Is it easier to be President of Zimbabwe than being a grade 6 teacher?

When schools opened for their first term in 1999, my father - who was a grade six teacher - was summoned to the headmaster's office and was told that, since he had turned 65 years old a few days prior, he was officially retired and could not teach anymore.

I remember being surprised to see him return home, only an hour after he had left for work, looking very dejected.

He had loved teaching - he ate, slept, and talked teaching everyday - and he was very good at his passion.

However, those with the knowhow on these issues have since concluded that - no matter how good and passionate one is at their profession, when they reach 65 years of age, they are too old and can no longer effectively deliver as is expected.

I do not doubt and query these experts' conclusions, as I think they know better.

However, what endlessly baffles my mind is why it is that a teacher can be regarded as being too old to handle a grade six class at 65 years old, and yet a political party can consider a 92 year old to be fit enough to lead a country.

That just does not make any sense.

Are these people telling us that it is far much easier to be the president of a country than it is to be a grade six teacher?

This is exactly what is happening in Zimbabwe today.

If the very same government that is in charge of the civil service agrees that at 65 years old, someone is now incapable of working efficiently, how on earth do they believe that a 92 year old will be able to effectively run a country?

I do not know much about what a president of a country is expected to do on a day to day basis, but as the head of state and commander in chief of the country's defence forces, I would expect the person who fills that post to be in the sharpest of minds - and from what we have already established, someone over 65 years of age is considered incapable of such a responsibility.

Surely, leading a country, especially Zimbabwe - which is experiencing one of the worse periods of its history - requires someone who is at their optimum, not their twilight.

A country facing such economic, political, and social turbulence can not be left on auto-pilot, because the leader is now incapable of being on top of the situation.

The country is in a desperate situation that needs someone who is still mentally agile to tackle these vexing problems head-on.

Needless to say, as the situation stands presently, there can never be any hope of any improvement for the lot of the already overburdened and suffering Zimbabweans.

Both the ruling party and Zimbabweans, as a whole, need to take the problems facing the country very seriously, and elect someone who is still on top of their game.

It is not only brazen cruelty to the suffering people of Zimbabwe, but also reckless for anyone to advocate for the continued presidency of a 92 year old - who is now clearly too old for such a mega task - merely because he 'led' the country's 'liberation' struggle, and is also its founding 'father'.

Whatever it is that he is said to have done for this country's independence - which, ironically, no one else seems to be enjoying - his legacy should be left to the history books.

Similarly, as much as I love and adore my 78 year old mother - and forever grateful to her for bringing me into this world, and nurturing me, with so much love and sacrifice - there are things I appreciate that she is no longer able to do.

That is nature, and is the same road anyone who is blessed enough to reach old age, will inevitably go through.

Just because I acknowledge that she is now too old to do certain things, does not mean that I no longer love and appreciate her.

As such, no matter how some sections of Zimbabwe genuinely adore, and are forever grateful to their leader for whatever role he has played in the country, it is time that they acknowledged that he is now too old to lead an institution as complex as a nation.

They can respect him in other ways, but certainly not by allowing him to continue leading this country.

If they are adamant that he should continue in this role, then that is a serious disservice to this country, and will clearly re-affirm that they do not care at all about the people if this country.

A president should be someone who will be active enough to led in the rival of this economy.

However, such recklessness in supporting someone who is no longer capable of delivering is not helping the country at all, and neither is it helping the president, as his very apparent failures only make him more unpopular.

The year 2018 is just around the corner, and Zimbabweans, especially those from the ruling party have to make the right choice, and elect a leader who is still astute enough to take this country out of the mess that it is in.

This country, and its people are too precious to be toyed around with in this manner, by electing into office someone who is regarded as too old to even teach a grade six class.

° Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist and commentator, writer, and journalist. He writes in his personal capacity, and welcomes any feedback. Please feel free to WhatsApp/call: +263782283975, or email: tendaiandtinta.mbofana@gmail.com. Follow on Twitter: @Tendai_Mbofana