Sir Nigel's Journey…

The future is not fixed. We all have a hand in how it plays out. TEDxChange is a partnership of TED and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, designed to act as a catalyst for global conversations on ideas worth spreading on health, development, and education issues.

TEDxChange 2012 is convened by Melinda French Gates and hosted by Chris Anderson

The current economic climate has drawn our focus to immediate needs closest to home. But now, more than ever, it’s critical to keep sight of the fact that we are part of interdependent, global community. And too many within that community cannot meet their most basic needs: food, clean water, life-saving medical treatment and vaccines.

We can’t proceed with business as usual.

On April 11, 2012, we’ll take a step back and look at the big picture: Why should we, as a society, continue to invest in global health and development? How can we work across borders and political boundaries to make positive change? And what returns can we expect on our investments?

For more details on the speakers and the event itself please visit this link: -http://www.facebook.com/events/265185083571226/

Venue: - Alliance Francaise, 328 Herbet Chitepo Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe

Time: - 6pm to 9pm

The leadership battle within the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) has been widely documented and discussed over the last few years. What I find fascinating about this entire discussion is the general focus surrounding many of these articles. Perhaps it’s just me, but most seem to revolve around the potential candidates and their various chances depending on events that week. Too often we read about the seemingly never ending politicking and apparent jostling that takes place behind the scenes. I often wonder what His Excellency RGM makes of all this fuss.

You see, I think people seem to forget or ignore that replacing him isn’t as simple as replacing Yahoo’s CEO; and they’ve been plenty of those Yahoo CEOs in the last few years. People must be reminded and I will reiterate this now. RGM has now become an ideology – yes that’s right an ideology! To replace him without proper consultation requires careful and a calculated strategy that ensures that those involved won’t feel the wrath of the Zanu-PF (ZPF) machinery. Those who have felt it will testify, probably not publicly at first. These Zanu people aren’t stupid! To illustrate my point let me use one classic example. I don’t blame or accredit RGM alone for the infamous ‘land distribution programme’ by the way, but look at the effect it has had on other countries, particularly in other developing countries. We all seem to completely ignore the facts and take the easy route and blame RGM for the entire situation. Yet history books will show otherwise. What began as a social issue with the war veterans has now become a political statement. I am looking forward to a time when we are furnished with a plethora of books that clearly detail what actually happened during that difficult period. The truth surfaces eventually. Look at other countries like Brazil and Kenya who also started asking about their land and who actually owns it. This is part of the ideology I’m referring to. When I speak to other Africans and I have spoken to people from Cameroon and Guinea who openly admit that they support RGM in general but more importantly his stance on this land issue. So you see it won’t be as easy as we might think to replace ‘the old man’. Will Zanu find someone with this kind of effect? A few months ago I met a Brazilian and a Kenyan at some event I attended. I asked them about the land issue in their respective countries and their own opinions of RGM. Both of them admitted that RGM has had an effect on some people’s consciousness in their respective countries – some have already started asking who owns the land anyway. The RGM ideology is infectious it seems.

Here is an individual who continues to defy the sceptics. How many times has he supposedly died? RGM must find this extremely amusing. I know I would. However rumours of ill health continue to plague him but like most people I continue to wait to see how things unfold. As I mentioned earlier, the truth always turns up eventually. I often wonder how he really feels about the succession battle. I’m sure he’s already identified a suitable candidate. I’m also sure he hasn’t expressed his thoughts as openly as we would all like him to lest this creates even more divisions within the party. I recall in 2004/2005 hearing rumours of RGM endorsing Joyce Mujuru as his successor. I even heard rumours of a shift in strategy at the British Embassy in Harare and their willingness to soften their stance on Zimbabwe if Mujuru replaced RGM. Then again, these could have just been that – rumours.

One of main issues with this leadership battle is the constant fascination with the post Mugabe era. I’m sure we all wonder what a Zimbabwe without RGM would look like. Let us for a few minutes focus on the current status quo, So RGM has ruled Zimbabwe for over 30 years now. Ever wonder how and more importantly why? You see, my issue with some individuals when this touchy subject comes up is the apparent lack of objectivity. The discussions are often polluted with too many emotions for my liking. I am not being abrasive or insensitive but I want to focus on the facts for a few minutes.

