Opinion / Columnist
For the first time in Nigeria 'issues trump regional allegiances' - a lesson for Zimbabwe!
09 Apr 2015 at 07:29hrs | Views
"It appears that, in an unprecedented move, many Nigerians have shifted their voting patterns away from former tribal, religious and regional alliances. This may well be the first Nigerian election where issues trump allegiances," wrote Ayesha Kajee in Al Jazeera.
That must be music to every Nigerian's ears. As for those of us from Zimbabwe and many other such African countries where chaos, confusion, regionalism, tribalism and all the other none issues still rules the roost; we can only hope that we too will reach these new heights of political maturity.
Zimbabweans have completely failed to focus their minds on the nation's burning issues like the national economy's slow but definite match into the abyss and the our chaotic political system that has completely failed to deliver even the most basic human rights like free elections and the right to life itself. The 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA), for example, presented Zimbabwe with the best chance since independence to end the Zanu PF corrupt and oppressive system of government and given that many Zimbabweans across the land were talking about democratic change, one assumed they would focus their minds on the task in hand. Sadly that was not so.
The GPA proposed a raft of democratic reforms necessary to ensure the country next and future elections were free, fair and credible. GPA's proposed a Government of National Unity (GNU) which was tasked to implement the democratic reforms. The GNU was envisaged to last 18 months in the end it lasted five years and still failed to get even one of the reforms implemented. Not one.
Yes have corrupt and incompetent opposition leaders like Morgan Tsvangirai who spent the five years in the GNU gallivanting round the world and chasing women of ill repute instead of implementing the reforms did not help. Still the people themselves would have forced MDC to implement the reforms if they had been paying attention to what was happening.
When the people were given their chance to reject the wishy-washy Copac constitution in the March 2013 referendum which would have forced the GNU to revisit the neglected reforms the people approved the constitution by a staggering 95%. The voted yes on partisan allegiances; MDC supporters believed Tsvangirai's promised the new constitution would deliver free and fair elections and they would not take time off to study the document for themselves.
Of course the July 2013 elections were not free and fair as the people soon realized on elections- day but it was too late! Ever since MDC has since woken up to the reality of implementing the democratic reforms as a prerequisite for free and fair elections although it is clear they do not have the foggiest idea how this will be accomplished now that there is no GPA to back the reforms.
Frankly most of the Zimbabwean voters still do not have a clue what these democratic reforms are about. If these reforms are going to be ever implemented will depend on the electorate voting for the men and women compete to get this job done. How can the voters elect competent leaders when they do not have a clue what the task is the leaders are to carry out!
It is not that the democratic reforms are rocket science, they are simple enough for the voters to understand but, like everything else in this world, it will require the people to sit up and pay attention.
The human brain is the most complex organ on earth. It produces our every thought, action, memory, feeling and experience. There are over one hundred billion nerve cells or neurons all interconnected by to collect, process data and to transmit commands. Each time the neurons is activated it lights up like an electric bulb.
To look at the human brain fired up is like looking down at on a big city like London from thousands of feet in the sky with the city lights stretching into the distant horizons in all directions.
Whereas those from the developed countries have established rules that have allowed nations to live and prosper and explore their surrounding splitting the smallest particles and gaze into deep space. We in the developing country have yet to benefit from the most basic concept like the virtue of drinking water from a deep well and a shallow one. We have the template of what a good and working democratic system of government but, for 35 years now, fail to replicate it so it can deliver even the most basic rights of free vote and right to life.
If the fired human brain is London at night then for those of us in the developing world our brain must be London during the blitz when all lights visible from the sky were turned off! By elevating themselves above petty regional allegiances, Nigerians have reached an important mile stone of their brains lighting up like Lagos lit by campfires and candle light. In Zimbabwe we are still groping in the dark, ZESA's load shedding is set to get even worse; tribal and regional divisions and hatred are being fanned like never before.
That must be music to every Nigerian's ears. As for those of us from Zimbabwe and many other such African countries where chaos, confusion, regionalism, tribalism and all the other none issues still rules the roost; we can only hope that we too will reach these new heights of political maturity.
Zimbabweans have completely failed to focus their minds on the nation's burning issues like the national economy's slow but definite match into the abyss and the our chaotic political system that has completely failed to deliver even the most basic human rights like free elections and the right to life itself. The 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA), for example, presented Zimbabwe with the best chance since independence to end the Zanu PF corrupt and oppressive system of government and given that many Zimbabweans across the land were talking about democratic change, one assumed they would focus their minds on the task in hand. Sadly that was not so.
The GPA proposed a raft of democratic reforms necessary to ensure the country next and future elections were free, fair and credible. GPA's proposed a Government of National Unity (GNU) which was tasked to implement the democratic reforms. The GNU was envisaged to last 18 months in the end it lasted five years and still failed to get even one of the reforms implemented. Not one.
Yes have corrupt and incompetent opposition leaders like Morgan Tsvangirai who spent the five years in the GNU gallivanting round the world and chasing women of ill repute instead of implementing the reforms did not help. Still the people themselves would have forced MDC to implement the reforms if they had been paying attention to what was happening.
When the people were given their chance to reject the wishy-washy Copac constitution in the March 2013 referendum which would have forced the GNU to revisit the neglected reforms the people approved the constitution by a staggering 95%. The voted yes on partisan allegiances; MDC supporters believed Tsvangirai's promised the new constitution would deliver free and fair elections and they would not take time off to study the document for themselves.
Of course the July 2013 elections were not free and fair as the people soon realized on elections- day but it was too late! Ever since MDC has since woken up to the reality of implementing the democratic reforms as a prerequisite for free and fair elections although it is clear they do not have the foggiest idea how this will be accomplished now that there is no GPA to back the reforms.
Frankly most of the Zimbabwean voters still do not have a clue what these democratic reforms are about. If these reforms are going to be ever implemented will depend on the electorate voting for the men and women compete to get this job done. How can the voters elect competent leaders when they do not have a clue what the task is the leaders are to carry out!
It is not that the democratic reforms are rocket science, they are simple enough for the voters to understand but, like everything else in this world, it will require the people to sit up and pay attention.
The human brain is the most complex organ on earth. It produces our every thought, action, memory, feeling and experience. There are over one hundred billion nerve cells or neurons all interconnected by to collect, process data and to transmit commands. Each time the neurons is activated it lights up like an electric bulb.
To look at the human brain fired up is like looking down at on a big city like London from thousands of feet in the sky with the city lights stretching into the distant horizons in all directions.
Whereas those from the developed countries have established rules that have allowed nations to live and prosper and explore their surrounding splitting the smallest particles and gaze into deep space. We in the developing country have yet to benefit from the most basic concept like the virtue of drinking water from a deep well and a shallow one. We have the template of what a good and working democratic system of government but, for 35 years now, fail to replicate it so it can deliver even the most basic rights of free vote and right to life.
If the fired human brain is London at night then for those of us in the developing world our brain must be London during the blitz when all lights visible from the sky were turned off! By elevating themselves above petty regional allegiances, Nigerians have reached an important mile stone of their brains lighting up like Lagos lit by campfires and candle light. In Zimbabwe we are still groping in the dark, ZESA's load shedding is set to get even worse; tribal and regional divisions and hatred are being fanned like never before.
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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