Tribalism is a very dangerous cancer

Tribalism is a very dangerous cancer
By The Post
Sat 10 Mar. 2012, 13:00 CAT

BEFORE, the tactics of those who used to rule over our destiny consisted of dividing us and of setting one clan, tribe against another. They set one tribe against another. They set the interests of one tribe against the interests of another.

They set every faction of the people against the other factions as part of their strategy to dominate the people and advance their own interests without being challenged, without being fought, without opposition.

They set the various sectors of each nation against each other to serve their privileged interests. They weakened the people by their practice of setting one humble sector against others. They divided people into petty tribal and political groups that brought no guidance to the nation.

They divided the ignorant and misled people into factions supporting unscrupulous and greedy politicians. Thus they weakened the people; they confused the people.

We have continued to see this method being used by political opportunists of all shades and stripes, of all hues in our country today. We have a political leadership that tries to exploit any weakness in the unity of our people. We have politicians whose whole political careers depend on tribalism.

If tribalism was to disappear, their political relevance would also quickly disappear. Today, we see politicians in this country, in every province of our country trying to divide people along tribal lines. In North Western Province, they are busy trying to exploit whatever differences, weaknesses in unity may exist between the Lunda and Luvale-speaking people of that area.

They are busy fanning trouble all the time among these very close people historically and otherwise. This is how they survive politically, this is how they earn a living, this is how they keep their relevance. Similar elements are at work in Western Province, trying to capitalise on the weaknesses that may exist among the Nkoya, Mbunda, Luvale and Lozi-speaking peoples of that province. Again, this is how they survive politically and otherwise.

Similar characters are doing the same in Eastern Province, trying to sow seeds of division, of intolerance, of disunity among the Ngoni, Nsenga, Tumbuka and Chewa-speaking peoples of that area. For what? For hegemony, for personal political survival.

Now we are reading about divisions in Southern Province along the lines of plateau Tonga, inferior valley Tonga, superior Tonga and so on and so forth of this nonsense. What does this nonsense mean? What does it serve? Who does it benefit? We have similar things in the northern part of our country.

Some selfish and greedy people have been busy trying to set the Namwanga, Mambwe and Bemba-speaking people against each other. There are people trying to draw distinctions, trying to redefine the categories of the Bemba-speaking peoples. For what? To weaken them politically and otherwise so that they can reign over them.

There are people who are even trying to divide family members for their own political benefit. Wherever there is a collection of human beings - be it a family, a clan, a tribe, a nation comprising tribes - differences of one sort or another will always emerge, will always be there.

But these should not be exploited by those who aspire to lead people, by those who have been elected to lead people for their own selfish interests. Leaders should always work to unite people and not to divide them. Leaders should always work to strengthen people and not to weaken them by all sorts of divisions. Leaders should put the unity of the people first, and put it ahead of any divisive partisanship.

And in these times, as in times before, it is true that a house divided against itself by the spirit of faction, clan, tribe or region and so on and so forth, is a house that cannot stand. There is a growing tendency towards division in the Zambian house now. There are all sorts of divisive tendencies and political practices among us today.

We should not disregard the peril that this poses to the progress of our people. So, we would ask all Zambians, whatever their personal interests or concern, to guard against divisiveness and all its ugly consequences. United we have made progress.

What we achieved when all our people were united must not now be lost in distrust, suspicion, selfishness and politics of vanity among any of our people. Believing this as we do, we should not permit any office of our government or state to become involved in these tribal divisions that are developing in our country.

In a word, what we are saying is that no councillor, district commissioner, permanent secretary, deputy minister, Cabinet minister, vice-president or indeed the president of our Republic should be allowed to engage in any tribal politics without losing their position.

Tribalism should never be acceptable nationalism because it is a deformation of nationalism. It is the competitive and excessive exaltation of one's own tribe. It seeks to assert its superiority over others. It is not necessary that one's tribe should be superior to others' tribes in anything.

It is enough that it be faithful to its own identity and purpose, that it contributes what it can to the common cause and receive the contributions of others in a mutual collaboration and exchange. All through history, tribalism has been the cause of innumerable conflicts. Among the tribes, as among individuals, dignity is a virtue and pride is a vice.

Tribes, like countries, are not closed groups. They are but a small part of a wider society: that of the human race. It is not by segregating ourselves from those who are different that we shall preserve our own particular achievements.

It is by sharing them that we become richer. Refusing to share our achievements is one form of under-development; refusing to learn from others, is another. We should open our minds and hearts to the human values to be found in the language, customs and culture of the people who are about us.

If one looks at things this way, it would be easier to realise that the claim to the right to self-determination based on tribalistic or ethnic ideology is destructive. A sense of nationalism that is built upon tribal or ethnic intolerance is destructive.

Let us cultivate a loyal spirit of patriotism, but without narrow-mindedness, that is not reduced to fostering the interests of only one section or group of the inhabitants of our country. Let us be on guard against those dangers which weaken national unity. Let us take an interest and pride in our country and weep when it weeps, rejoice when it rejoices and take to heart its advancement and prosperity.

Former Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi was very right when he described tribalism as a cancer because it spreads without end, until it kills. Today, the intolerance, the discrimination can be targeted against members of another tribe, of a certain tribe.

Tomorrow it may be targeted against members of certain clans within the same tribe and thereafter it may be one village of the same tribe against another. Tribalists are sick people, they suffer from a cancer whose treatment may require removal of certain parts, certain tissues.

Let's remove tribalism in a similar way from our politics, from the administration of the affairs of our country before it contaminates everything and destroys our collective future.