The Sunday Mail
V P Emmerson Mnangagwa
I believe that unity should not only be the business of the leadership of Zanu-PF.
I think those in industry must also preach unity. Our media, yourselves, must also promote unity.
Churches must also promote unity. Wherever people gather in numbers, the leaders of such associations, such groupings should always speak unity: Or simply every Zimbabweans should cherish unity where we are, wherever they are.
ZANU-PF Second Secretaries Phelekezela Mphoko (centre) and Emmerson Mnangagwa, the ruling party’s Secretary for Administration Cde Ignatius Chombo join delegates in song and dance at the conference – Pictures: Believe Nyakudjara
It’s not a burden for one particular person. But we at the top must always, always where we are speak, preach and promote unity.
I think the question of patriotism should be inculcated in the youth as they grow up.
A person, a child is born and goes to school – should be taught to love Zimbabwe, should be taught that Zimbabwe comes first; that the success of this country depends on Zimbabweans, not people from outside, that the burden of developing this country, the burden of making this country good and healthy is on our own shoulders.
The Japanese will make Japan healthy for the Japanese, the Russians will make Russia good for Russians, the Americans make America good for the Americans and so on and so on. That’s the primary thing we must inculcate in our people to love and respect ourselves.
We must think good of Zimbabwe if you are a Zimbabwean. And wherever you are, be proud to be a Zimbabwean. Yes, there are areas of differences on how to do things.
That we must sit down, debate and the majority view on any issue is the one that must carry the day.
That’s the type of patriotism that we want to have. Look at the Americans; every American child says America first.
They are taught to sacrifice their life for America. So (should it be) the same with Zimbabweans.
We must believe in our children, in every Zimbabwean citizen that: “I have the right, I have the duty, I have the obligation to lay down my life for Zimbabwe.”
Yes, you cannot remain an island; we have to relate with other countries. We have to relate with our neighbours, the continent and the international communities.
But first and foremost, we should know that Zimbabwe comes first.
I believe it’s a kind of weakness in our educational curriculum where we have not taught the history of our country, the history of the Munhumutapa when this country was a great, great country under the Munhumutapa Kingdom.
We must also teach how this country was raped by the whites – by the British – and our resources were exploited to build cities outside Africa by the imperialists.
We must teach them that. We must teach our children that the people had to sacrifice their lives for us to win back our dignity, to become independent again.
And to guard that Independence, every Zimbabwean, every child should be ready to lay their life for the purposes of preserving this independence and sovereignty.
It is ours, God-given, and we must defend it. if we don’t do it, we will have other people from outside who will want to exploit our resources using some of us in order to achieve their ends.
So, it is necessary that as our children grow up, they are taught this patriotic approach to preserving and protecting our resources and heritage.
We are going to celebrate our 28th Unity anniversary. This to me, and I believe every Zimbabwean, (is something) we must cherish.
It is the bedrock upon which this country shall continue to develop – united without distinction.
And it makes us feel at home wherever we are in Zimbabwe because we are united in a unitary State.
◆ These remarks have been abridged from an interview between Hon Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and our sister paper The Herald ahead of Unity Day 2015.
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