The facts are, there were 2 main parties (headed by Joshua Nkomo and RGM) who both fought for the liberation of Zimbabwe. In fact Joshua Nkomo could have sealed the deal in 1977 with Kaunda’s help and perhaps things would have been different right now. One of these leaders eventually won the first Zimbabwean election and has ruled Zimbabwe ever since. This article is not intended to teach the history but to merely address a few points to an already pertinent issue. A coalition government, (yes that’s right) was installed upon the 1980 election with many unique and interesting faces. Parliament even had 30 seats reserved for whites only. Gukurahundi took place in the early 1980s lest we forget. However we are yet to resolve this particular thorny issue – and this we must if we are to move forward as a nation. Zimbabwe seemed to prosper both socially and economically. An economic meltdown ensued in the late 1990s. The reasons for the economic demise are always being debated. However RGM remained in charge throughout all this and even after the much debated 2008 elections. That tells me something about the situation and even more about the man himself. He’s not fool and I believe there stands a political genius.

People often want or perhaps prefer to completely separate Zimbabwe today with a pre-Independent Zimbabwe. Let us never forget how difficult it is to replace a revolutionary party like ZANU-PF. Ask the DA or COPE in South Africa. I’m sure they both have some interesting stories to share. People often forget how historically connected the army, the air force and ZANU are. We often brush aside the work being done by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and more importantly who their direct boss is. Perhaps we don’t fully appreciate our history and I’m referring to pre-1900s or thereabouts. We should perhaps look at the relationship between the tribes (both the Shona and Ndebele) and the white settlers. As I continue to study our rich history, I am starting to understand why relations between the Shona and the Ndebele are the way they are right now.

I believe our history has a massive effect on the current political landscape. There are those amongst us who had hoped that with the economic demise in the last 10 to 12 years would force the Zimbabwean to revolt in the Tunisian style and push RGM out of office. No! What some of us didn’t quite appreciate about the majority of the population in Zimbabwe is that revolting similar to both Tunisia and Egypt just wouldn’t work. Personally I just can’t see it happening for a number of reasons. Not that I think we are too passive (and perhaps we are) but instead we would rather find a way of ‘making a plan’ with every difficult situation thrown at us. It was once suggested to me that were the Ndebele tribe the majority in Zimbabwe, then we might be looking at a totally different situation. Who knows?

I recall reading a tweet from @GarethCliff a few months ago, which read:
Are Zimbabweans cowardly or so traumatised by Mugabe that revolution there is impossible? I mean this with respect
Without wasting time I responded with this:

Interesting tweet re Zim & revolution but I kindly urge you to visit the history of Zimbabwe B4 tweeting i.e. holistic approach

Essentially what I was attempting to point out to Gareth was for him to look at our Zimbabwean history before tweeting like that. I should have taken this conversation further than I did that day and perhaps this is my opportunity. There are still some issues which can explain why the old man still stands and I hope that I have addressed some of those issues. We could start with the opposition for example. I grew up reciting ‘united we stand, divided we fall’. Without going into the reasons and the multitude of theories but, the MDC split for some reason. How can they mount a proper challenge whilst they are divided like this I often wonder? We mustn’t ignore how effective the ZPF machinery is and naturally how difficult it is to remove a revolutionary party. Morgan Tsvangirai (MT) has offered ‘change’ to as an alternative. There are people who want that ‘change’ to be quantified. There are also people who question Tsvangirai’s strategies and whether they are in fact his own. All these things have some bearing on this leadership battle I believe. We also have to remember (just in case we forgot) that RGM has supporters who support and agree with him (that ideology angle again) and not necessary his ministerial team. There are many moderate voters who would still vote for RGM assuming age wasn’t an issue for example. I can’t give you numbers but I know these kinds of people exist. This is part of the history I was referring to and there’s more to it than this.

I believe that the battle for Zimbabwe continues. Those who are working hard within ZPF to take over will indeed find their own set of challenges. With the death of Retired General Mujuru and the effects of the wikileaks episode, it seems that the leadership battle is further for reaching a conclusion. Whilst those who battle continue to do so, I would suggest that we also pay closer attention to other contenders like Oppah Muchinguri – Zanu-PF Women’s League boss, Sydney Sekeramayi – Minister of State Security and the young turks like Savior Kasukuwere – Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment and Walter Mzembi – Minister of Tourism & Hospitality. I don’t believe we have seen the last scene of jockeying in this seemingly never ending battle.

I have come to realise that the people with some of if not the majority of Zimbabwe’s solutions are the ones who suffer the most typically from the lack of real action by those decision makers hiding behind big offices & expensive suits.Zimbabwe’s 85% is not stupid despite their noticeable silence on the matters that affect their own lives.

NB: – The 85% I’m referring to represents the ‘lower’ or ‘working’ class citizens.

