The Sunday News
Prior to the French Revolution — a period referred to as the “old regime” or “ancien régime” — France was an absolute monarchy. When the revolution began in 1789 the reigning monarch was King Louis XVI. Louis (1754–1793), who began life as Louis-Auguste, the Duke of Berry, was the third heir-inline, but became heir-apparent (the Dauphin) following the death of his father and his older brother.
He was 20 when he came to the throne in 1774 as an absolute, divine right monarch, appointing his own ministers and unrestricted by a written constitution. In the 16th and 17th centuries, France had become the most influential of the European monarchies and so Louis ruled over a powerful and wealthy empire made up of the state of France itself, and islands in the Caribbean and in the Indian Ocean — this is recited by my daughter who barely is 10 years old, and so does any other Zimbabwean youth who passes through the same regurgitated educational process. What the colonial masters succeeded in doing, was to colonise us even when they are no longer with us — Yes, yes, through education!
We are well versed in European history than our surroundings, young people master names, dates and famous concubinary of European descent but have no clue what is happening around them. We care more, as a generation about who Louis XVI was and use it as a barometer of intelligence, I wonder why they keep on teaching European History in our schools, do they teach Zimbabwean heritage at Middleborough elementary?
Let us liberate ourselves from this colonial bondage, liberation is not enough when we still do not appreciate our current affairs but discredit ourselves for not reciting what my 10-year-old princess rhymes.
Enough with my distaste of Europeanism, in fact when others were busy clamouring about the national pledge, I was busy crafting my High Court application to ban European history in schools, I am still crafting it . . . watch the space, my decision to vote in 2018 will be shaped by the Government dealing away with European history, it’s a waste of time. Whatever happened to the parents who taught their children to boycott the national pledge, they are now proudly reciters of it, we are now quiet about it as we shall be quiet about bond notes later.
I wonder why we make noise about what we will be quiet about later. Let us learn to be quiet before we make noise, it’s pointless, you will be quiet any way.
Ok, let’s get back to business, I want to communicate with you more intimately, so I shall by all means try to be conversational because the issues we have so far discussed have created more enemies for me, but at the same time, new and meaningful friends have been made.
As my daughter, always says after school. “your friends never leave you, those who have left, never were”, as I reflect on this adage, I think of the year when the highest number of youths, first timers will shape the future of our country, it is that year that the people of Zimbabwe shall YIELD as Thabo Dube, a colleague of mine says.
Our trend of #2018willtell has gained momentum as some of the feedback is announcing a relegation of some political players to terrace residents. It is not amusing to realise that as time spirals, the countdown to the dreadful day draws nearer and some have not managed their groundwork.
People have started calling each other names, new parties are being formed, NGOs are desperately broke as 15 years of funding have yielded nothing for their bosses, secessionist groups are demanding a stake of the national cake and of course Zinasu — Zimbabwe National Students Union officially divorced itself from the Movement for Democratic Change yaTsvangirai. This is news!! Well, I wonder why that didn’t get much media attention yet it was a big blow for the opposition. What is more comical is how the Zinasu President, Alister Pfunye (my high school junior of course) addresses Morgan Tsvangirai the MDC 15-year president.
The ravishing and exposing language he uses, belittles Tsvangirai to an equal with no political standing beside perennial bootlicking happening in his camp that has kept him in power. I was more intrigued by the bravery the young man possesses which leaves MDC with little if not none academic backing- Abafundi bayalile.
Zinasu is s students’ representative body that helped form MDC in September 1999 with the help of the once eloquent Nelson Chamisa, the late Learnmore Jongwe who confessed murdering his wife and the vocal Job Sikhala. It is a rivalry organisation to Zicosu which is a proud affiliate of Zanu-PF. Although these days we now have Students Voice and YARD Students Command, Zinasu and Zicosu can be said to be the older generation of competing students’ political bodies. Students’ politics is essential in setting projections of any mainstream electoral process.
The country’s think tanks emerged from the academia, the struggle for liberation was led by the learned (no pun intended), Zimbabwe’s post-independence struggles have been manned by the students, and the students have shaped the political discourse of this country, no wonder why political parties find so much value in these organisations. It is undisputedly true that the strife of opposition was born by the student movement and their legitimacy has been from a marriage of the learning and those “in power” — their executive. At this point it would be foolish to doubt that MDC does not feel the heartbreak of the divorce by Zinasu as this is a big blow to their ego and legitimacy.
