Maravi

Rupiah’s peace of docility

Rupiah’s peace of docility
By The Post
Wed 02 Mar. 2011, 04:00 CAT

IT is said that example is not the main thing in leading others, it is the only thing. It is also said that it is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself. You can’t lead anyone else further than you have gone yourself.

Some have even gone further to say that a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. People do not follow uncommitted leaders and commitment is shown by the way one lives his own life and conducts his affairs.

No man that cannot command himself is fit to command another. A leader leads by example, whether he intends to or not.

It is said that to think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking.

It doesn’t make sense for our leaders to preach justice, fairness and peace when they are incapable of practicing these things themselves.

As Fr John Lesa has correctly observed, leaders should act in line with what they preach and demand from others.

When they talk about justice, they should ask themselves if they are acting justly to others.

When they are talking about peace, they should be asking themselves if they are acting in a manner that promotes peace.

We have seen that even the worst tyrants have always portrayed themselves as people who want peace, who seek peace.

But often when they talk about peace, they are actually and simply asking for obedience to their rule; they are asking citizens not to disturb their reign.

Anything that disturbs their hold on power is seen as inimical to peace.

But with what we are seeing today in North Africa, it is easy for us to realise that peace in a country cannot be reduced to the mere absence of conflict.

Whoever thought what is happening in Libya today could be happening with such speed and intensity?

Who could have ever imagined that there was no peace in that country?

We ask this question because that society appeared peaceful and happy with a lot of tolerance for Muammar Gadaffi and his family.

But today Libya is in flames.

And this anger cannot be said to have developed overnight. It was there in the hearts of many Libyans.

This just goes to show that peace is not the mere absence of conflict; it is the tranquility of order; it is the fruit of honesty, truth and solidarity.

And the enjoyment of peace also requires justice. Without justice, there will be no peace.

They are twin sisters. The use of unjust means of any form, by anyone, is against justice.

To engage in corruption and all sorts of abuse of power and public office, election bribery and malpractices lead to injustice and consequently the destruction of peace.

Therefore, the search for the ways for the realisation of the enjoyment of the right to peace requires the knowledge of what peace is not.

You can’t claim to have peace in a country where corruption is high, where public resources are being stolen with impunity.

You can’t claim to have peace in a country where those in power and their friends are enriching themselves by stealing, in broad daylight, people’s pensions.

The story that we started running yesterday about how the MMD leadership and their friends are stealing billions of kwacha from NAPSA through all sorts of schemes cannot be said to be a good recipe for peace.

This is a sure recipe for conflict. Is this the way to invest a pension contributor’s money and expect him to be happy, to have peace in his heart?

To build a climate where the enjoyment of the right to peace is realised, it is important to realise that the source of conflict is not solely out there. It is first and foremost located inside people’s hearts.

Conflicts spring from the hearts that are full of greed for money and for power; hearts that are full of hatred and vanity.

There is no way somebody can call deals that are going on at NAPSA ‘genuine business approved by the board’.

What type of board can approve such deals?

Only a corrupt board can approve such deals.

Those deals are outright theft; they are not a product of oversight on the part of anyone involved in them.

Again, this is not a recipe for peace because there is no justice in it and there can be no peace where there is no justice.

The peace that we claim to be enjoying today will soon be destroyed by greed for money, political power and unfair sharing of the wealth of our country.

We say this because the forces of discord that unleash themselves in the blood and destruction of conflict are hidden in every human heart.

Too often they surface, to the great distress of others, in the frequently lamented evils of corruption, abuse of power and greed, injustice in all its sordid and selfish guises.

It is pointless to preach about peace in our country when every day the chief preacher himself is engaged in acts of injustice that rob others of their dignity.

A complete conversion of heart and a thorough reform of our society are needed and must be attempted soon if we are to continue enjoying peace.

There is no real peace to talk about in our country today.

And the mere absence of violence on our streets does not mean there is peace in our country.

Real peace only exists where injustices have been combated or are fought and conquered as soon as the arise.

There can’t be peace in a country where injustice is the order of the day. What justice is there for these characters to steal public resources the way they are doing?

Zambia can only be saved by an increase in justice, by a genuine revolution of love, by violence to our selfish interests.

We need peace in our country.

But not the peace that dehumanises us, the peace of docility, the peace that accepts wrongdoing and does nothing about it, refuses to challenge evil deeds.

Zambia needs peace but not just any peace.

The peace we need is that which is worthy of human beings, and enjoyed by everyone.

No Zambian will exert his energies for meaningless peace, for peace that only protects thieves, crooks, tyrants.

The peace that Zambians need is one that allows a genuine dialogue, not a cosmetic dialogue.

And such genuine dialogue requires that people from different groupings open their ears and hearts to listen to each other, to learn and unlearn from each other.

A political leader can’t claim to be preaching peace when every time he opens his mouth, it is to insult and belittle others, accuse others of crimes they have not committed and pass judgment on them before they are even tried.

This is Rupiah Banda’s approach to peace. When Rupiah talks about peace, he actually means docility.

We should all support his heinous deeds to be seen to be peaceful citizens.

This won’t happen.

It will only happen over our dead bodies.

Labels: JOHN LESA, LIBYA, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 8:17 PM