"EXTREMISM WILL NOT HELP US NOW : A VISION IS WHAT WE NEED" by Biggs Bomba.

Colleagues;

The urgent task to save zimbabwe from degenarating into a Somalia like violence ridden failes state status requires level headed and calculative thinking from all of us who genuinely love this nation.

I am sad when i see our readiness to dishonestly fling labels at each other and sometimes even mirror the zanu pf tactics and culture were the way to deal with opposing views is to simply smear the messenger in the most thuggish of ways. It is not that the "democratic opposition" can not take power in this state but if it does resolving these contradictions it will be another false solution and as Bob Marley said, " You are go fight again!"

What i think Zimbabwe need now more than anything else is a "winning coalition" of all forces opposed to Mugabe's tyranny. I find the arguements that you cannot unite with those splitting from Zanu PF full of double standards and unsustainable. Who wasn't in Zanu PF? I am not asking about the last ten years but i mean before that. we all know today that zanu pf has never been a democratic movement and some of our very senior opposition leaders today help positions in zanu structures at the hieght of gukurahundi and other dark chapters of zanu. so the arguement that people belonged to zanu when it was clean is neither here nor there. but no one should be excluded on this basis in the same way that whoever decides to genuinely split from zanu pf today should not be excluded. Is it not a shame that amongst ourselves before we listen to each other we now ask each ther whether one was at rufaro in september 99 and whether one was in Chitungwiza for the inaugural congress?

if we had an opposition to mugabe decisive enough to spring to the tipping point maybe we could have the luxury to play exclusionary politics. The delapidated state of the opposition today makes unity not only a necessary condition for victory against mugabe's tyranny but also an urgent task.

This is almost too late to say considering the fast approaching nomination day and statements already made by key players in the opposition: but i think a "winning coalition" of all against Mugabe is the only thing that would present the one opportunity for Zimbabweans to steer the country in a new direction come March. the most contentious iissue in coalition zim politics is always about who is positioned where with what power. This is why at this critical moment, as our country hangs on the edge of a precipice - objectivity, and something greater than our individual interests must drive our politics. My thing is whoever can best unite Zimbabweans against Mugabe must lead. If Morgan is that person then surely this is a good reason to support him. On the other hand if Simba or anyone else is the best person to that then surely he deserves to be supported.

The biggest quandary is that on one hand Morgan does not convince me that alone given the current state of the MDC can dislodge Mugabe or inspire a lot of the apathetic voters to go out and vote. we all know from statistics since 2000 that mdc turnout has been going down even at times when living conditions were acutely difficulty. Also i do not think that Simba has yet shown what he is bringing. In addition to his apparent support from the national businessman and sections of the urban population he needs to demonstrate the support of those "heavy weights" and a capacity to seriously split zanu for him to deserve the mentle.

The question of leadership is something that can be objectively weighed and decided upon. Unity for the greater good of the country must be the guiding principle. This can not happen if we are guided by zealotry and emotional allegiances to individual personalities. Psycophancy is the biggest enemy of progressive politics. It is the very reason why African politics usually elevates mediocrity to the point of sanctity.

more than anything else, zimbabwe right now needs visionaries, who like the American founding fathers ( who are not my idols) can lay the foundation of a nation for generation after generation to stand on. that enduring foundation can only be with a set of democratic principles that we all committ to respect above personalities!

Dare to Invent the Future!

Briggs (briggsbomba@yahoo.com)