What It Means To Be Independent

President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana with W.E.B. DuBois and Shirley Graham DuBois, along with Kojo Botsio, Ghana Foreign Minister in 1963. The DuBois' became citizens of Ghana and led research and media institutions between 1962-1966., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

What it means to be independent

Tuesday, 09 April 2013 00:00
Innocent Katsande
Zimbabwe Herald

It was after a protracted period of colonial brutality that Africans began to demand their freedom from European settlers. The indigenous people had always resented foreign occupation, in some countries political pressure was enough to achieve independence.

Unfortunately not all countries were that lucky.

In Zimbabwe a 14-year war had to be waged.

In Southern Africa, the road to freedom was longer and more deadly than what other nations had to overcome.

Our liberation movements were, however, motivated and inspired by a deep craving to redeem what they strongly believed belonged to them. The revolutionary fighter’s goal was thus not to win the war per se and no colonial army was ever defeated really but simply the goal was that at whatever cost, not to lose!

For indigenous people the winning formula was to make the conduct of the war unbearable for the colonial power over the long-term.

To individuals who didn’t witness and experience the struggle first hand, if you’re one of those who only think of Independence Day as a Zimbabwean holiday, please think again! It is critical that today’s young people understand the true meaning of what it is we celebrate when we refer to independence.

Europeans were not doing us a favour through colonisation, economic historians of Africa point to a number of economic related reasons why European countries scrambled into our backyards.

Mineral exploitation, large-scale agricultural production and the need to exploit huge oil reserves in North Africa were some of the underlying reasons why Europe was in Africa and still today needs to regulate and be part of reaping the benefits of our continent’s growth.

Young people in the 70’s committed themselves to living in the bush fighting after they understood that it was better to die fighting for freedom than to live life in chains.

They knew what was at stake and they were willing to fight for it!

As much as independence today may seemingly be synonymous with the older generation, well back in the day it was delivered by young people, which is why it is crucial that today’s young people appreciate the value of fighting and defending one’s country.

For the youth independence today is preferential procurement within the market place across all sectors, it is the recently passed 25 percent youth quota enshrined in the Youth Policy by Cabinet, it is the implementation of youth empowerment in the new constitution. Independence for young people today is the availability of a conducive environment that carters for youth participation in indigenisation and economic empowerment programmers, participation in our country’s industry, social circles and even politics.

Since 1980 we have had a gradual introduction of young indigenous entrepreneurs, we have had young miners, young farmers, musicians, sport personalities etc. For the first time young people were able to express themselves and become whoever they dreamt to be without limitations or sanctions by the Government. The struggle for economic freedom continues across the board, but there is need to be understood that though the battle continues. What we won cannot be given up but must be guarded jealously and be used for the benefit of all Zimbabweans.

We boast of one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, we have been empowered. We have been endowed with self-esteem and self-belief that as Black Zimbabweans we can make it, yes we can play meaningful roles in our economy as well as globally.

Through Independence though many obstacles and challenges were before us we have witnessed wealth transfer in the form of land from the minority whites to the majority indigenous blacks, we have gained access to key posts in Government and industry among many other policies we had to change.

The battle continues as we seek to redeem the control of a considerable stake of our minerals, productive sectors and banks.

As Government begins to challenge the status quo in our economy and getting affirmative on furthering the empowerment agenda to the next level, youths need to capitalise on the opportunities provided by being independent. We need now to claim our rights on a high dimension altogether, we need to be trusted with responsibilities at a greater level.

Because of what independence presents for us the youths, we need to claim our privileges to also represent our constituencies in Parliament, be chiefs, senators, councillors and deputy ministers, among others.

This we can do and this we will do, the ball is within our court, this is what independence entails and this is what independence has delivered for us.

The Youth Council is there to support every young person who dares to participate in our country in a big way because we have come to an understanding that at the bottom of education, at the bottom of politics, even at the bottom of religion, there must be our race for economic independence.

Benjamin Franklin also once said “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” It is truly unforgivable to be a young Zimbabwean in this season and not take advantage of the empowering environment.

In the 1880s, the British arrived with Cecil John Rhodes’ British South Africa Company. In 1898, the name Southern Rhodesia was adopted. In 1888, Rhodes obtained a concession for mining rights from King Lobengula. Cecil Rhodes presented this concession to persuade the British government to grant a royal charter to his BSAC. Rhodes sought permission to negotiate similar concessions covering all the territory between the Limpopo and Lake Tanganyika, then known as ‘Zambesia’.

In accordance with the terms of aforementioned concessions and treaties, Rhodes promoted colonisation, with British control over labour as well as precious metals and other mineral resources. In 1895 the BSAC adopted the name “Rhodesia” for the territory of Zambesia, in honour of Cecil John Rhodes.

In 1898 ‘Southern Rhodesia’ became the official denotation for the region south of the Zambezi which later became Zimbabwe. This is the root of the colonisation which our fathers fought to overturn and now we have our land back and resources back we have to capitalise down to the grain and not give up anything freely not even at the price of money. Zimbabwe is not for sale, President RG Mugabe always says!

In Ghana the first nation South of the Sahara to attain independence from the British,

Kwame Nkrumah rose to power by organising rallies and mobilizing affirmative action against the British. In 1957, Ghana finally won the battle when most Africans were still too scared to commit themselves to the cause of regaining their freedom.

Nkrumah was elected the first president of Ghana after independence and did many things to change the system they were accustomed to. Nkrumah advocated socialism and nationalised many businesses in a bid to ensure that the majority benefited.

In Kenya freedom was only granted after a long, agonizing, armed struggle. African farmers had lost much of their land and jobs to white settlers.

The Europeans took over much of the fertile highlands making it difficult for the indigenous people to prosper. The settlers claimed it was their land but the people of Kenya differed. Jomo Kenyatta, the leading spokesman of the Kikuyu said the land is ours, when Europeans came; they kept us back and took our land. Kenyatta used nonviolent methods to fight oppressive laws. Although, in the 1950s more radical leaders stepped forward and turned to guerrilla warfare.

In our history books it is recorded that these rebels burnt farms and attacked settlers and Africans who were known to have helped or work with the settlers. The British called these guerrillas the “Mau Mau”.

To end the violence, the British had to have Kenyatta arrested and thousands of Kikuyus killed. The rebels were crushed with no leader, but the movement lived on. Kenyatta became a national hero and in 1963, the year of his release, he became the leader of independent Kenya.

Today Kenya is one of the African countries offering young people the support and opportunities to contribute to the national economy. Youth empowerment in Kenya is currently being spearheaded by Government through the creation of an enabling environment for young people to also have a future they can look forward to, something that was a non-event during the colonial era!

In North Africa it is reported that throughout the 1800s, France had occupied much of Algeria. Millions of French people had settled there over time. They were very much determined to keep the Algerian people from winning independence, because of this, Algerian nationalists set up the National Liberation Front. In 1954, this group turned to guerrilla warfare. The French though they were very much reluctant to lose their Algerian colony, the indigenous Algerians had made up their minds to fight.

The French sent 500 000 troops to maintain their possession, the main reason being to control Algeria’s oil and natural gases which had been discovered. Algerians finally delivered their independence in 1962 as the French people spoke out and ridiculed the war causing it to end.

As the wave of decolonisation spread across the continent, millions of people lost their lives, eventually the settler regimes crumbled and African states regained their Independence over time.

Innocent Katsande is the Communications Officer for the Zimbabwe Youth Council.