Chamisa in the eyes of the outside world, could he be the face of the renascence of African democracy?

Too much publicity is being given to the western media styles and tastes of who is fit to become a leader and ruler of countries where they have huge historical investments and prospects for more investments. Obviously the west and particularly those who had interest in colonization want to maintain connections with the former colonies. Perhaps Africa has more people in denial hence the quest to measure our success by what is said by the western media. We forget our politics is far much behind because we are also so far behind and suffer from a catch up syndrome. Many of us forget where we come from and where we were taken to and who had taken us down there. We claim to talk of fair play while simultaneously inscribing to new rules that deny the game ever existed. We destroy our evidence enabling the west to always expect us to answers to questions their own way often rejecting any implied sense a statement may convey.

Can Nelson Chamisa be judged cruelly for how he answered the BBC hard talk program however we define truth from lies? In my culture confronting someone with you lied statement is offensive. It could even be misconstrued for being disrespectful if and when considered in terms of one colour questioning the other. Ironically it conjures in one a sense of defense mechanism and therefore likely to antagonize relationships between people and organizations. The journalist veteran though he is was spiteful in his questioning and unless we speak against such treatment we remain tools of mockery. One thing I have found in independence is to speak up against oppressive tendencies in any context I sense social injustice therefore may not necessarily agree with. People may see elements of differences in opinions but when statements that border on disrespect in any context that could explode to racialism come up it is better that we take diversity caution into account and find more diplomatic way of putting it. It sometimes becomes a way of seeking to dress down each other in politics also and to hope to gain advantage over others. A lesson that comes through all this though is that emphasis may be on the need for MDC Alliance working together by surrounding the leader not necessarily with people they know but whose record of handling public affairs are credible and with a mature mind.  Undeniably the culture of political rallies addressing world over is fraught with inaccuracies, some serious and others inconsequential.
 
 MDC alliance ought to come out better in how best to surround leadership with skills for referral through experienced and the maturity of advisors. There are many persons of strong backgrounds in international diplomacy with local skills, knowledgeable, and credible who will take no nonsense position strengthening the office of the President.  It is hurtful seeing what destroys Africa raising its ugly head, namely, the failure to advice with ingenuity, originality and commitment. Watching the MDC build up and breaking apart has made worst bad experiences on both the led and the leaders. While we might blame colonialism for divide and rule we forgot that is it not about colonialism but about lack of organizational skills and the self-restraint discipline that work for team building strategies or for outright malice in order to emerge as ruler by maneuver and innuendos. This is what I can openly call lying when intentions are to disadvantage many for the benefit of few. After all even democracy has its own flows that are not necessarily constitutional but interpretive and personality related. It is not democracy that matters but the genuineness behind the mind for democratic tenets and their upholding.

Nelson Chamisa so far has portrayed that candour of courage and the hope for a vision to enlighten African horizons to far brighter future through talks against oppressive methods and systems. One only reminds Nelson Chamisa that Africa and the world watched the likes of Yoweri Museveni claim they will obey the voice of the people in vain. Today Yoweri Museveni neither understands the vocabulary of the word term of office nor does he believe in elections being free and fair. He talks of elections being free and fair but exercises authority differently constraining opposition and favouring his own party in government. Opposition is tortured and harassed; there is much suffering for anyone who talks of democracy in the independent Africa than in colonial Africa except that race was the pretext of our so-called revolutionary actions. Paul Kegame of Rwanda, proclaiming himself a revolutionary and a man who will listen to people's wishes when he came to power, has kept believing he is better than everybody and therefore extending the term of his stay in office.  He has exceeded two terms in power, through in part, brutality in the suppressing of the opposition politics. The language of African leadership has so far run short of measuring hope against reality. Pierrie Nkrunzira President of Burundi has been dishonesty, cruel and a dynasty than a democrat. He too is going for a third term in office with disputed election results. He has not listened to anyone but went ahead to declare himself a leader for another term. Using military power Africa paints a picture we do not understand the meaning of being elected and if we do we decide on dictatorship as the mode of leadership.
 
