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Henry Nasilele

Henry Nasilele
This is Me !

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

A United Zambia is Must!

To our citizens who are young at heart and the old generation who may not remember, we need to know how the Republic of Zambia came into being to enable us to understand our present political divergence in the country.

Before 1911 the territory currently known as Zambia was divided into two separate entities known as North-Eastern Rhodesia and North - Western Rhodesia.

Both territories were under British colonial rule.

The capital of North Eastern Rhodesia was at Fort Jameson (currently known as Chipata).

The Fort was established to defend the British ruled territory from other colonialists and hostile natives.

You may be interested to know that the "Policemen's language", commonly known as "Nyanja" originates from Fort Jameson.

It was developed as a dialect from the local languages of African tribes found in North-Eastern Rhodesia.

The capital of North Western Rhodesia was initially at Kalomo.

It was the first administrative centre of Northern Rhodesia, serving until the capital city was established at Livingstone in 1907.

The British colonial masters then merged the two into one territory know as Northern Rhodesia after 1911.

The capital of Northern Rhodesia was eventually moved to Lusaka.

You may be interested to know that the name "Lusaka" originates from a Chief who was found around there called Lusakasa , which the British abbreviated to Lusaka.

There is a school in Lusaka called Lusakasa which is named in honour of the Chief.

Northern Rhodesia and the neighbouring British ruled territories of Nyasaland (now Malawi) and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) were then merged into a Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

The administrative capital for this Federation was set at Fort Salisbury, later to be called Salisbury until independence in 1980 when Southern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zimbabwe when it was renamed Harare.

After the establishment of the Federation, there was resentment amongst the black nationals who were not happy with the way the wealth from the three territories were managed.

It was felt that most of the wealth from these territories was used to develop Southern Rhodesia more than the other two territories.

Salisbury became more developed than Lusaka and Blantyre (now Zomba) which was the capital of Malawi at independence. Even today this historic fact is still evident.

The capital of Malawi was later shifted to Lilongwe.

This brought about the call for the disbandment of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland by black nationalists (later to become the politicians) of these territories.

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland came to an end in 1953.

Thereafter, the African nationalists in the three territories demanded independence  of these territories from British colonial rule.

This saw the independence of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland from British rule in 1964 to become the Republics of Zambia and Malawi respectively.

The white administrators in Southern Rhodesia did not want the country to be ruled by the native blacks, so on 11th November 1965 they declared UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence) from British rule.

The UDI saw the begin  of a bitter 15-year guerilla bush war when the blacks in Southern Rhodesia , which was called Rhodesia after UDI, resorted to fighting the white rebels (under Ian Smith) from the bush.

This war affected the Republic of Zambia because the Freedom Fighters took refuge in the country and the rebels in Rhodesia used to bomb certain parts of the country in pursuit of the Freedom Fighters.

When the Liberation Centre was bombed by the white rebels in the 70s I was in Lusaka as a student at UNZA.

As students at UNZA we were conscripted into the Zambia National Service to go for military training in 1973 in order to protect the country from rebel attacks.

The UDI brought a lot of economic hardships to the Republic of Zambia in many ways.

The county was subjected to border closures, military attacks and siege by the white rebels in Rhodesia, the white Apartheid racist regime in South Africa and the Portuguese ruled territories of Mozambique and Angola.

Under the leadership of Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, who became the President of Zambia in 1964 (he was called Prime Minister then) the country managed to pull through these hardships.

This part of our history needs a separate writing about it!  

As stated earlier, North-Eastern Rhodesia and North -Western became Northern Rhodesia in 1911.

Northern Rhodesia was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland until 1953 when the Federation was disbanded due to African nationalist pressure.

Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24th October 1964.

Now coming back to our present voting pattern in our Elections, you may notice that these are based on the historic basis of the two former British ruled territories of North-Eastern Rhodesia and North- Western Rhodesia.

A lot of people talk without knowing where we are coming from a Nation.

