The Robert Mugabe 'Big Idea'- why he remains under sanctions

Zimbabwe under President Robert Mugabe has posed a real threat to an economic system that only functions smoothly when resource-abundant African countries remain confined to the edges and the lower ranks of any meaningful global economic activity. This is the same economic system that flourished on the back of cheap slave labour and free resources during slavery and colonialism respectively.

Robert Mugabe represents what can accurately be described as the last outpost and final frontier for genuine African Renaissance. He represents real hope for total economic independence that is meaningful for present and future generations.

It is important to emphasise the word 'meaningful' here and not the misleading narrative of political independence that most if not all African countries had to settle for whilst neglecting real economic freedom. Mugabe has held the fort with unparalleled Pan African resolve which has fully opened the gateway towards genuine economic empowerment and whatever anyone says that is the only route towards economic emancipation. Let us get our facts right from the start, economic independence does not in any way replace global economic interdependence but rather compliments it.

The economic sanctions against Zimbabwe were and are still a retaliatory attack against the country's land reform programme that sought to address a biased land ownership pattern of the colonial era. The reason why President Mugabe remains under sanctions is to send a clear message that any attempt to disturb this unfair economic status quo will be dealt with decisively and in a manner that will turn citizens against their leaders who are working for them rather than against them. The outcome is the emergence of some regime-change outfits nationally and in the countries where Zimbabweans have settled in large numbers.

There are invisible hands everywhere you look and the meddling will not stop until the Robert Mugabe idea of a new economic order and social construct is dead and buried. The stirring happens behind the scenes and the noise is loudest on social media networks and some small corners with unrelated and simple-minded ideas under trees somewhere. It is the usual disconnected ramblings of the purblind black Zimbabweans and their offshore handlers who cynically clutch to the hope of separating Mugabe the man from Mugabe the Idea.

The truth is that this is not an Idea you just erase by sprawling on the pavement outside Africa Unity Square in the hope that someone takes notice, delete the idea from the indigene and the selfless saviours from ashore will regenerate Zimbabwe for us and usher in this 'special kind' of democracy that is so different to what we have in free and independent Zimbabwe.
Mugabe is the symbol of this African economic genesis and to separate this unique symbol from the people is through the continuation of the economic sanctions packaged as 'restrictive measures' or 'travel bans' and to publicly humiliate the Head of State.

The ploy is cleverly designed to make it appear that the economic measures have been lifted to save the ordinary man and woman on the street and all that remains is the Robert Mugabe for the alleged 'violation of human rights'.

The fact that President Mugabe remains under any form of sanctions or measures is a direct hit at this African quest not request for economic emancipation. The implied consequence of sanctions on the Head of State is that the entire country is excluded from any meaningful dealings as this deliberately and disingenuously creates the impression that Zimbabwe is bad for business in the eyes of potential investors.

The intended outcome of this scenario is that the ordinary person who continues to shoulder the burden of the economic sanctions views President Mugabe as the main source of their suffering. How in God's name do you deal with an entire government whilst excluding the Head of that Government?  That is underhanded, condescending and deliberately meant to demean a man whose ideas threaten the elite club of those who will stop at nothing until the economic status quo is restored.

If sanctions on Heads of State were based on 'violations of human rights' and 'democracy promotion'  then definitely Mr Li Keqiang and King Abdullah bin Abddulaziz will be right on top of the list. The talk of human rights violations in China from Western circles are always in the form of hushed rebukes owing to the Chinese economic muscle. China is owed money and a lot of it.

King Abdullah bin Abddulaziz owns oil and a lot of it. He who owns a lot calls the shots. President Mugabe owns land and minerals and plenty of the resources, the only problem is that he tampered with a status quo that sought to forever upgrade a settler minority at the expense of an indigenous majority.

President Mugabe was never and will never be forgiven for his radical land reform policy which rectified the racially-skewed land tenure pattern designed by the colonial system. Robert Mugabe's major crime is that he developed insight into Africa's development construct just like Muammar Gaddafi did and just like Gaddafi paid the ultimate price with an inhuman and humiliating murder President Mugabe and Zimbabwe have remained under US economic sanctions and EU so-called restrictive measures or travel bans.

The threat exist not necessarily from Mugabe the man but the big ideas that he has instilled and continue to sow in present and future generations, the principles that he stands for and by without looking back can only be emulated by the historically marginalised indigenous population.

The removal of sanctions against Robert Mugabe (The Idea) will send a signal to others that it is ok to challenge the historically unfair economic structure. The Mugabe Idea will be derided, stamped on and trampled upon, dismissed and portrayed as the cause and effect the sanctions-induced suffering that burden the ordinary man, woman and child in Zimbabwe. The assault on Mugabeism and the Mugabe Big Ideas will covertly be initiated and engineered miles away from our borders with some local cheerleaders doing the footwork under the gullible banner of democracy promotion and all the high-sounding themes of 'human rights', 'legitimacy' and 'rule of law'.

It is no longer just about Mugabe the man, but the deeper meaning behind Robert Mugabe's call to not just settle for political independence but total economic emancipation. These are the values and principles that resonate with indigenous population in Zimbabwe and continent-wide.

It is that belief and lifelong commitment to liberating the black indigene and that resolve to place African resources back into the hands of their rightful owners that invite the profound and unwarranted hatred from the coalition of the erstwhile architects of the twin wrongs of slavery and colonialism.

The unrelenting and unethical denigration of Mugabe the man is just a red herring to frustrate the Mugabe ideas of total economic independence, self-reliance and self-sustenance. The Mugabe idea is here to stay, it has no boundaries and will continue to intrigue, to challenge and to provoke minds of the historically deprived indigene until lives have been enhanced and upgraded.

You can put sanctions on Robert Mugabe the man but you cannot put measures or shackles on the seed that has been sown by the Mugabe ideas. These are ideas beyond any tether; these are ideas that leak through any exploitation-packaged ideology disguised as democracy promotion, rule of law and rights. The Mugabe ideas have found a permanent base in African minds and all that is left is execution.

bernardbwoni.blogspot.com