ZAPU commemorates Dr Joshua Nkomo, the President Zimbabwe never had

As the nation of Zimbabwe commemorates the life of Dr Joshua Nkomo, ZAPU is saddened by the state of affairs in the country the man spent all his life fighting for.

Quite unfortunate for Zimbabweans, Dr Nkomo did not get to realize the aspirations he shared with millions of Zimbabweans as he did not live to see the day policies of the party he led being implemented. The opportunity was first lost when clueless ZANU PF was aided to power by the western powers of Britain and America to the detriment of the national vision that drove and fueled the liberation struggle.

The second opportunity was missed when natures call had to be answered this day in 1999, when the nation was robbed of its father, liberator and leader. It became a case of a president that Zimbabwe never had.

Father Zimbabwe, who endured the humiliation of being hunted down like a rat by the Zimbabwean government under Robert Mugabe during the Gukurahundi genocide remained humble and chose peace and saving lives over state power. Such is the humility the man possessed, a quality our nation so badly needs today especially from the current dictatorship of  Mugabe and ZANU PF.

Since the departure of the great visionary and father of the nation, Zimbabwe was plunged into all forms of anarchy and disorder with corruption, nepotism, tribalism, looting and sheer disregard of the constitution becoming the order of day. It became clear as to who was fighting these vices while it exposed Mugabe's government both as instigators and perpetrators of these vices that has seen the demise of the once prosperous and strong economy to become a huge heap of ruins.

ZAPU today relives the values Dr Nkomo possessed and inculcated in the party and people of Zimbabwe, as we conscientize our fellow citizens to live by these truths and vision for the nation. We are however consoled by the fact that many Zimbabweans are now sobering up and embracing the values and aspirations of a democratic nation whose citizens are treated with equality and dignity as taught by the great liberator who was ZAPU's first President.

His were aspirations of nation building with equality, dignity and fairness being cornerstone values of a democratic nation state of Zimbabwe. He abhorred tribalism and racism as practiced by the current government. He abhorred corruption which has today crippled the country's economy. Violence was never part of his vocabulary.

As we remember the great Father Zimbabwe, we will always strive to return Zimbabwe to where and what it should be, that is at peace, equality and an economic powerhouse it was. This can only be achieved when we all revisit and embrace Dr Nkomo's values of peace building and respect for human life. The liberator he was, he conserved human life and that must be emulated, even by the current regime in Zimbabwe that feds on blood of innocent citizens who have died of poverty induced hunger and from violence that has been meted on them since 1980.