WHY DID RB CAMPAIGN ON “PRESIDENT OF ALL ZAMBIANS” SLOGAN?
RB, Nyama Soya or President Rupiah Bwezani Banda, or whatever name you had for him, saw something in 2011 which many of us didn’t see – the country was sharply getting divided.
Whether you liked him or not, he came up with a very POWERFUL & UNIFYING slogan that sounded nothing during the 2011 campaigns but means everything now. Some people used to refer to him as wako ni wako (tribalist), but I think “President of All Zambians” was timely and Patriotic.
Can people disagree? Absolutely.
Can people have different opinions? Obviously.
Can people coexist despite having different views? It should be normal.
Can people live together while belonging to different political parties or churches? Yes.
Here is an example.
The time I was young, in the days of the MMD, I do remember my grandfather being a staunch UNIP while I was a huge fan of President Chiluba. At that same time, my dad was with Dean Mungomba of ZADECO and then joined FDD, and my uncle was telling us about a new party called UPND.
The man who made me love Chiluba was Mr. Smart Phiri, our Civics Teacher, and the father to my friend, Mathews Smart. I really loved the free market ideology when it was taught to us.
In our family, we all belonged to different political parties but sharing the same surname – NGWANE. Even now, it’s the same. My grandfather would tell me, your pate (party), is MOVEMENT FOR MASS DESTRUCTION or MOVEMENT FOR MANDRAX DEALERS.
We would response saying that UNIP was dead and he needed to move on. I was very loyal to MMD until around 2005 when I came to City Market and joined UPND.
When it comes to church, I was Adventist, my mum RCZ, my sister BAPTIST and my father (NGONI WARRIOR – unreligious) while my grandfather was a staunch Katolika (catholic).
When I look at my friends, the people that I have called my best friends, are Tonga, Bemba and Tumbuka by tribe. I don’t have one Ngoni friend. Not even when I was young.
And I think this is true for most Zambians. The point is, as Zambians, we have always coexisted despite belonging to different political parties or churches. But lately, you can tell that we are no longer tolerant to people with different political views or religious views.
Anyone who doesn’t speak our language, or holds a different political or religious view, or belongs to a party we don’t support, instantly becomes our enemy. We are highly sensitive and intolerant.
But why? The answer is POLITICS.
I don’t know Amos Chanda very well, (the former Presidential Advisor to ECL) but he once said something on Prime TV that stayed with me. He said, “We need to depoliticize the civil service, churches, traditional leaders and citizens. We shouldn’t politicise our daily lives.”
I agree with him. And the job of de-politicising citizens is for The President and the ruling party. The opposition will always want to politik but a government must focus on unifying, serving and developing the country. The ruling party must unify, serve and develop even those who criticise the government.
That’s why I am one of those people who thinks that President HH has DEEPENED DIVISION IN ZAMBIA especially with his statements like “They hate me because of where I come from” and “they will beat you when you go to Lusaka ati icho chachoka ku Choma, chimenyeni.”
I am sure President HH understands that his position comes with a lot of authority such that whatever he says, some people think it is gospel truth. And you can’t blame such people because The President of Zambia cannot lie. It means his words, can heal a nation or divide it further.
That’s why I believe that “PRESIDENT OF ALL ZAMBIANS” was one of the most powerful and unifying political slogans from a Presidential Candidate. The truth is that when someone makes such a statement, it will force them to be that which they proclaim.
Zambia needs healing. We all need to heal.
We are all Zambians and deserve a share of the national cake. But even as we try to share this cake, we must not exclude others. We must not also think we have all the answers and the contribution of others don’t mean anything. In a nation, every citizen counts. Their voice counts. Their frustrations should be received with empathy, not dismissiveness. Let’s not insult one another. Let’s not demean each other. Let’s embrace each other.
It’s okay to differ politically and still remain colleagues. It’s okay to have different strong opinions about political ideologies but stay as friends, brothers, business partners or lovers.
When someone doesn’t agree with us, let’s not insult their intelligence. Rather, explain with case studies and evidence of why our path leads us to a better future for every Zambian than the alternative. If not, we can also respectfully agree to disagree.
The moment we decide that those who disagree with us are stupid, uneducated, enemies, thieves, or whatever, it means we exclude a lot of people. Our circle becomes smaller and smaller as we will exclude a lot of people with different voices.
Zambia is a diverse country. We can’t be of the same language. We can’t be of the same tribe. We can’t be of the same colour. We can’t reason the same way. We can’t have the same ideologies.
But I believe all Zambians wants the same thing – a better life for themselves and their families. This means we have a common goal and we can find a way to unite around that one goal of creating a better Zambia for ALL.
And surely, we can all learn to live together even with our differences. We can learn to respect each other. We can still do business with each other. We can still marry one another. We can still do many other things together while disagreeing politically.
It’s possible!