If you’re like me, you’ve been watching the news every day and the situation in Syria gets worse and worse it seems. Incidentally I also remember the first time I watched the movie Hotel Rwanda. I kept wondering where the world was when all those atrocities were taking place. Did we just simply ignore Rwanda? We couldn’t have done that could we? Today, I came home and finally understood where the world was back then when Rwanda was on fire. Simply put, the rest of the world continued living, the reporters travelled and reported on their version of reality and yet the world at large stood by and ignored the situation. How misguided is our moral compass when we can still continue existing in our own lives? It seems we have chosen to simply ignore what’s happening in Syria while we wait for some UN resolution or some referendum the Syrian government promised the same people they’re killing today.  Men, women and children continue to die in daily conflict in cities like Homs? What is wrong with us I ask? I am not a politician but it seems to me that we spend more time and effort attempting to stop Iran from developing their nuclear programme than handling real conflicts in places like Syria. I have slowly come to the conclusion that our moral compass must indeed be off the charts and we simply don’t care anymore; either that or we never really did.

I could be wrong…

Brendah Nyakudya was the first to ‘inform me’ of the Virgin Active Gym race issue issue. I say ‘inform me’ but she was merely tweeting about this incident and I was listening/reading as I was preparing to leave work after yet another one of those hectic Mondays. You don’t want to know about my Monday by the way. I could tell my friendo i.e. Brendah was err how shall I put it – extremely ticked off and I’m being diplomatic here? I stayed at work a little longer and continued to read up on the issue using various other social media channels. In short I was reminded once again that racism is alive and well. However most of us know this already or have either experienced racism in some form or shape.

Not to belittle this sensitive and extremely important incident but….I have a fundamental issue with this recent incident. You see my problem revolves around how we seem to be drawn to some forms of racism versus others. To clarify myself here; it always seems easier to discuss racism when it’s white on black as opposed to the other way round. Some argue that blacks know more about racism than whites. Is this necessarily true? However, racism like most things in life continues to evolve. I firmly believe that we should tackle racism in general. Let us approach it from a holistic stand point and do what we can to address this destructive element.

I recall when I was living in Sydney many years ago now. I had just finished work and was heading home. I worked in an affluent part of Sydney. I jumped onto the bus as usual and sat down at the front for a change. Opposite where I chose to sit was a middle-aged white lady who immediately stared at me and proceeded to clutch her handbag. Everyone around me noticed this and there was an air of discomfort. What would the black man do next? I was extremely hurt to be honest. Here I was making an honest living and I was riding the bus from work with this lady, who figured I was going to rob or mug her right there in this bus full of other passengers headed on their way. I proceeded to inform this lady that I wasn’t planning on mugging her that day. I think my exact words were ‘I don’t usually mug white ladies on Tuesdays; I usually mug them on Fridays when I’m looking for that weekend cash flow’. She was extremely embarrassed and most of the people around me laughed at my little joke. I think I made my point that day.

Anyway I digress.

What I was attempting to illustrate with this scribe is our collective need for racial tolerance in general. I would like us to acknowledge and address racism even when it’s black on Indian, black on white, white on mixed race et al. In other words, let us not just react as we have with this Virgin Active Gym race issue just because some white gentleman referred to a black lady as ‘bloody k*****’. Let us simply address racism in general. Let us be mindful of government policies that encourage resentment and help perpetuate this seemingly never ending race issue. Let us always be mindful of those around us from different backgrounds, different socio-economic groups and so forth. Let us also make a big deal about racism when blacks are the perpetrators. Racism is still an ugly act irrespective of who is committing the crime. As this incident has clearly illustrated, we still have a long way to go in the fight against this form of segregation.

Aluta continua….

The UK Prime Minister David Cameron threatened aid recipients a few weeks ago. To say I was upset is a massive understatement. However I took a long walk metaphorically and eventually calmed down, which is why this blog is late (later than planned that is). You see, I started thinking and I put myself in his shoes. The thing is; if I was Cameron I would probably be as arrogant as he was that day. You have to remember that Cameron and his cronies just removed one of Africa’s ‘dictators’ recently. They killed him and even displayed his body for all to see. So if I was David naturally I’d be feeling pretty good about myself at this point. So good, I would make threats like this without realising or thinking of the consequences. I always tell people who make threats in general ‘to back it up with action’ otherwise one ends up looking weak or maybe that’s not such a bad thing in this case. I guess we all wait to see what happens next especially now that Nigeria has passed the anti-gay bill.

