By: Qeko Today is the 88th birthday of Africa’s great son, His Excellency Comrade Robert Mugabe the State President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. I would like to extend my heartfelt wishes to the President as he and the people of Zimbabwe celebrate this day. Robert Mugabe is currently one of longest serving heads of state in African politics and has been in power since 1980 when the nation attained independence from the British. He was born on the 21st of February 1924 in Matibiri in Zvimba district northeast of the then Salisbury. He attended mission schools and between 1949 he got a scholarship to study the B.A degree in English and History at the University of Fort Hare where he exposed to political ideologies through the Youth Wing of the African National Congress.
Apart from Makerere University, the University of Fort Hare was the only University in the olden days that admitted black intellectuals’ from across African countries. This was and remains a place where African leaders are processed and produced and sent into the world to make a difference in society. In the late 50s, Mugabe joined the liberation movement in Zimbabwe which saw the country attaining independence in 1980. He remains the godfather of the Zimbabwean politics because no history of Zimbabwe can be written and will ever be written without a mention of this great son of Africa who has ruled the southern African nation since independence.
Misunderstood by many western critics
Robert Mugabe has been one of the great African leaders who has been greatly misunderstood, demonized and accused of various forms of human rights violations by the western backed civil rights institutions across Africa. He is hated by the west because of his anti-western sentiments and the land reform program that gave land back to the black majority Zimbabweans. What Robert Mugabe did by giving land back to its rightful owners is what the western nations did not like hence they put sanctions to bring the Mugabe administration to its knees. However since the sanctions were imposed; only the poor and not the ruling elite have been affected.. In the administration of the economic sanctions, the western nations and agencies miscalculated the situation and were hoping that the sanctions would force the poor take up arms against their government.
Anti-Western critic
No African leader has criticized western governments more than Robert Mugabe. Mugabe has openly criticized western governments for plotting a regime change in his country through the sanctions and economic empowering of the NGO who were helping in their fight against the government. As is the tradition everywhere, western donor agencies normally pump in more money to NGOs to help them fight a regime while at the same time they withdraw aid to the government hoping that ordinary people would go to the streets and protest until there is regime change. Now Mugabe never minced his words to condemn western nations’ sanctions against his country which by and large negatively affected ordinary people more than the politicians themselves.
Champion of Education and human resource development
As the President celebrates his 88th birthday today, one thing keeps on coming into my mind and that is the heart and love that he has to develop his country and his people. Mugabe is one of the best African statesman who invests in the lives of the youth by giving them University education. This is the side of Mugabe that most of his critics do not know. What they know about Mugabe is the one sided history without considering the good part of his leadership.
While the world has concentrated on the negative aspects, Robert Mugabe has done more in African political economy. Thousands of young Zimbabwean attends various Universities across South Africa on a Government Scholarship in addition to the many who are admitted within the country. It is due to this that Zimbabwean students form the largest population of international students in many of South African Universities many of whom are on government scholarship.
African liberation
In the history of Southern African liberation, Robert Mugabe remains one of the key figures together with the likes of Kenneth Kaunda, Kamuzu Banda, Samora Macheal, Seretse Khama, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela, Sam Nujoma and Do Santos to mention but a few. Robert Mugabe belong to the old guards, the first generation of liberationists and Zimbabwe remains unique in that they the country is still ruled by a President who physically took part in the liberation of the country.
Highest literacy rate in African under his leadership
Finally under the leadership of Comrade Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe has become the beacon of hope for Africa. The United Nation Organization stated last year that Zimbabwe has overtaken Tunisia as a country with the highest literacy rate in Africa. Statistically Zimbabwe as the Champion of African Literacy has 92% while Tunisia which comes second has 87%. This achievement has been realized due to the good policies that the President has for his people in terms of higher education and training. In as much as critics of Robert Mugabe concentrate on the negative side of life, we want to make it clear that there is also a much more positive side that shines even brighter as evidenced in the many achievements that the nation has seen since independence in 1980.
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