A wonderful opportunity to build a patriotic opposition beckons
“NEVER let a good crisis go to waste,” someone once said.
The crisis in Zimbabwe’s main opposition the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) suddenly presents a fantastic opportunity to rebuild something beautiful from these smouldering ashes.
Zimbabwe’s opposition is mortally wounded from ruling Zanu PF party street-smarts and brute force.
Naivety and arrogance in opposition politics contributed significantly to the self-inflicted wounds that have robbed Zimbabweans of a strong opposition to counter the corrupt and murderous Zanu PF.
Navel gazing, ego trips and politics of entitlement by the opposition have held hostage the dreams of peace-loving Zimbabweans for a long time.
So, to rebuild, the opposition must look into the mirror for its nemesis.
Looking back from the mirror will be the one-man dictatorship and a cabal sworn to see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing about former CCC leader Nelson Chamisa, who abandoned the party last month.
Also reflected from the mirror will be strategic ambiguity and lack of democratic structures on the ground, which the likes of self-proclaimed interim secretarygeneral Sengezo Tshabangu took full advantage of.
This introspection is critical to ensure the lessons from past mistakes do not go to waste.
How could an opposition party intent on dislodging Zanu PF dictatorship behave in such an undemocratic fashion?
As a result, a personality cult intolerant to criticism and debate became the centre and subsequently failed to hold.
Just like in Zanu PF, leadership mediocrity begot more obtusity.
Desperate to escape Zanu PF repression, some gullible opposition supporters joined the see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing brigade with tragic consequences.
The media did the opposition no favours by treating them with kid gloves.
Democracy is a culture that starts from the individual into the organisation and then national level.
Dictatorship at party level gives birth to dictatorship at the national level and never mutates into democracy.
The only opposition that will defeat Zanu PF is one that is different from Zanu PF.
It has to be a vibrant, transparent and accountable opposition.
• Read full article on www.newsday.co.zw
https://convowithtrevor.com/icwt-newsletter-issue-71/
• Trevor Ncube is chairman of Alpha Media Holdings and host of ICWT