Up your game, universities told

Midlands Bureau Chief
Africans should rediscover themselves as a people and find internal solutions to their problems for them to prosper, Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association chairman, Cde Jabulani Sibanda said yesterday. Delivering a public lecture at the Midlands State University, Cde Sibanda said institutions of higher learning should up their game in coming up with meaningful research and capacitating students to help developing nations to attain economic independence and prosperity.

He said: “There is no real research at our universities because we’re looking for formulas that were researched by other people who wrote books. Lecturers need to apply themselves more in this regard. Also, students you should think and come up with new ways of looking at things instead of just regurgitating what the whiteman told you. You’re war veterans in your own right and this is proved even in the Bible which argues that anything done by your father or forefather you also partook in it when you were in his loins.”

Cde Sibanda said students should focus on acquiring skills and knowledge that will help government’s dream of locals running and owning all factors of production.
“When we’ve challenges let’s confront them as a people. There’re people who are calling on you to join in their demonstrations. They count on you in these things. But let me tell you that this is not good for you or me. It’s not good for your country. Don’t listen to such calls because they don’t have your interests at heart. We’re prepared to defend this country with our lives because we can’t allow a regime that wants our boys to marry other males and girls marrying each other,” said Cde Sibanda.

He said in a free country, people needed to work hard compared to a country in bondage.
He said it was time Africans started believing in themselves as a people for them to attain total independence. The topic of his lecture was: “African identity crisis — A socio-economic and political contest for survival”.

“We’re God’s chosen people. It’s said the Lord said let it be and it was. The statement, ‘beyond the rivers of Ethiopia lies vast numbers of my people,’ that statement came from God the Creator. That statement was directed to no other tribe than the Israelites. God said this statement through Zephaniah the prophet in Zephaniah 3 verse 10. He told Jews that beyond the rivers of Ethiopia lie vast numbers of my people. God was referring to us black people, dark skinned people that we’re His children. But we the people of God have moved away from God and substituted ourselves with another race of people. We’ve taken the Jews and put them into our position yet God told the Jews, the Israelites, that we black people are His people,” said Cde Sibanda.

He warned people to be wary of western handouts.
“The Bible encourages us to work,” he said.

“Israelites were given manna from heaven when moving out of bondage in Egypt but God later instructed Aaron to tell his people to dig wells at their homesteads for their water. You work hard in freedom.”