The truth is I personally have no problem with gays or lesbians at all. I like green underwear and my mate Pete likes boys. So bloody what? Pete’s entitled to do what he wants do in his own home for example with whoever wants to partake. The fact that I grew up in Zimbabwe, studied and worked abroad for many years perhaps explains why I think like this. Walking down the streets of Newtown in Sydney Australia in my past life has clearly left an impression on me. Maybe I’m just a liberal thinker. Anyway, we have a Shona word for gays and lesbians so that tells me that we’ve acknowledged ‘these people’ in our history. It also suggests that the ‘colonial masters’ came to Africa and introduced various laws, which I might add are outdated in many instances. They themselves fortunately have moved on, changed their own laws and are now in a position to make these ‘no-gay-no-aid’ type threats. Instead of focusing on the threats themselves, I wanted to touch on what we as Africans need to do going forward. If you follow my tweets and/or blog, you’ll soon realise that I enjoy the much needed ‘conversation’. I believe that we need to use opportunities like this to have the discussions about gays and lesbians across Africa – they do exist despite what we believe. We need to openly have these conversations so we can also move forward. Why should we continue to sweep this issue under the rug when we have a local terminology or word for gays and lesbians in our own languages for example? Whatever we do, let us not use Christianity as a reason for not accepting gays and lesbians in our society – the ‘colonial masters’ brought the Bible with them too remember? Whatever you believe is really up to you. However let us acknowledge once and for all that this isn’t the first or the last time, we’ll discuss this sensitive issue. Perhaps this threat is yet another wake up call for us. Mama Africa, let us get our house in order!

What do I mean when I say that – ‘get our house in order’? Zimbabweans have been using this word a lot lately – empowerment. Let us empower ourselves as African nations so we don’t need aid and therefore we don’t need to be threatened by David and his cronies anymore. We have much work to do and admittedly I may not see the fruits of our labour in my lifetime but I can assure you that Africa is richer than most think and we can reduce our dependency on aid if we are willing to make some tough sacrifices now. Let us also have the discussion about gays and lesbians in our society so that they don’t have to meet at ‘special venues’ and have ‘secret meetings’ just to exist amongst us. After all they are also citizens of this African continent just like me. Let us seek to understand the situation for it is and make decisions based on facts rather than misguided misconceptions. It’s time to have that much needed conversation now.

Here are a few points I jotted down initially after I read Cameron’s no-gay-no-aid article:

1. Initially when I heard about this no-gay-no-aid threat, I just thought to myself – ‘what a misguided thing to say David’! We know that the donkey and carrot trick has been used now for many years but for it to be as blatant as that is just something else – quite disrespectful really. Perhaps this is how politics is conducted behind closed doors of government buildings?
2. I’m aware of budget restraints due to the current economic situation in the UK. I wonder how much of this threat is aimed at pacifying the locals in the UK.  I just wonder. The United Nations gave the UK a target of 0.7% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to spend on aid but the UK currently spends 0.4% of their GDP. Can the UK actually afford to increase current spend to the UN figure?
3. The donkey and carrot trick won’t work. People can see through all that now. With access to information like the internet and so forth, making such threats and not expecting a negative reaction would be unthinkable. Maybe they (David et al) don’t care either way?
4. I now wonder if any of the UK allies have anti-gay laws. It would just smell of hypocrisy if some their allies had similar anti-gay laws to most African countries. I wonder where Yemen, Pakistan and UAE stand on gays and lesbians.
5. Let this be a lesson for Africa! We should never put ourselves in a situation where we are being threatened by anyone like this. We need to fast track our own game plan as a collective group to get our house in order. We are an extremely wealthy continent by natural resources. We really need to find a common way to relieving ourselves of aid and foreign debt in general. We’re already working on ways of becoming much more sustainable but this threat to me is yet another warning shot. Malawi is an example of what we shouldn’t allow going forward. A large chunk of the national annual revenue is derived by grants and/or aid I’m told. If the UK et al withdraw that aid as they suggested or implied when the issue of the 2 gay men hit the headlines last year, what happens to the common man or woman in Malawi who is heavily reliant on government assistance for example? We desperately need to think of people at that level in society when statements like this are being made.
6. Naturally some of the various leaders and/or government officials have already spoken out about this issue. As one would expect, no one likes to be threatened like this especially in the public domain. Perhaps diplomacy would have been more effective and appropriate here.
7. Like democracy, it’s been proven that spreading a western type of democracy to perhaps a non-western country doesn’t always bode well with the various local stakeholders involved. Cultural issues need to be taken into account when discussing things like this. This is yet another example where cultural norms need to be taken into account when handling sensitive matters like this. I firmly believe dialogue is important when situations like this occur.

