A failed state and its failed people

While it is evident that the subject of labelling a nation-state, a failed state, is emotional, contentious and politically sensitive, I have tried in vain to avoid an open debate on this subject matter.

Despite, my defence on classifying Zimbabwe as a fragile state instead, I have to advance a thesis that what should be doubted in the notion of state failure. Zimbabwe is already a failed state, but its failure is unique and unprecedented.

Throughout the history of state failure, no state has failed the way Zimbabwe has failed.

Countries that failed at one point in history for example Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Rwanda share one thing in common – widespread violence and conflict. Zimbabwe did not experience conflict of the magnitude and scale witnessed in the aforementioned countries.

For Zimbabwe, the situation is very unique and different.

Political parties win in any election through non-transparent means. No one bothers. But when the majority of the population remain unemployed, a quarter of the population being fed by foreign governments, ARVs being supplied by foreign governments, the country remains a larger retail supermarket for South Africa, education being funded by foreigners, ruling elites moving from one country to another in search of money; a country with nine official currencies (Botswana Pula, British Sterling Pound, Euro, South African Rand, United States Dollar, Australian Dollar (AUD), Chinese Yuan (CYN), Indian Rupee (INR) and Japanese Yen); indications are that we are in the deep end of a failed state.

Citizens are subsidising a primitive party accumulation project masquerading as the government of the day. The pride of being Zimbabwean has been trodden. Being Zimbabwean is synonymous with poverty and deterioration as opposed to progress. As our untold suffering continues unabated while the architects of our suffering are wining and dining day and night, three important questions arise for reflection.

1. What is so special and distinctive about Zimbabweans that we cannot collectively put a full stop on this state failure?
2. What makes South Africans record 380 service delivery protests in one year when in fact our 10 year record cannot surpass that?
3. With such levels of malaise and suffering in rural and urban areas, what kind of Zimbabwe are we creating in a decade’s time?

State failure in Zimbabwe is unique largely due to the uniqueness of Zimbabwe. What do I mean here? Nowhere in the world can citizens be treated so inhumane by a government without resorting to a rebellion.

It is only in Zimbabwe where such a heroic and disastrous feet has been recorded and witnessed. Let me qualify my statement.

Heroic; because the peace and attitude resembled by Zimbabweans helped in scaling down the magnitude and scope of state collapse. If we had resorted to violence, there is no doubt that Zimbabwe would have regressed further. Violence is an avenue for the international community to intervene. International community intervention complicates and in most instances extends the magnitude of state failure.

At this point, let me advance an anti-thesis to the above argument. Our inability to act has been disastrous and catastrophic. Catastrophic; in the sense that we allowed and watched while the country collapsed to such a point that it would take several decades to restore the country to 1990 development levels. In fact, we failed this country through our inaction and inability to take matters in to our hands. Collectively we failed Zimbabwe and the prospects of generations to come.

Considering post-2000 elections and the way many people think they were rigged, I advance a thesis that the worst thing ever to happen in Zimbabwe is not Zanu-PF. Rather it is Zimbabweans. We are a people full of cowardice, selfish and egocentric. We are a nation who cannot think for the majority, collective destiny and future generations. We are a group of people who do not want to act. We often expect miracles when action can do the trick. In fact, we are a failed people.

We are a lost generation, a generation that have found comfort in oppression and talking than action. Everyone seems to be articulate on the needs of this country, but no one cares to act. We have become too self-centred and lost the sight of succeeding together.

Collective destination collapsed with the end of the liberation struggle. In fact the worst thing that has happened to Zimbabwe is not Zanu-PF; rather it is 13 million or so selfish Zimbabweans. Citizens who ignore their future despite circumstances they can change. Citizens, who understand the meaning of sacrifice only in novels and the bible but not in action.

We are a people who think that we are immune to corruption. Yet, how many times have we been corrupt in our individual or organisational capacities? How many times have we corrupted the police? How many times have we corrupted the tax man?

How many times have we prevented the deserving candidates to get a job? We are a bunch of corrupt people. We are often a people laden with criticism of others without self-introspection.  Criticism and complaining is part of our life. Taking charge of our destiny is out of our vocabulary.

We often show off through literacy statistics. But we have nothing to show for that literacy. What is literacy without any product invention in Zimbabwe? What is literacy when the majority of the literate are unemployed?

Literacy when we cannot take charge of our destiny? Literacy with Chinese dumped goods! Literacy when we cannot confront the architects of our suffering? Literacy when we allow some very old and tired people to take charge of our destiny? We are the laughing stock of this world.