All this has to do with three things in politics of decay. To begin with, the either our young or the elderly of our nations have risen to show maturity and to give counsel on good practices of governance. Rather, they have emerged to contest for power and to jail and crush any contester causing rifts in trust and instead grew suspicion that has catapulted into many tragedies now and before. Secondly, the role of advisors is still in its infancy in the post-colonial era politics of Africa partly due to too much desire for power than the need to deliver service to the people. Lastly, the misplaced ambition by those given honour to be advisors turning up instead to be architectures of ruin designing the deposal of their leaders than growing them up into best leadership for the nation, has made worse in trust of having an advisor. Thirty-eight years of Mr. Mugabe Zanu-Pf rule could be a negative effect if it encourages such empty leadership ambition to to seed in Africa and ruin thriving nations into poor countries from lack of accountability, transparency in leadership.

We must caution that Africa has for a long time hated the word advisors mainly among the so-called educated of baby boomers ages because traditional African chiefs had village heads who acted as advisors to the chief. The chief never did anything on the village without consulting with the village head. When it concerned the community the chief had to hold his chief's court and deliberate on issues then promulgate rules for the community. There were no greater differences between the modern day legislative methods and the chief village court except that the modern legislature is bureaucratic and impersonal while the chief's court was very humane and personal.

If history has anything to offer it is the lessons we learn historically in the benefits of being good leaders. Chiefs often than not were advisable so as to be good advisors in turn.  Sometimes even a bad leader, when retired and because the decisions do not directly affect him, can be able to give good advice. How then can people in Africa become advisors when possibly they are not given the opportunity to leadership role? Incidentally, for the last sixty years of African independence, few African countries have run political parties that have matured into organizations exercising accountability, transparency, honesty and integrity. It is for this reason the west throws such words at us, as 'you are a leader in a hurry' without even suggesting a solution.  Fair appraisals should show Nelson Chamisa leaving school into politics, envisaging himself a politician, growing ambitious to pursue politics, learning the ropes to where he is today. This could just be one example of a grooming into leadership if we rally behind each other to build a successful democracy in Zimbabwe that encourages leadership succession.

 No doubt post-colonial Africa relationship with the colonial masters became strained since the colonial master had a do-not-let go mentality and retained remote control-patronage- on African post-colonial leadership. Emotionally this caused further strain when colonies after independence refused subservience to the colonial masters' directives asking instead to maintain their independence and sovereignty.

What then if anything makes the African governments oscillate out and into clubs run by the former colonial masters if not to learn to comply with rule of law and accept constitutional changes?  On one hand why do the African governments fear association of former colonial master with any opposition political party? All these questions suggest the lack of trust as major cause for these unfinished issues on politics of attitude, control and support. The good thing is Nelson Chamisa admits to being a revolutionary therefore has the ambition to break away from tradition and needs support from all who want the country free from Zanu-Pf dictatorship of any shape and form. If the system is well built to know that the young and old have been pillars under the same roof in order to make strong suspension and resistance to colonialism, then working together under new dispensation while it may prove difficult and a challenge, it should be party of revolting against the thirty-eight years of ruin and the misrule of Zanu-Pf party and government.

Is Chamisa an angel? Like any human, he is fallible. Will he legislate for harsh laws against human rights and oppress opposition political organizations?  Nobody knows but since he has also opted to be the man of the cloth and a lawyer, he will have enough common sense to value human life above and beyond everything else. Given good support from good natured citizens he could deliver an alternative to Zanu-pf best for the country at the moment. Zimbabwe needs to learn the value of being free than having a few ingratiating to collaborate with greedy politicians while the majority are suffering.  Zimbabwe, given good governance practices, has enough resources to create industry in the country and provide jobs for the children coming out of the schools. Hopefully Nelson Chamisa would rise above politics and build a coalition of all opposition parties that win a seat in the Senate or Parliament for reconciliation purposes and a solid foundation of our nation building. We have to accept learning to cooperate and working together on a philosophy of agreeing to disagree but to give voice to majority in order to bring rule of law in the country.  God bless Zimbabwe and the proper usage of its resources.