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Obi Egbuna Jnr Simunye
AS President Mugabe leads Zimbabwe’s delegation for the UN, the African world, primarily those who are comfortable in their own skin and embrace the fighting spirit of our bravest warriors, past and present, eagerly anticipate how Mother Africa’s boldest voice will tackle subjects in the backyard of the world’s most dangerous and volatile nation.

One of the most delightful aspects of this gathering is watching African heads of state, in particular loudly applaud President Mugabe for raising issues they do not have the vision, courage and integrity to raise on this invaluable platform, while at the same time they have said and done everything imaginable to assure our former colonisers and enslavers they would never take President Mugabe’s approach to governing their respective nations.

All Zimbabweans in particular and Africans in general, who marvel at President Mugabe’s steadfast approach to the African Revolution and Self Determination, all agree that each and every award he has received on behalf of his beloved Zimbabwe are well deserved, yet they only scratch the surface when you begin to learn and appreciate everything he has had to endure for certain political choices made at pivotal phases of both the Second and Third Chimurenga.

President Mugabe’s list of awards include the Jose Marti Award Cuba’s Highest Honour, the Simon Bolivar Award Venezuela’s Highest Honour, Britain’s Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath, The Order of Jamaica, and the Confucius Peace Prize (China’s equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize). For the sake of argument we as Mother Africa’s children at home and abroad dare the raise the question is President Mugabe deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize?

Depending on where one is positioned on the political ideological spectrum this question is either timely, laughable or all out preposterous, fortunately those of us in favour or more than equipped intellectually not only to make this argument, but win it in a landslide identical to how President Mugabe and zanu-pf trounced former Zimbabwe Prime Minister and US-EU Imperialist hired gun Morgan Tsvangirai in the 2013 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.

The initial task we have is to first and foremost shine light where there is darkness on who the Nobel Peace Prize is named after one Mister Alfred Bernhard Nobel the world renowned Chemist, Engineer, Inventor, Businessman and Philanthropist. Mr Nobel was born in 1833 the third son of Immanuel Nobel an inventor and engineer, as the story goes the Nobel family lived in abject poverty and only Alfred and his three brothers survived childhood.

The father moved the family to St Petersburg the second largest city in Moscow and started focusing on machine tools and explosives, this included inventing modern plywood and working on the torpedo. While studying in Paris Mr Nobel befriended Arcanio Sobrero who invented Nitroglycerin, which since Nobel is credited with inventing Dynamite, gives credence to the ever old adage friends of a feather flock together. When Nobel came to the United States he studied Chemistry under the inventor John Ericcson who designed the American Civil War ironclad USS Monitor.

In 1857 Nobel filed his first English patent for a gas meter, three years later he received a Swedish patent on ways to prepare gunpowder. The next year a shed used to prepare Nitroglycerin exploded in Stockholm killing five people including his younger brother, around this time Nobel invented a detonator and a blasting cap. The Nobel family produced armaments for the Crimean War which lasted from 1853 to 1856, the Nobel Family had to file for bankruptcy due to difficulty of switching back to Domestic production once the war ended.

After inventing dynamite in 1867 Mr Nobel wasn’t satisfied; he went on to invent gelignite in 1875, which was considered more stable and powerful, and later on gelignite, a predecessor of cordite. While Mr Nobel was working around the clock as the mad scientist, his brothers Ludvig and Robert amassed a fortune in exploiting oilfields along the Caspian Sea, in the spirit of brotherly love Mr Nobel invested in this venture and also laughed all the way to the bank. By the time of his death Mr Nobel had issued 355 patents internationally, established more than 90 armament factories, when Ludvig died, French newspapers mistakenly thought is was Mr Nobel passed on and an obituary was published with the title “Le march and de la mort est mort” which means in English the merchant of death is dead.

When the history of Mr Nobel is taken into consideration to have the world’s most coveted Peace Prize named after him is not only abomination, it is worse than naming what is considered the world’s most important scholarly distinction after the conqueror of South Africa and Zimbabwe Cecil John Rhodes. For this reason we would clearly understand if President Mugabe would politely decline if he was informed that he was indeed a recipient, we wonder if the thought to rescind their awards until Mr Nobel’s name is removed, ever crossed the minds of the 14 Africans who have this award on their trophy case.

That list includes Ralph Bunche,Madiba Nelson Mandela, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Ghovee, Anwar Sadat, Albert Luthuli, Dr Martin Luther King,Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Toni Morrison, Derek Walcott, Kofi Annan, Wangahi Maathai,W. Arthur Lewis, Wole Soyinka and Kofi Annan and Barack Obama. The tragedy of this is we are quite sure if it was announced the world that President Mugabe is a recipient, many of those of African ancestry who have had this award bestowed on them, would not hesitate to attack President Mugabe and do everything in their power short of committing suicide.

A strong argument can be made that distancing themselves from President Mugabe and zanu-pf played a crucial role in many of these individuals securing their nominations, it is no coincidence that the Madiba, Mrs Sirleaf, Mr Soyinka, Mr Annan, Archbishop Tutu and Mr Obama have either worked for President Mugabe’s political demise or uttered words from their mouths that created the political atmosphere for US-EU Imperialist regime change agenda that considers President Mugabe and zanu-pf their primary target in Africa.

One can only imagine the tone of President Mugabe’s acceptance speech that more that likely denounce AFRICOM (The US-Military Africa Command) which would bring tears to the face of President Sirleaf since she is Africa’s strongest advocate. If President Mugabe was to ask Archbishop Tutu as a man of God why would you call for Zimbabwe to be militarily invaded all hell would break loose. President Mugabe could ask Mrs Maathai if she considers Zimbabwe’s Land Reclamation Programme an authentic example of revolutionary environmentalism.

President Mugabe could then evoke the spirit of the Madiba and raise the point since his brother said there was a tragic absence of leadership in Zimbabwe, how comfortable sharing power with former Apartheid ruler Frederick De Klerk.

President Mugabe could then tell Mr Soyinka that Neo-Colonialist Literature is the biggest threat to our efforts towards decolonisation. President Mugabe could save the best for last and ask Mr Obama how could any true son of Africa bomb Libya in such a sadistic manner and extend sanctions on Zimbabwe for eight years in a row. President Mugabe could ask the entire Nobel Peace Prize Committee why have they been silent on US-EU Sanctions on Zimbabwe.

We are more than certain President Mugabe would reach the conclusion of the French Existentialist Author and Man of Peace Jean Paul Sartre who rejected his nomination in 1964, and tell the committee who continues to promote this award in the name of a merchant of death thanks but no thanks. Obi Egbuna Jnr is the US Correspondent to The Herald and the External Relations Officer of ZICUFA(Zimbabwe Cuba Friendship Association). His email is [email protected]