Mugabe-Defending The Spirit of Africa’s Courage
By Taju Tijani
Win or lose, Robert Gabriel Mugabe is that lonely voice in the wilderness amidst prowling lions looking for who to kill and devour. Mugabe’s
scalp on a platter is the white man’s gory fantasy but like the biblical Daniel, his angel is keeping the cannibal pack at bay. His integrity has
been misunderstood. His admirable courage has been tarnished. The zeal which animates his patriotism has been seen as a convenient veil
for his dictatorship. Africa’s only guardian angel against the relentlessly rapacious white overlords has been denied the oxygen of support,
applause and affection. He is seen as a wasting demon!
It is safe to say that the racist demonisation and imperial conspiracy against Robert Gabriel Mugabe of Zimbabwe should be a source of great
agitation among black African leaders who still cherish the freedom and independence of black African continent. Over the years,
commentators of all hue have presented arguments denouncing Mugabe for corruption, oppression, tyranny, brutality, dictatorship, intimidation
and pursuing ill-informed vendetta against political opponents and innocent white settlers.
Any sensible analysis of the Zimbabwe’s catastrophe must recognise that it has had two central aspects. The first was Tony Blair’s personal
vendetta against Mugabe. The second aspect was the neo-colonialist and racist abhorrence of seeing a group of black men humiliating and
killing whites. The received wisdom had always been the other way round as it so often happened in most western democracies and North
America.
Mugabe’s ongoing crisis represented the first round of the many neo-imperialist fights we need to fight in Africa. Simply put, it is the fight
between racism and justice for blacks in a polarised world where whites are becoming arrogant, unilateral and using both economic and
military clout to submit other races to humiliation, political impotency and economic paralysis. Honourable Tony Blair was ahead of the
ravenous wolves who requested for the head of Mugabe on a platter. This call was applauded by both right wing and liberal papers in the UK.
Robert Dowden, a mercenary writer and self-styled Africa expert called Mugabe “the Saddam of south Africa” and made an audacious call for
Britain to implement “regime change” by force in sovereign Zimbabwe. The tone of the agenda in British press against Mugabe was
overwhelmingly combative, arrogant, disdainful, snobbish and worst of all, racist.
Leader writers, opinion-formers, columnists and desk editors not used to seeing a former colonial servant trading insults with their Prime
Minister rallied to his defence because the white way of life in Africa, with all its odious colonial arrogance, was under attack.
Mythologising the corruption and tyrannical crimes of Mugabe is hypocritical, given the then huge racial inequalities in the distribution of land
and wealth. Black African leaders are famous for tyranny and corruption. To objectify the western argument of tyranny, corruption and bad
governance we need to move from the particular to the general. Before the sudden death of Mobutu Sese Seko, he was a pampered local
manager of western powers. Then, no western governments saw or heard of his evils.
Idi Amin Dada was tolerated until the mass expulsion of Asians from Uganda in the 70s. Opponents of such policy failed to see the resentment
and envy generated by the virtual take over of an African country by a tiny economic-dominant minority from Calcutta, Mumbai and Lahore. Britain
had to support the Ugandan rebel movement of Yoweri Kaguta Museveni because of the logistics and financial nightmare in absorbing
thousands of expelled Asians.
Daniel Arap Moi, the former dictator and tyrant of Kenya was not demonised by the western press because of one important reason. He did not,
in his 24 years of misrule, caused panic or economic and social shift in the lives of the rich and overfed white gamekeepers scattered across
Kenya. When Moi was in power, he was more ferociously tyrannical, more corrupt and forcefully suppressed his opponents more than Mugabe.
Among his victims was Robert Ouko, his foreign minister, who died in suspicious circumstances in 1990.
President Thabo Mbeki is left alone to nurse the wounded dream of his African Renaissance that may never see the light of day. Why? He will
be committing a political suicide like Mugabe across the border if he dare ruffles the excesses of the economic-dominant white minority in
Sandton, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town. Equitable land and wealth redistribution must stay suspended in South Africa if he wants to
complete his second term as South African president. Mandela understood this whiteman’s power play and remained impotent in land and
wealth redistribution throughout his governance.
