By Joe KalubaAs a follower of social, economic and political issues. I love listening to music that borders on these themes. In most cases I like to listen to yesteryears revolutionary songs. I also put in that mix speeches, poetry or blues (songs). Great speakers, poets and musicians composed most of their work during the struggle for equality, independence, justice or an end to racial segregation.
Due to the message and impact from the music, speeches and poetry. Slave trade was ended, racial segregation was mitigated, women started to take part in politics and more importantly in time suppressed countries got independence.
If you look through history and everything that is recorded you can see that a small group of people made others suffer. Some European countries killed and made(even to date) other countries or races look/or feel inferior. Women even now are treated as second class citizens in political, social or religious cycles. As I said many people stood or are still standing up for the marginalised races, sexes or gender. Songs or pieces of writing are being done or composed. There seem to be a light at the end of a tunnel.
However, as much as we can see that light I still feel the people who have been or are victims must stand up and put their feet down. We have a lot of inspiration from leaders and artists of yesteryears but yet we-as a continent(Africa) we are still in our inferiority complex shells. We would rather say bad things to/or about our own kind but praise the other kind. It is the issue of women against women, own race against own race.
I am not saying that we should praise or support our own kind even if they do wrong. What I am saying is that kudos for someone just because they are different from us in terms of status or what we have been told to do or believe is a complex that is bad for mankind. We see that due to what I may term us colonial impact. Evident from people bleaching their skin(s), we see our own colour as inferior to others. We see our behaviour as second to those of the kind of our colonial masters. Here the problem is not our colonial masters or western countries it is us the former colonies. The most shocking thing is that even people who have a level of education still feel like this.
What is America(USA, Canada) or what is European has more sense than what is Zambian or African. If a Zambian said Zambia is an African state and a Briton said Zambia is found in South America people will believe the Briton and not the Zambian. This is how bad it is.
Let me give one example. In the past week President Lungu was seen dancing at the Zambia National Service(ZNS) Annual Ball. The opposition including some media house came out condemning the President. Some said that a President should not dance/or dance like that. A President should not take selfies like that.
Now here is where I have a problem. Former Vice President Guy Scott as Acting President went to Lusaka’s Chez Ntemba night Club on New Year’s eve to dance the night into 2015. Most media house carried screamer headlines. In what I would term as approval of the acting President’s dance skills. No opposition leader or supporters including media institutions spoke ill of Scott. Instead most people said that was a way to go for a leader. So Scott can dance and Lungu can not. I mean Lungu did not even go in a night club. It was just an annual event which all Heads of States have attended in the past.
I would say the example of Lungu and Scott speaks volumes. People went even to the extent of mocking and Photoshop(ing) President Lungu’s pictures. We were afraid to do that with Scott,now is it? Another example is of US President Barack Obama who did some selfies at the late Nelson Mandela’s funeral and some more around here and there. People shared and gave praise. It was like “ the US President is down to earth” Which earth that an African or a Zambian President is not on.
One of the many reasons Africa is not developed is because a lot of people have the inferiority complex. I have always noted that we can only learn from others but we have to be proud of ourselves and in turn find rhythm to/or for our own elements of life. We can’t solve our own issues all we do is run to the west for help. Opposition political leaders in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya or Ivory Coast are cry babies who will say anything bad there is to say just to win sympathy.
Our new generation needs to understand that we have to remove and emancipate ourselves from that mental slavery. No one will but ourselves. Until that day when tribes, races, men or women alike are treated the same. Until that day when we stop to be cry babies. Until that day when we knowingly or unknowingly stop looking down on ourselves. That’s when we are going to be free from that self pit. sympathy and fear for the other people.
Please be positive, inferior to non and have a good end to the Year.
By Joe Mwansa Lombe Kaluba
Joe Mwansa Lombe Kaluba MA
PhD Candidate-Political, Gender and Transnational Studies
International Postgraduate Centre (IPC)
please! education should be able to give you an incite on issue and be able to analyse things critically. your analytical skills are below the level for someone vying for a PhD. you as an intellectual should not not be political selective favouring one over the other. that’s too cheap.
PHD Candidate?!!! I wonder whether the author gave someone to proofread the article before posting it on Tumfweko. The entire article is full of punctuation errors. Jeo Mwansa, you are embarrassing IPC.
This is exacty what the Writer is talking about…of all things, you only see ‘punctuation errors’?
He is ‘PhD Candidate-Political, Gender and Transnational Studies’ and not for ‘Linguistics’ or ‘Literature’ for God’s sake!
God help us!
Colonel or Colonial? It is really sad when the grammatical error is in the heading. Actually, the article is full of clauses and not sentences. The author is so much against the Western World to point of failing to improve his English grammar. Joe Mwansa, kindly write the same article in vernacular perhaps what you are trying to communicate will come out clearly. I am sure that Joe Mwansa was convinced that when people see the “PHD Candidate” title, he will be considered as ‘authority’. Next time omit your title of “PHD Candidate” because you are not different from us with diplomas. What we are now observing is the effect of Examination Leakages. Lord have Mercy.