AFRICAN EYE

I enjoy reading Reason Wafawarova on Thursdays. While many find him partisan and reducible or too angry to give the reader any meaningful nuances or shifts, I have found an interesting transformation in his judgement and analysis of issues. This transformation if I may call it, however has been somewhat cautious in terms of not going too far in his criticism of the current ZANU PF government. His transformation has seen him denouncing corruption especially within government or lack of competencies which continue to manifest itself within some elements in government. For a writer who writes for the Herald, I think due credit especially on being objective must be given to him. His latest instalment last Thursday titled, “A case for national youth service programme”, saw him make confidential revelations concerning the dreaded National Youth Service (NYS). He chronicles events from the NYS inception right up to its debacle in 2006.He passionately outlines that the NYS service was centre

When extremism is unjustifiable It started as a loosely coordinated group under one, Mallam Mohammed Yusuf, a fiery scholar resident in Maiduguri, the largest city of Bono state in North-eastern Nigeria. The first open challenge to government authority in this area was by a tiny group of people who withdrew from the urban landscape of Maiduguri to rural Kanama in the Yunusari local government area of Yobe State in north-eastern Nigeria in December 2003. They referred to themselves as the “Nigerian Taleban”. Their choice of rural Kanama as camp was made with an eye for military details. This site was carefully chosen for its remoteness and defensibility. The Kanama camp was forested and ensconced between two bodies of water near the Nigeria–Niger border. Trenches were dug and camouflaged across the only two access roads from Kanama and the exit road to Niger Republic, and sandbags were used to reinforce the defences. The militants then launched attacks on police stations and governm

When Traitors celebrate Lieutenant General Joseph Arthur Ankrah led the coup against Kwame Nkrumah in early 1966 while he was away in Vietnam attending a Peace Initiative in Vietnam which sought to end the war between America and Northern Vietnam. Nkrumah’s crime they said was of making the African people politically conscious about their resources among other things. His book that he had published in 1965, Neo Colonialism, The last stage of Imperialism”, had caused a lot of hype and debate especially in Western governments. His vision was to have an African society that utilised its resources and enjoyed equality. Nkrumah survived several assassination attempts on his life; the last being the one attempted in 1964.This coup attempt brought a lot of raft changes in his administration. He fired several army generals whom he didn’t trust anymore and he formed a new regiment known as the Presidential Regimental Guard which had the sole mandate of ensuring his own security. In 1966 aft

Lessons from Kenya Kenya celebrated her 52 years of independence on 1 June 2015.I love Kenya specifically. It’s a weakness that I can’t shrug off. It’s a country that has gone through a lot of changes that has seen it reassert itself as a tourism destination and well-known internationally for its world-dominating long-distance runners, and more lately Oscar-winning actors like Lupita Nyong’o and the fact that US president Barack Obama’s father was Kenyan. The country is full of “firsts” that make it a standout country that is littered with classical examples that other African countries can only yearn for. Kenya was the first testing ground of Ushahidi: Meaning “testimony” or “witness” in Swahili. Ushahidi was a website that was initially developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. Combining social networking with Google maps, it rapidly collects data from the crowd and visualizes what happened, when and where. Now it is t

When there used to be real Leaders… They killed him in cold blood, yes comrade Thomas Sankara.His only crime was that of being passionate about his own country, Burkina Faso- the land of upright people. His only crime committed to his murderers was his ideas for self-sufficiency among the Burkinabes.His close compatriot Blaise Compaore, with the aid and support of foreign powers betrayed him in 1987 and murdered him quietly and quickly buried him in a shallow grave. They killed him for his own ideas. Yes ideas that were going to transform Burkina Faso. His famous declaration “Our Homeland or death, we will win” fostered a culture of self-belief in the Burkinabe’s and still does today to the rest of us Africans. During the October 2014 uprisings in Burkina Faso, when the populace felt short-changed by government’s failure to actualise what Sankara had promised them 27 years back, some Burkinabes’ thoughts turned to slain leader Thomas Sankara for inspiration. His belief that, while

West Abbey, London, United Kingdom is the place where the great explorer David Livingstone lies to this day. Yes I’m told that’s the place where his two servants at the time Susi and Chuma embalmed the rest of his remains, wrapped in sailcloth and sailed to London in 1874 and left him there. Up to this day he continues to sleep there, surreal yet posing a lot of serious questions to us born on this beautiful continent concerning his “discoveries”. From his sojourns in the Zambezi and exploring its tributaries and the Nile source, only he could narrate better what he discovered first hand. I love Africa. It’s a beautiful continent with great scenic views. From the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, Africa boasts of such tourist attractions which continue to mesmerise visitors till this day. If one travels to North Africa, Egypt especially, the Suez Canal continues to act as a trade bolstering facility between developed countries and developing countries. It connects the Mediterranean Se

WHEN THE BULLY RUNS SCARED.. When I was doing my ordinary level studies, my History teacher, One Mr Sharara always added some humour that enhanced our zeal and enthusiasm for history. I remember it like it was yesterday how my friend and I would always look forward to his lessons. At times because of mischief, we would exceed history lesson by asking “unnecessary” questions that would take away time from other lessons. Those were the days! His lessons were always something to look forward to; they were so educative in the literal sense. His expansive narrative on African history, made me take pride in being fortunate to be born on this beautiful continent of Africa. At one time I remember, he taught us about the Mfecane and how invincible Tshaka the Zulu was at the peak of his reign. These were exciting times, yes, times that would cause us to have all sorts of imaginations of how he looked like. They were a lot of controversies in his reign too. When his mother Nandi died in O

There seems to be no rhyme to Vice President Mphoko’s madness. After reading his abominable utterances about Gukurahundi in the interview he gave to Sunday Mail, I was left dejected just like many millions of Zimbabweans who had expected much from a ‘fresh’ mind within the presidium. But nay, the man is just like a beeline of bootlickers and sympathisers of the system. Given the “vast” business empire that he is said to run, he is one of the beneficiaries of the patronage machinery. The interview is so revealing.Mphoko has chosen to be a well fed slave than a hungry free man as the Legend of reggae Lucky Dube would put it. A modern day slave is not one with a goering on his neck. It’s one who sings for his super. One who is mentally beholden to someone, one who sings the song of the slave master. This forms part of the curricular vitae of the new VP as he announced his entrance on the political arena. Many a time since his swearing in, the VP has made damaging remarks be about vend