The breakup is signalled by the redressing of Morgan Tsvangirai to an equal of the students president when Alister states that “ . . . this is a letter from a president to a president . . . there is nothing amazing about MDC except that it’s just a political competitor . . . . leave Zinasu alone and stop meddling in our affairs . . . We do not belong to MDC . . . ” I would imagine the facial expressions displayed by MDC-T’s president upon receipt of that letter.
When the opposition is struggling to harness all the possible support it can get and engaging in political marriages of convenience, it loses its much important base — the students. I ponder on how the relevance of opposition will be struck in the wake of the absence of their campaign “tools”. For a long time students have been used as political tools who are easily disposed after elections.
Their relevance is realised during campaign periods as politics harvests from colleges and universities. Most commonly, candidates of political election announce they desire the support of young adults; yet, for the most part, political campaigns are more interested in persuading the people who are already voters than in encouraging the youth to cast their first ballot which is the landmark of the 2018 election.
This is what produces ground for misguidance, disinterest, or intimidation for politics as those 18-24 are just activating their sense of political identity. While it has been established that youth generally do not get as involved in the political realms as those senior to them in years, some argue that there may be exceptions to the rule. During times of crisis such as the Vietnam War, and the economic crash of 2008, fresh ideas have been seized in order to bring about change.
As political participation — from electoral turnout to party membership — has significantly declined over the past 36 years, both in Zimbabwe and beyond, particular care needs to be taken that young Zimbabweans get the best possible opportunity to engage with their political systems. Unfortunately, the students of today have been given such a bad name when it is only a minority of them who are creating social disruption. Most youthful people are motivated and long to do well in everything they do, which means they could be a very important aspect in politics.
Firstly, young people have different perspectives and a host of different ideas. By allowing them to voice their opinions we could be opening and moving the political world forward which is something student movements have been long denied. This is not only good for society, but necessary for society.
If the young did not engage in politics, even if it is through pressure groups, there would be many issues with our political establishments in trying to keep policy fair and sustainable for future generations. For example, equal rights for women required many young women to engage with the issue at hand. Why? Because they had strong feelings for the issue at hand, and that is something that countries should work to increase — interest and opinion on political matters.
They are wrong who think that politics is like an ocean voyage or a military campaign, something to be done with some particular end in view, something which leaves as soon as that end is reached. It is not a public chore, to be got over with. It is a way of life and students choose that way and help electoral candidates achieve that. It is the life of a domesticated political and social creature who is born with a love for public life, with a desire for honour, with a feeling for his fellows; and it lasts as long as need be thus the zest of elections in campuses, it’s a replica of big politics and political life.
It is not simply office holding, not just keeping your place, not just raising your voice from the floor, not just ranting on the rostrum with speeches and motions; which is what many people think politics is; just as they think of course you are a philosopher if you sit in a chair and lecture, or if you are able to carry through a dispute over a book. The even and consistent, day in day out, work and practice of both politics and philosophy escapes them.
Politics and philosophy are alike. Socrates neither set out benches for his students, nor sat on a platform, nor set hours for his lectures. He was philosophising all the time — while he was joking, while he was drinking, while he was soldiering, whenever he met you on the street, and in the end when he was in prison and drinking the poison.
He was the first to show that all your life, all the time, in everything you do, whatever you are doing, is the time for philosophy. And so also it is of politics. In order to address this problem, politicians, policy makers must work together in order to entice students into involvement of the political realm, in hopes of broadening their political knowledge. Many nations have taken to tactics of making politics to appear ‘cool’ in order to seduce the youth of their nation.
Unquestionably, politics should be entrenched as a basis, for the sake of the democratic integrity of one’s nation. Feelings of intimidation, or ignorance should not be a reason as to why an increasing amount of Zimbabwean youths have yet to caste their first vote.
Micheal Mhlanga is a research and strategic communication specialist and is currently serving Leaders for Africa Network (LAN) as the Programmes and Public Liaison Officer. He also administrates multiple youth public dialogue forums in Zimbabwe including the annual Reading Pan Africanism Symposium (REPS) and Back to Pan Africanism Conference. Feedback can be sent to [email protected]
