| The best Zimbabwe news site on the world wide web |  |
| NEWS |
| FORUMS |
| NEWS ANALYSIS |
| READERS' FORUM |
Where are the artists of Zimbabwean politics?
By Jethro
Mpofu
IT IS Okot P’Bitek
of Uganda in his interesting book “Artist the Ruler” who
argued that “in any society, anywhere, in any age, there are two
types of rulers: namely the artists who provide and sustain the fundamental
ideas and on the other hand there is the political chieftain who comes
to power with the aid of his soldier and rich business brethren.”
Okot describes the difference between those who lead with ideas and visions, who employ imagination, political and economic creativity to sustain their societies and nations as opposed to the “political chieftains” who employ physical force and financial resources to load themselves on top of the destinies of their citizens.
P’Bitek concludes by insisting that it is the artistic ruler who is the “greater ruler”. I choose in this short contribution to the Zimbabwean economic and political debate to wear the spectacles of Okot as I look at the political and economic situation of Zimbabwe, especially the shape and substance of opposition political formations in the face of the monstrous Zanu PF clan.
To start with, it is clear that Zanu PF and Mugabe are still in charge of Zimbabwean political and economic affairs not because of any grand economic ideas that they posses or any meaningful political vision, it is just because they have the army, the police, the Central Intelligence Organisation and other resources, including financial and other material properties that they use to oil their political patronage machinery that has miraculously sustained them this far.
To expect progressive ideas of an economic and political nature from Zanu PF and Mugabe anymore is indeed exaggerated belief in miracles and it is as superstitious as to expect diesel from rocks and blood from stones. Surely, to expect a government led by elderly men and women who are capable of wasting precious national time and other resources in pursuing mythical rumours that some rock can spit pure diesel, to come up with new insights and ideas that will liberate Zimbabwe will be as silly as to think “Bha Bha Black Sheep” is suitable as a national anthem.
On the other hand, the opposition politicians in Zimbabwe who are supposed to be the artists, men and women who should generate creative and beautiful liberatory strategies, economic policies and political visions that will rescue Zimbabwe from the Diesel from Rocks Chieftains seem not to see the light. I genuinely seek to ask in this article, where are the artists of Zimbabwean opposition politics? Creative men and women of Zimbabwe who are going to go down in history as the visionary lot who painted the rainbow, the artists who created hope where despair seemed indefatigable.
Talking about the rainbow and about artists, the rainbow is no doubt the universe’s most beautiful and inspiring picture. It is most probably the badge of nature and the flag of all creation. The beauty of the rainbow comes from its combination of different colours into one picture. The strength of the rainbow is that it collapses contrasting visual images into one solid image which inspires the senses of all observers.
The strong and beautiful lesson that the rainbow gives to nature and to humanity is that the best images of all time, the best objects and the best realities are made out of differences coming together rather than separating and isolating. In this spirit of the power of the colour of the rainbow, I wish to argue that the Zimbabwean opposition political formations can still draw the rainbow in Zimbabwe and liberate Zimbabweans from the Diesel from Rocks Chieftains.
Talking about artists and about creativity, the artists create meaningful images out of stones. They turn ordinary words into powerful songs and poems. They carve wood into fine communicative figures that inspire us. They turn some of the most useless objects and substances around us into the finest artistic products of our times. In short the artists are creators of possibilities and alternatives and they use all sorts of available resources.
It is indeed, in my humble judgement the spirit of the artists that must posses our leaders in the political opposition in Zimbabwe. There is no faction or formation that is useless. There is also no personality that has no role to play. There is no voice that has no purpose. Actually the chaos that currently punctuates the shape of the opposition in Zimbabwe provides fertile creative possibilities, if our leaders are willing to be led by the spirit of the artist that turns impossibilities into possibilities.
In fact, the differences between the Morgan Tsvangirai grouping and the Arthur Mutambara formation can be turned into reasons why all opposition political actors in Zimbabwe should unite rather than separate. In truth it is differences that cement alliances rather than similarities of policy and purpose. Also, the suspicions that exist between the civic society in Zimbabwe and the opposition political formations can creatively be forged into reasons why the civic society should work closely with the opposition rather than announce divorces and threaten splits and schisms.
There is also no doubt, that if opposition politicians in Zimbabwe are willing to take politics as a work of art, they will see that the unwanted fact that Mugabe is yet again the Zanu PF presidential candidate is fertile opportunity for victory of the opposition come 2008. Why? Mugabe might seem to have beaten everyone into line including presidential hopefuls within Zanu PF. He might seem to have at last clinched consensus among his followers that he is the best president that Zanu PF and Zimbabwe will ever have, but the rude reality is that many cracks exist within Zanu PF and if creative strategies of organisation and mobilisation are employed by a solid and united opposition in Zimbabwe, many in the leadership ranks of Zanu PF would be willing even to defect to the opposition if not just to quietly co-operate with them.
There is also no doubt that the harsh economic conditions that prevail in Zimbabwe have worked hard to turn the hearts and the minds of ordinary Zimbabweans away from Zanu PF. This is one of the unintended results of Mugabe’s many economic operations that have left the Zimbabwean economy on its knees. This provides a world of opportunities to an enterprising, united and creative opposition in Zimbabwe to craft a new Zimbabwe that will consign the diesel from rocks specialists to the rocks where they belong.
In conclusion, the economic and political disorder that Zimbabwe is in today is a challenge to the imagination and creativity of the opposition in Zimbabwe. The sorry economic and political condition of our country should inspire all of us to the realisation that nothing under the sun must be more important to us than the restoration of our country to economic and political normalcy.
The poverty and the suffering of our people should touch us into the realisation that no division and difference among us is bigger than the common goal of removing Zanu PF from power. The future of our children which is threatened and endangered must infuriate us into creative action of unity of purpose that will lead into the formation of a Zimbabwean rainbow that will invent a new economic and political order in Zimbabwe.
Jethro Mpofu is a Zimbabwean political activist and writes from
Bulawayo
JOIN
THE DEBATE ON THIS ARTICLE ON THE NEWZIMBABWE.COM FORUMS
debate@newzimbabwe.com
All material copyright newzimbabwe.com
Material may be published or reproduced in any form with appropriate credit to this website