By Patson Dzamara
Fellow Zimbabweans, I have never harboured the wish to secure a place for myself in the corridors of prophets of doom. However and in spite of that, I wish to make an unpalatable prediction about the road ahead.
It is blatant we are heading towards a season that could rank as the worst ever in the history of our nation. The road ahead is certainly a bumpy one, it wont be a smooth ride.
Despite my default optimism posture, I have never felt the weight and pain of our nation the way I feel right now. Dark days are awaiting us, let’s get our candles.
I am not inclined towards hallucination and therefore shall not pretend to give meaningless hope to the majority of people who have no clue nor hope about what the next day or month brings.
As Robert Mugabe and his minions continue with their charlatanry and bickering among themselves, the ordinary citizen finds himself under a dark cloud of ‘cluelessness’. For some strange reasons, some Zimbabweans find all that amusing and a platform to satiate their seemingly senseless insatiable penchant for comic relief and yet it carries a bold inscription on it that dark days are ahead.
Zimbabweans, I wish I could inspire hope and I try. I wish I could inspire courage and I try. I wish I could change the direction we are heading towards but I can’t. The bottom line is that the days ahead are dark. It’s not going to be easy.
It’s going to get darker and darker. Who knows, maybe just maybe, this is what we need to wake up out of our slumber and fight for a better Zimbabwe. I wish that this darkness we are coming face to face with shall inspire us to search and fight for the light.
Again, l no longer blame Mugabe and his gang, but us, collectively. Those gangsters have done their part, by destroying Zimbabwe, and we have allowed them. It is now our responsibility to rescue ourselves – but we continue fiddling, waffling and pretending in various ways.
Come what may, there is no way ZANU PF will reform itself out of power. On the other hand, there is no way the opposition will win even a free and fair election without a coalition and hard work on the ground. Everything therefore continues to plunge into socio-economic and political gloom.
Zimbabwe is undeniably at a crossroads and to be or not to be is the question. It is unforgivable that people still die of 19th century diseases like cholera and typhoid in this nation. It cannot be accepted that most children still cannot access basic primary and secondary education. The rot in our systems has now become acute and cancerous.
We cant afford to procrastinate. The time is now! Lets confront this evil at all levels. With our ballots at election and with our courage on the streets as we push for everyday reforms. There is strength in our numbers. I am playing my part both in the street and at the election, so should you.
As we focus on the 2018 elections, we must not be under any illusion, for ZANU PF any type of victory goes. That gang will do anything to remain in power. Their love for power causes them to never respect the will of the masses.
I call upon all progressive movements to immediately start working towards reactivating nationwide protests. We must shut Zimbabwe down not just for a day but until we liberate ourselves. Our message must be unequivocal. We must make it abundantly clear to ZANU PF that we are ready to defend our wish and national integrity in our numbers. We are going to vote in our numbers but equally important, we are going to defend our vote in our numbers in order to liquidate and deplete the monster called ZANU PF.
We can no-longer afford to have innocent bystanders in our midst who believe that their lives are more precious than the ones of those who are sacrificing daily for a better Zimbabwe. Everyone must plug in and pay the price.
A better Zimbabwe we yearn for is not going to be delivered to us on a silver platter. Its going to cost us sweat, tears, blood and even lives. Let that sink in.
Dr. Patson Dzamara is a pro-democracy activist, author and leadership coach based in Zimbabwe.
