HH IS SOLID AND BEYOND POLITICS OF TRIBAL SENSATIONALISM
BY SIKWINDI SITULA.
Listening to Chishala Kateka on “the hot seat radio programme” last Tuesday left me laughing on how difficult politics can be when challenging a solid leader.
Well, but tribal remarks cannot go without a clear repudiation and so is her many inconsistencies, whereas I choose, for this moment at least, to pay particular attention only to what she referred to as “reverse tribalism”—which she suggests, is a dogma of the UPND.
I do not know where Chishala Kateka gets her statistics from but if there is a section of the nation that has been highly disadvantaged when it comes to appointments in this administration, it is the Tonga people—and we have a lot of really smart Tonga people whose surnames are honesty and hard-work.
I do not need to be Tonga to share in their footsore, but I feel the Tongas need to be given more than their due regard throughout our changing political dispensations especially that they were ostracized in the previous administration (regime).
They need a good share of recognition too insofar as they have immensely contributed to this nation in many ways.
So, the sun typified the Greek and the moon? just anything and anybody I suppose. But to choose to consort with ethnicity for political gain by vilifying Tongas the second time and more? This is unacceptable.
You see, a nation in concert with herself through all of her ethnic beauty, such as ours, should make all of us to choose our politics well and far from the detriments of tribalism and even chauvinism.
It is therefore folly for a once promising political leader, such as Chishala Kateka, to choose a brooding of ethnicity over that of sober engagement.
Certainly, the weak always run to the muffles of tribal sensationalism indeed. They dig tribal enclaves on account of a poorly dug-in means of survival.
The truth is that President Hichilema is far beyond politics of tribal sensationalism. He is a victim of such and related chauvinistic ways and I’m sure he detests this.
Addressing you Madam President, I suggest you move on to challenge President Hichilema on the forefront—on his policies, politics and all other ways of genuine political engagement.
I do not think that any politician worth their salt will defeat President Hichilema by employing illusionary politics of division.
Clearly, our politics have been re-engineered for the better under President Hakainde Hichilema’s leadership and the bar is still rising under his leadership.
Of course, not a single ethnic group should have their way in bullying others into submission and not a single one considered small should have reason to coil back and accept being excluded from the full enjoyment of their citizenry rights and responsibilities. There are no more than equal beings here now.
Even those from tribes considered very small can have the ambition to lead too and may Zambia just have the best man or woman irrespective of tribe, creed or colour.
It does not matter how much we try to foment ethnic divisions and force our way into making our ethnic language a lingua franca for all to follow a particular social and political imposition with a view to bring all this to a political dirge with unsubstantiated claims.
The bottom line is that, now there is hope for building a true nation of equals—“the beautiful Zambia of together people”. One of citizens who are committed to serving one and the other with love, dignity and respect—yes, with dutiful ways of supplying love to one another without denigrating any single one ethnic group whatsoever. But this also calls for the full application of equitable ways of getting the long desired equality.
If you employed all your relatives and friends for decades, then what is likely to happen is obvious—Only those regions with the highest number of job holders will cry where those perpetually kept without jobs have utterly no reason to cry other than decry your brutal ways.
Perhaps the politicians in the opposition must stop the politics of “burning a barn to merely roast an egg in it”.
But there is not a single day when logic will satisfy illogicalness with facts that can dissolve illogical reason.
Times have changed and they continue to change at a supersonic speed.
We all need to adapt or suffer being outpaced…
@ The Falcon