I have had some time to reflect and analyse the situation in its entirety. I only wish that we engaged in the much needed discussion we need to have going forward. How long must we continue to ignore what needs to be discussed? I wouldn’t want my unborn children to question why we never made attempts to address these issues. Perhaps that is part of the reason why I would like us to have a ‘national-African discussion’ regarding some of the issues that have been brought up as a result of David Cameron’s no-gay-no-aid threat. Till then…

Aluta continua…

Last Sunday I arrived home just in time for the Julius interview on Carte Blanche. I’ve always been fascinated by this individual if I’m being honest. I even wrote about how Zimbabwe needed a Julius Malema. Some disagreed with me however many in my opinion never actually read the entire blog to fully understand where I was actually going with this. Irrespective of your own opinion of the man, we have to agree that he seems to engage us in a discussion of some sort – whether the topic is controversial or not. Sadly, more often than not it is often unnecessarily controversial. My biggest issue with the man is neither his wealth nor how he acquired it, although I agree that we have to look into that at some point in the near future. The main issue has more to do with the fact that a Julius Malema even exists in the new South Africa. His following indicates that he represents a large group of people disenfranchised by the system or simply put; they haven’t experienced the benefits of Madiba’s Rainbow Nation. This particular issue gravely concerns me especially with movements like Occupy Wall Street looming in the background. I believe instead of focusing on other issues relating to Juju’s personal life, we should instead focus on some of the issues he has raised thus far. We should be asking ourselves questions like:

• What issues do Julius and his followers have?
• What can the relevant South African leaders do to address those concerns in real terms?

In my opinion it would be a grave mistake to simply dismiss Julius and his followers. We wouldn’t want the gap between those who have and those who haven’t to widen any further than it has already. Until we learn to sit down and finally address some of economic and social issues Julius shares, there will always be a Julius Malema – just a different name with a somewhat different agenda.

By the way – the uncut version of the interview is found here

Growing up all I ever seemed to hear was the need for more and more democracy. Democracy was the only way! In light of the various problems challenges relating to elections either in Zimbabwe, the UK and even Kenya, we are now seeing an increase in the coalition government. Perhaps it’s just me? It seems the increase in coalition governments is yet another reminder that we need each other to resolve our common challenges. I look at the debt crisis in Europe right now. To resolve it, leaders have resigned and are being replaced by ‘coalition leaders’ in an effort to resolve the crisis. This is yet another reminder that we need each other more than we often realise.

Together we can…

Comrade Patel passed away only recently and it was the first time I had actually heard anything of substance about this man. All I knew was that there was a man known as ‘Senator Patel’ who played a pivotal role prior and post Independence especially within his own Indian community. Sadly with his death, I find myself adamant to know more about him and his contribution to our beloved country. The last person to be buried at the National Heroes Acre was none other than Retired General Solomon Mujuru only a few months ago. Retired General Mujuru’s death shocked the nation perhaps because of the manner in which he died. However his death is my view brought various people from all walks of life together as we mourned as a collective group. I can’t recall seeing much of that lately.

Shortly after Mujuru’s death, I started wondering what it is about National Heroes that makes them such. I have heard that there is a process involved in declaring someone a National Hero. I believe and I stand to be corrected here but it all starts with the National Hero’s province, subsequently followed by various processes involving the family, various government organisations and so forth. I often wonder what our National Heroes will look like when I am in my sixties. I figure by then the current crop of potential National Heroes we have now will all have passed away and moved onto a better place.

As I sit in solitude and ponder as I often do, I do wonder what our future National Heroes will look like for the next generation. Will we have National Heroes who include sports and TV personalities for example? Will we have various entrepreneurs and community leaders who play an integral role in shaping their own fortunes but most importantly shaping the fortunes of this very nation of ours? Will we continue to celebrate the lives of those who died in the Liberation Struggle? Will we even remember them? We must never forget the massive contribution they made to ensure our freedom. Will our National Heroes be as colourful and as vibrant as our Zimbabwean people? Will they reflect the complexity of our culture and indeed our values? Will their lives touch and influence the youth whilst inspiring us all to do great things for this country? Will we see more women become National Heroes I wonder? Whether we choose to accept this or not, it is the Zimbabwean woman who has and continues to hold us all together.     

As we continue to bury the current batch of Zimbabwean National Heroes, we must start to ask ourselves the question. What will eventually constitute the character of the next breed of Zimbabwean National Heroes?

Till then

Aluta continua…

I left the continent for a few days and when I returned Col Muammar Gaddafi was dead. Read more