Inevitably, Mbeki had to find Mugabe’s pan-Africanism and belligerence admirable and lofty. Unlike other leaders who view Mugabe with the
blinkers of corruption and tyranny, Mbeki knows that racialised falsehood account for most of the cumulative portrait of Mugabe in western
media. He was once a victim of vicious campaign of hate in the west due to his stance on the causes of HIV and AIDS.
An historical mission to right the wrongs of colonialism has presented itself for all black Africans to embrace. We should not allow the forces of
colonialism that destroyed and divided African society to happen again. If you look at the Mugabe’s stand off with brute, metallic logic, there are
good reasons to support him. But rather than back Mugabe who is facing an orchestrated campaign of racially motivated animus, we betray our
own and called him ruthless, corrupt and a murderer. It is true that Zimbabweans have been cowed by a violent authoritarian rule just as
Nigeria is one of the worst countries for just about everything.
But unlike Mugabe, Yar’ Adua has no white economic-dominant minority to dispossess of their ill-gotten land and machinery. Unlike Mugabe,
Yar’ Adua has no Brian Donnelly, the former British High Commissioner in Harare, plotting to overthrow him. Yar’ Adua has no Morgan
Tsvangirai who leads an opposition movement funded by white businessmen in the UK.
We have to remember too that John Howard the ex-Prime Minister of Australia, who led a bitter campaign of Commonwealth exclusion against
Mugabe is a racist par excellence. He waged a war of attrition against black Aboriginal people, denying them land rights which led to his
shaming indictment of racism from the UN committee on discrimination.
Howard, and to some extent Helen Clark of New Zealand, both from white, rich nations had to support Blair in his racialised battle with Mugabe.
It is in the tradition of white Anglo-Saxon to ‘stick together’ and force surrender among inferior races, regardless of historical wrong and racial
injustice. Wars in Congo, Sudan, Angola and Burundi did not get the coverage Zimbabwe got because they did not involve whites.
Black Africa has to resurrect its classical pre-colonial nationalism and fight the demons of neo-colonialism infesting the minds of western
leaders. The legacies of colonialism, apartheid, racism and modern discrimination have all combined to produce an impotent black Africa with
shrinking voice in a rabidly racist world. My salute to Robert Mugabe for defending the spirit of Africa’s pride from the trenches of deprivation,
hunger and hopelessness.
Tijani, a social and afrocentric scholar lives in London
One hears so much negativity about Nigeria that one is pleasantly delighted to see such a positive as this come from there. Thank you for making such positive statements about Pan-Africanism and the great contributions made to Pan-Africanism by H.E. Comrade Robert Mugabe during this critical time of crisis.
LONG LIVE ZIMBABWE!
Mugabe is probably the most out-spoken Pan -Africanist leader to come out of Africa (second only to Nkurumah). He has taken the concept of Pan-Africanism beyond what the early black leaders dared to even think about. In his pursuit of social equality and justice he is comparably in principle and deed to Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. No wonder why these two leaders (Chavez and Mugabe) are hated so much by the Western world. Long Live Mugabe- A TRUE FATHER OF AFRICA!
This is not PanAfricanism but racial hatred. This is completely ridiculous. Mugabe might not be the devil but I have met enough Zimbabweans in diaspora to know that it is time he stepped down. 28 years in power is enough. Let someone else bring his own ideas. Tijani, are you sure you are a scholar at all?So we should defend whatever Mugabe is doing because he is black is that all you have to say? Mugabe has had his day in the sun. It is not what the west says about him that is important , so it was the west that came to Zimbabwe took away the food and raised the inflation rate? Wow! You are really a genius.
