us who came from different parties have had to learn a lot from the man.’’

Minister Biti said he enjoyed a cordial personal relationship with the President to whom he often turns to for “unlocking’’ any difficult issue.
“When I do my (national) budget I take it to President Mugabe. There has not been a single discussion where he has said, ‘No, no’. He will say, ‘Why don’t you have a relook at this, but he will not use the word ‘no’.

“What I want to appreciate about the man is his capacity to listen, counsel, and, most importantly, his unflappability. It is very important for a leader to listen to both sides (of a story) and not (easily) get angry.’’

On Tuesday March 28 last year, Information Communication Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa lauded Zimbabwe’s education system, attributing it to the visionary leadership of President Mugabe.

Chamisa said it was through President Mugabe’s quality education and efforts that had seen him become a minister at the age of 34.
He was speaking at the launch of the National e-Learning Programme at Chogugudza Primary School in Goromonzi.

“Your Excellency, we are here to celebrate the signature, a footprint and the indelible mark of a successful education system, a system that not only has produced doctors and engineers but a young minister like myself.”

Chamisa hailed President Mugabe as a leader who was in the “cockpit” while leading a team of ministers who are passengers in Zimbabwe’s development plane.
“The President has provided leadership from the cockpit and we are prepared to be the passengers,” he said.

Chamisa did not stop there, he went on to liken President Mugabe to the Biblical Moses and that it was President Mugabe’s wisdom that makes sure the Zimbabwean political plane does not crash.

“When Moses descended from Mount Sinai, he had with him two tablets that had the Ten Commandments, however, today, your Excellency; we will provide you with one tablet (phone).

“This tablet will ensure that you are wiser than all the kings we have known,” said Chamisa.
Despite losing the elections many times, the handlers believe that by trying often, the monkey learns to jump from the tree.

But this election is far too different, it is the grand final. It should be painful for the MDC-T leadership to contest against the man you so respect and look up to, merely because you are being pushed by your masters.

In the end, they all revere President Mugabe, by their own admission. They are into politics for money and power. It is not their calling.
But what EU and the US does not recognise is that a horse can take you to war but will not fight the war. It has its own limitations.