Ignorance is our greatest enemy today and if not checked it could lead to animosity in the country.

The Bible teaches us that: -

“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.”

The challenge of our current political leaders is to keep the unity of this country so that it is not again divided as the British colonialists did before 1911 and it must remain a ONE ZAMBIA and a ONE NATION!

AMEN !!


REFERENCES :

For those who may be interested to read in detail about the history of our beloved country, you may get details from the links given below, from Libraries or research online, etc.

1) North - Eastern Rhodesia



2) North- Western Rhodesia

3)  Historical Atlas – The History of Zambia



Friday, August 12, 2016

Zambia's Political Metamorphism

I am appealing to fellow citizens, who are following the just ended Presidential and Elections’ results, posted from various sources on the Social Media, to take easy!

There is no need for one to stress oneself unnecessarily due to politics.

A number of people, who were close to me, have passed on or became unhealthy due to stress after an election.

Others, who were successful businessmen, who recklessly threw their wealth into campaigns and lost the elections, saw their businesses going under.

It took time for a few others that I know of, to be restored.

As individuals, we are just tiny elements of a much bigger body.

Our personal development should be of prime importance to us.

So why should one worry who rules us?

An election victory or defeat is not a permanent situation.

Political leaders come and go.

From 1964, when I was 11 years old, up to this year of 2016, when I am 62, Zambia had seen several major political changes as follows:-
  
a) 1964 Zambia attaining political independence from British white rule.

     A black man and a native of the country becomes the first Head of State.

b) 1972 - Zambia becoming a one party State after abolition of all opposition  
     political parties.  

c) 1991 - Zambia reverts back to multiparty democracy.

    The second Republican President voted into Office with a popular vote from
    an electorate fed up with 27 years of one party leadership.

d) 2001 - The third Republican President is voted into Office after a two term
    tenure in Office of the incumbent comes to an end.

    This is after a bid by him to go for a third term flops due to public pressure.

e) 2008 - Zambia losing its third Republican President in office through death.

     This is the first time that an incumbent President dies in Office and a fourth
     President is elected.

f) 2011 - a fifth President is elected into office.

     This is after being in the opposition for 10 years.

     The new President is from a third political party to rule the Nation since
     independence.

g) 2014 - Zambia losing its fifth Republican President in office through death.

     This is the second time that an incumbent President dies in Office and a  
     fifth President is elected.

h) 2015 - A sixth Republican President is voted into Office after the death of
      the fifth President.

      He wins the party presidency after a big wrangle amongst party leaders as
      ten of them vie for the post of party President.

      After a fiasco at the party’s Convention, this lasts several days in two
      camps, the current party President is elected amidst one of the greatest
      controversies witnessed at any party Convention in the country.

i) 2016 - Zambia goes to the polls again.

It must be noted that this is a time when the country's economy is at one of its lowest levels since attaining its political independence in 1964.

Will the country have its seventh Republican President from a new political party or will the sixth President going to continue with a depressed economy?

The challenge of the incoming Government is to turn around Zambia’s economy and see the country to achieve the Agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030 as per resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 25th September, 2015.

Failure to do so will result in continued suffering of the citizens, especially the marginalized, such as the unemployed youths and women.
This is likely to bring increased political agitation and animosity.


The Bible tells us about earthly leaders as follows:-

  • “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” ~ Romans 13:1

  • “Jesus answered [speaking to Pilate], “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” ~ John 19:11

  • “By me kings reign…” ~ Proverbs 8:15

  • “…he removes kings, and sets up kings…” ~ Daniel 2:21

  • “Then God removed Saul and made David their king…” ~ Acts 13:22

  • “No one … can exalt themselves. It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.” ~ Psalms 75:6-7

  • “…the Most High has power over human kingdoms. He gives them to whomever he wishes.” ~ Daniel 4:17

At the end of it all, the Almighty Lord will make the decision on who the next President of Zambia will be.

He has the final power to put leaders into and out of Office.


AMEN!!