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I CRY FOR MY COUNTRYSeptember 1, 2007 Next month, October 24th 2007, my nation Zambia, shall celebrate forty-three years of Independence from Britain. Forty-three years of self rule, forty-three years of redefining our own destiny, so to say. At 43 however, my country finds herself in an extremely embarrassing and humiliating position. With abundant natural resources of water, fertile land, world’s richest emeralds, world’s second largest producer of copper and a small manageable population of only eleven million people, my country at forty-three years old is in a worse situation today than at independence. Instead of growth and maturity, the standards of living have plummeted to levels never even imagined at independence in 1964. I am ashamedly aware that Zambia’s plight and story rhymes with almost every other African country. In this POST, I cry for my country because I am a normal human being with feelings and emotions. A son who cannot walk on his own and unable to talk for himself, and has to have diapers changed by others at 43 years old is a serious source of concern to a normal mother. Any mother who laughs at such a development will be considered a lunatic. Since I do not consider myself a lunatic, I consider my tears for my nation as a natural consequence. As a nation, at 43, we are unable to feed ourselves, unable to provide health care and education for our children and unable to conduct elections that reflect the age of the nation. David was faced with a similar crisis when his “nation” Ziklag was destroyed. David had become a political opponent to King Saul. People praised him for his acts of bravery, especially after he defeated Goliath, the sworn enemy of Israel. King Saul sought to assassinate him, leading David to take political asylum and became a refugee in Ziklag, in the land of the Philistines. In an act of desperate solidarity with the philistines, he went to the battlefront to fight his own people. He was sent back by the elders of the philistines. Upon return, he found Ziklag burnt down with fire. His wives and children were taken and all they had was lost. His “nation” was destroyed. It is reported that the men who were with David wept until they had no more strength to weep. It was out of this weeping emotion for what they had lost, that they found courage to pursue the plunderers and recovered all they had lost. The challenge of Africa and Zambia in particular are not the levels of poverty, the HIV/AIDS pandemic or poor governance, but a lack of leadership that understands what has been lost, stolen and plundered from Zambia. Men and women of moral conscience who are not only ready to weep over the loss, but to actively pursue until they recover all that Zambia has lost over the years. Zambia at independence was the second richest nation on the continent, only next to South Africa. Today, it is rated as one of the poorest and yet, Zambia has some of the highest reserves of Copper, Uranium, Platinum, emeralds, cobalt, Nickel, fertile land, the Victoria Falls (which is a world heritage site), and exotic game reserves, and yet none of these are benefiting the ordinary Zambian. Most of these resources are in the hands of the foreigners who externalize their profits at will. We have auctioned our birthright. Our natural inheritance is in the hands of others. Forty-three years later, almost all military hardware is manufactured by foreign nations, seriously compromising national security and sovereignty. I cry for my country like Nehemiah did, because the walls of security have been broken down. We cannot cry for Zambia until we understand what it is that we have lost. It is possible to restore prosperity and national dignity to Zambia, but we need weeping eyes to lead the way. An imperfectly practiced democratic process traps Zambia like many African countries. An electoral process, that has the potential to keep producing the same type of politicians, who have ruthlessly, plundered the economies of African nations. David wept because he understood what he had lost. He had lost his wives and children (representing the future and his posterity). He had lost Ziklag, and therefore remained exposed, with no foundation and security. He lost friends who turned against him and threatened to stone him. The crying emotion releases power for change. Zambia and Africa in general need a moral leadership that appreciates what has been lost, and that our underdevelopment, abuse of power by politicians, the raping of African resoureces by foreigners is a cause worth weeping over. A leadership that is not afraid to pay the price. Lawyers like Nelson Mandela, preachers like Martin Luther King Jr., teachers like Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia are a clear demonstration that the key to Africa’s emancipation lies with everyone, regardless of our professional background. In order to give fresh hope to Africa, we must take stock at 43 and abandon what has not worked and embrace radical change. 1. We must change the mind set of Zambians, and this can only happen when leadership is changed and new thinking be given an opportunity. 2. We must take charge of all our natural resources and fully exploit them for the good of the nation. Investors must not become owners of our natural resources. They must respect laid down procedures and partner with nationals in their efforts to do business with us. 3. We must insist on exporting processed goods and not raw materials. 4. We must resist the temptation of imitating western countries in culture. 5. We must educate our people on how democracy works and the consequences of an ignorant electorate. 6. We must declare war on Poverty and HIV/AIDS. We must declare national mourning for the state of our nation. We must be stricken in our hearts when we see the plight and the suffering of the Zambian people. We need Davids that can pursue the enemy with tears in their eyes until they recover ALL. Do you feel anything for your country? • Back |
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