The ManicaPost
Sam Matema
Post Correspondent
The tragedy that is confronting this great nation called Zimbabwe under the leadership of President Emmerson Mnangagwa is that few people understand the true weight of the “nyika inovakwa nevene vayo” slogan.
Many take it at face value and are lost to the richness, pregnancy and true meaning of the statement.
To the extent that they continue to call for the tightening of economic sanctions on this beautiful nation, and celebrate, home and abroad, the extension of the punitive sanctions on Zimbabwe.
This is the height of betrayal, selfishness and egocentrism.
There are those that are ready and prepared to forfeit their birthright for 30 pieces of silver.
As I understand it, “nyika inovakwa nevene vayo” speaks to many things rolled in one statement.
It is instructive, compelling, telling, defining, strategic, forward-looking and forward-focused.
It is a Call-to-Action to build our own country, at whatever level and in whichever space, and that it takes sacrifice, commitment, pain, loyalty, submission, humility, surrender, relationships and resilience to realise upward mobility in that space.
It’s a call for the full participation, a collective approach, a bottom-up approach, with respect to processes and outcomes.
We know our localities better than someone from far afield.
Because we know better the opportunities and threats/challenges that reside in our localities, we are strategically positioned to prescribe solutions that speak to the local expectations, all things considered.
Sacrifice
We are reminded to deny ourselves in defence of our country against the machinations of the blood-sucking imperial West in the knowledge that Europe and the USA were built by the blood and sweat of slaves, the majority of whom came from Africa.
Other than the slaves, Africa’s resources were plundered and are still being plundered by the same countries that speak human rights and democracy in front of flashing cameras, but do the complete opposite when they are off camera.
The global North has no business in developing the global South.
Their preoccupation is to plunder, divide and push neo-colonialistic agendas.
We, in light of such machinations, need to defend our space from our former oppressors.
Because we are mere mortals, we should always remember that some day we will meet our Maker, but before we die, we should lay a solid foundation for posterity.
We must be alive to the fact that there is nothing beyond wealth accumulation. Sacrifice is priceless.
The country called Zimbabwe came about as a result of the selfless sacrifice of our brothers and sisters who took up arms to fight the oppressive Smith regime.
Their return from the bush was not guaranteed, but they soldiered on because what was important to them was a free Zimbabwe with or without them.
Pain, submission and surrender
We are called to take in the pain as we sacrifice for the growth and development of our sovereign nation.
We are called to surrender, collapse and submit to the will of the majority and those in authority.
The dualisation of the Harare-Mutare Road is going on well and forty-six kilometres of dual carriageway between the capital city and Marondera was completed and opened to traffic last year as the Second Republic continues to improve the country’s road infrastructure
We need to be orderly and disciplined for us to deal with the challenges that confront us as we work for the greater good in our time. We are called to look inwards for solutions.
There is need for a total domestication of interventions and solutions.
We are in a relay, and we are called to pass on the baton to those that are genuinely burdened and disturbed by the Zimbabwean cause, story and dream.
We are called to see near and far as we surrender our short term comfort in exchange for long term benefits.
We are reminded that we can only be who we are, Zimbabweans, and nothing else.
It’s a reminder to those who have elected to invest in foreign capitals at the expense of their home countries.
Others have elected to stay in foreign lands and actively participate in the affairs of those countries.
Whatever resources we accumulate in foreign lands, we are called to remember to invest back home.
What do we bring to the table?
It admits of no debate that in our diversity, we contribute in a myriad of ways through ideas, constructive criticism, social, financial and physical/natural capital.
We are reminded that local relationships are more important and enduring that the foreign and transactional ones.
We should bring to the table the realisation and fact that we are commonly denominated by the indisputable fact that we are all Zimbabweans first and foremost, and are one people.
Even in the face of political contestations, storms, disputes, even in the face of economic turmoils, whether locally or foreign generated, we must come to the negotiating table in our quest for lasting solutions mindful of the fact that we are Zimbabweans first, and are all obligated and duty-bound to serve and save our motherland.
We are stronger in our diversity, only if we deploy our energies constructively, knowing that we are the ones charged with building this great nation, and take it to the next level that we desire, to a level were we are happy and comfortable with.
Complete loyalty
This is the rock upon which a nation is built.
It speaks to the unwavering and steadfast allegiance, faithfulness, and dedication to a cause.
It implies steadfast support and commitment to stand and support a cause in all seasons regardless of circumstances.
We are therefore called and required to be loyal to the Zimbabwean dream, story and vision.
As we feel the full weight of the illegal sanctions on the Zimbabwean socio-economic edifice, we should remain resolute that we will never give in to foreign pressure and neo-colonialism.
We will build our country brick by brick, stone upon stone.
We shall overcome!
Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo!
Honourable Sam Matema is MP for Buhera Central constituency and Zanu PF Manicaland Provincial Spokesperson. He writes in his personal capacity.
