When academics spoil the broth

for national prosperity. It is therefore important that every person must work for the good of and the protection of the community and nation state from those who have the appetite of plundering other nations’ resources.

This afro-centric proverb ensures that people effectively share information on how to wisely use resources for the betterment of their communities. In any country people expect academics to help the nation with sound policy and developmental advice. Educational investment should be for national good rather than serving foreign interests.

Fellow citizens, one of my best friends, my best comrade namely Cde Morgan Mzilikazi, teaches the youths from across the political divide, about the “stork bird doctrine”. The stork bird doctrine is a colonial doctrine that was employed by the West during the slave, colonial and liberation eras in Africa. The stork bird flies more that 40 000 km from Europe to Africa in search of food (locusts).

When it is egg laying time, it flies back to Europe to build nests, lay eggs, hatch young stork birds, nurture them and teach them never to lay eggs in Africa but only in Europe.
Fellow Zimbabweans, since time immemorial the stork birds have kept the culture instilled in them by their ancestry never to build nests, lay eggs and nurture young ones in Africa. Fellow citizens, has anyone ever seen a nest; let alone a stork egg in Africa? The answer is a big ‘NO’.

In my last two instalments I argued that the West particularly Britain, America, German, France and Belgium thrive on creation of violence and stealing of African resources. These are countries that continue to cause the current world holocausts through violent wars initiated in order to steal other countries resources. In order to freely enjoy other countries’ resources, they fight limited wars in certain perceived difficult countries and create platforms for regime change in weaker states.

Remember during the slave and colonial eras most Africans were less educated. They were less educated not worse than the inhuman Europeans but were limited on reading the asymmetric European approaches to trade. The Europeans told our fore fathers that those who were taken to Europe would return with riches to develop Africa. In the process the asymmetric and deceptive Europeans lured us with a few pennies that they left as deposits for more to come which never was. The Westerners had won the day that resulted in Uncle Tom becoming filthy rich.

The West employed the stork bird doctrine of coming to Africa to eat locusts and fly back to Europe to build nests and lay eggs for generational growth and longevity. In the adoption of this concept, the West sailed to Africa to get free labour and resources and never to bring meaningful development in Africa but in Europe and America.

Fellow Zimbabweans, remember Europe’s industrial revolution that we were excited about learning started in the same period of slavery and colonisation. Remember American and European economic boom was in the same period of colonisation and resource plundering. Remember how the colonialists brainwashed Africans through colonial history and geography.

This writer used to be excited singing the acronym “homes” (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior), the Great Lakes of North America. Apart from the excitement, these lakes brought no food or development to Africa. Apart from being entry points of stolen resources into mainland America these lakes were never transport routes that helped develop Africa.

As if it was not enough the stork bird doctrine continues to rob Africa of its most educated professionals. Africa remains the training ground.
Many professionals run away from the Western-sponsored violence in Africa in search of greener pastures in Europe and America. Once these African professionals set foot in Western countries, they, instead of investing in their home countries, will earn sumptuously and invest in Western countries. One would think that the educated professionals would employ the stork bird doctrine and invest in their home countries in Africa but instead they help the thief in stealing wealth from Africa.

People of doctoral and professorial academic stature such as Professors Lovemore Madhuku, Welshman Ncube, Arthur Mutambara and the late Jonas Savimbi just to mention but a few continue to work for the West helping it to steal African resources. Don’t they have any shame?

People of fine legal standing such as Munyaradzi Gwisai, Tendai Biti, Douglas Mwonzora, and Beatrice Mtetwa and many others continue to do things that illegally give the West space for continued plundering of Africa resources. Don’t they have any shame? One wonders whether the behaviour of these academics is a demonstration of colonisation beyond redemption.

In pursuant of the stork bird concepts the West continues to destroy the sovereignty of African states.