Mugabe might not be a saint but be intellegent enough to know what he is being punished for. In 1996 Mugabe had been in power for 16 years and the only people who were criticising him over his long stay in power were a few patriotic Zimbabweans. The British and Yankees were silent- some even adored him. Come the Land Reform in 1999 and suddenly the Western powers are up in arms labelling him a dictator. So the real grivience with Mugabe is not his long rule. No. As Tijani puts it, Mugabe was audacious enough to strike the white-man. That’s why he’s being punished. I will criticise Mugabe for his own faults later- right now to hell with any white-man’s hypocritical complaint about Mugabe.
And yes, the economic sactions by the USA have crippled the Zimbabwean economy.
Let me understand you? How did the western world punish Mugabe? How did they destroy Zimbabwe\’s economy? This is not an issue of western complaints or hypocrisy. Can we really blame them for the state Zimbabwe is in right now? We do not complain about Zimbabwe because of what the US or Britain has to say about Mugabe. It is clear from the state his country is in that he is a bad leader and should step down after 28 years. The same with Museveni, Paul Biya and Co. Let us not use the cover of being African to tolerate the destruction of the lives of countless Zimbabweans. This smacks of colonial mentality. We can\’t do anything good except it is done by colonialists(white men). We are not capable of doing anything bad it is the colonialists (white men)? We are not responsible for anything and we cant do anything? Nah wah ooo! If we keep thinking like this how can we ever make any progress at all?
This is how and why as Africans and blacks we will never see beyound our myopic minds and thinking to defend the unthinkable that after 28years and nothing to show for it that we are defending Mugabe simply because he is black……… for Gods sake this is laughable. For if salt looses its value of what use is it?
where do I start?
according to the author it is (among other things) the ” neo-colonialist and racist abhorrence of seeing a group of black men humiliating and killing whites” which is the reason for the untrue portrayal of Mugabe as the enemy of zimbabweans by evil white power hungry poticians…has this fool forgotten that white zimbabweans/rhodesians were the ones who declared independence from Britain…and white minority rule was not supported by British or Europeans in general.
This is a racist, ill informed piece of crap.
killing whites
where do I start?
according to the author it is (among other things) the ” neo-colonialist and racist abhorrence of seeing a group of black men humiliating and killing whites” which is the reason for the untrue portrayal of Mugabe as the enemy of zimbabweans by evil white power hungry poticians…has this fool forgotten that white zimbabweans/rhodesians were the ones who declared independence from Britain…and white minority rule was not supported by British or Europeans in general.
This is a racist, ill informed piece of crap.
killing whites
where do I start?
according to the author it is (among other things) the ” neo-colonialist and racist abhorrence of seeing a group of black men humiliating and killing whites” which is the reason for the untrue portrayal of Mugabe as the enemy of zimbabweans by evil white power hungry poticians…has this fool forgotten that white zimbabweans/rhodesians were the ones who declared independence from Britain…and white minority rule was not supported by British or Europeans in general.
This is a racist, ill informed piece of crap.
killing whites
” the white way of life in Africa, with all its odious colonial arrogance, was under attack.” what about the way of life of the Ndebele people (who are not white) who Robert Mugabe committed genocide against….Mugabe is an evil leader who rules by terror and fear. It is a sad state of affairs that to criticize him at all is to (some) to be racist. Wake up…
It is amazing that such a piece can be written to defend the whole Mugabe issue. Mugabe and Zimbabwe in the present day go beyond issues of neocolonialism and the usual North-South hegemony.
Has the writer been to Zimbabwe or spoken to those Zimbabweans back home or those living in camps on the South African end of the Zimbabwean border?
The simple facts are that Robert Mugabe has run down his country in 28 years, he is responsible for untold suffering and destruction of the Zimbabwean economy, and is another example of sit-tight leader. Unfortunately, he and his ilk are over-represented in the African continent. No one has a monopoly of knowledge or capacity to do good. There are other Zimbabweans capable of running the country and the cycle of elections from 1994 (assuming he ran the country for 2 7-year terms) would have deepened their democratic experiment.
I join other Zimbabweans in praying and looking forward to deliverance i.e the removal of Robert Mugabe.
MR Mugabe is paying the price for Land Reform, along with backing the wrong side in the Democratic Republic Of Congo. The Imperialist are hell bent on regime change, and to install their puppet and stooge Tsvangirai. This will be a great step backwards,, for the Heroic Zimbabwean people ,( who fought and suffered so much for their Independence. } as the stooge Tsvangirai will be under pressure by his paymasters to deliver the goods, as regards the sell of Zimbabwe’s public services , like water , hospitals , and other infrastructure, as well as the huge under developed mineral resources. Tsvangirai, will have no choice as he and his party are financed to the tune of billions by both Britian and America. Tsvangirai make no mistake about it , this liar and Tyrant in the making is controlled by the strings of British and American Imperialism. As Ii watch events unfold in Zimbabawe from here in Ireland , I say to the people of Zimbabawe , do not cast your vote for the Imperialist Stooge, as he cant deliver you anything, other than the theft of your Independence and resources. Sean Mc Mullan
As an African who has lived in a country with decades of self rule, I am compelled by the unsavory nature of the present to ask. How did it feel to be colonized? My little understanding of history and simple arithmetic of correlation factored into my relative insight on the present situation in Africa, obviates the fact that most our so called freedom fighters that have clung perpetually to power to fought for personal glory [except those who were quick to hand over like Mandela and those who tackled the moral challenges of distinguishing the selfless quest for self rule from the selfish clamor for power like Tutu.
We can achieve political independence, but until we eradicate poverty, we will only move the setting of colonialism. Citing the topic, by liberating his people, Mugabe has evidently transformed himself as the master and by perpetuating poverty in the nce rich nation; he has forced his people to brave the harsh process of migrating to Europe and the unwelcoming borders of other African countries in search for foreign masters to slave for peanuts and insults. To dignify Mugabe will be to vindicate a man who stands on the starving remains of his people and the ruins of his country’s economy and polity to thump his chest and proclaim his victory as the liberator who insists that the only dictator allowed in an African soil has to be an African. Pan Africanism has focused on Africans’ political freedom but ignored economic liberation. As a result, for most politically liberated Africans, their vote is worth a bag of maize meal. Our inability to stop accusing the west for our domestic problems is a reflection of our unpreparedness to assume the responsibilities associated with independence. Britain is entitled to their opinion on Zimbabwe and most other African countries because a large number of our brothers and sisters are economic and political refugee who depend on the social welfare establishments funded by British tax payers.
Take a poll of some of us still in Africa, a large percentage will like to join the train of immigration. Our African liberators fought the colonial masters with fed stomach for most of us now, our greatest enemies should be poverty and its perpetrators.
You hit the nail right on the head, Tijan. Zimbabwe people might be suffering; mugabe has been in power for too long -true. But the main point is do all these critical western powers care about the so called suffering people? No. They care less. If the concern of the people was the focus, what about darfur, somalia & the likes. Are the Zimbabwean people suffering more than those of Darfur over all these years?? The ONLY & SIMPLE reason for ther fierce attack and propaganda, is bcos Mugabe took land from WHITE farmers. Nothing else. And to Muyiwa .”..so it was the west that came to Zimbabwe took away the food and raised the inflation rate?……” How ridiculous & dumb. Get a basic economics book and get an idea of how Inflation can be ‘deliberately & implicitly imposed’ through crude policies, economic & trade forces, (which western powers have strong control).
Sito, I happen to know quite enough about economics to know that the most major factor dictating inflation is the country\’s economic policy. The point is not to defend western interests, the question is how come the people in Zimbabwe are suffering? Is it the western powers that are responsible? Is it the western powers that created a food shortage from a food surplus? You must be out of your mind if you cannot see the fact that the blame lies on Mugabe\’s doorstep. After being in power for 28 years. Is it not time to leave the stage? Does Mugabe not bear some responsibility? As usual people like you are always willing to absolve someone like Mugabe of any wrong! The point is not what western leaders think is irrelevant to the issue what is good for the people of Zimbabwe is the issue. So don\’t hide Mugabe\’s faults under some false Pan-Africanist ideal.