South Africa, as things crumble

King Misuzulu Zulu, Wednesday July 14, 2021, spoke with the voice of responsibility and challenge for better conduct in the management of the explosive situation in South Africa. Instead of making excuses and pointing fingers at other multi-ethnic South African nations, the king decided that his most important task would be to challenge his own community!

This is the way to go for any serious group of people or countries.

The king is young but seasoned. With a voice and presence filled with agony and disappointment as the whole world has watched, day after day for a week, the looting, violence and destruction of life and property in his beloved Zulu kingdom and in the major cities in South Africa, said:

“What is even sadder is that so many of those who are drawn to this lawlessness and crime are members of the Zulu nation … It has brought us all great shame … while the fingers are pointed at my father’s people. ”

He reminded everyone: “This chaos is destroying the economy, and the poor will suffer the most. The newly enthroned king, 46, was very blunt when he said the destruction “brought great shame” and to the Zulus – South Africa’s largest ethnic group.

His Majesty Misuzulu Zulu has all my respect for calling on his Zulu nation of nearly 12 million people and all of South Africa to reach the heights of decency; protect and respect human lives and the economic infrastructure that ultimately supports communities. This is different from what we see in many parts of the African continent, including Nigeria, where the eyes of nepotism, favoritism and ethnocentric prejudice are on whenever there is an issue that concerns someone. of their own community. It is such hypocrisy and immoral relativism that combined – with several colonial, neo-colonial and contemporary factors – to hold most of Africa back.

This existential question logically leads me to explore a difficult and critical question. Regardless of its controversial implications for mainland Africans, I will ask him:

WHY, in a perverse and awkward sense, do we still have most of the underdeveloped or developing countries in different parts of the African continent locked in a cycle of self-hatred of aimless grinding and foolish competition over who will surpass the others in the violent “defense” and “brotherly protection” of corrupt, illegal and selfish politicians and soldiers in their own sections / regions of their poorly governed countries?

Remarkably, hundreds and thousands of these “comrades” in dire need of what is commonly referred to as “the infrastructure of the stomach” mobilize most of these angry crowds. They are hungry and angry! So many people are homeless and millions of them go to bed hungry every day; yet it is they who have picked up the guns and destroyed the entrepreneurial spirit and hard work of many indigenous and dedicated comrades who work and provide economic employment opportunities in the community and bring transformative empowerment to South Africa. Post-apartheid South!

In terms of recent economic migrants and business developers, Nigerian and other African businesses have suffered from unfortunate xenophobia and recent attacks.

Sadly, most Zulus and African National Congress (ANC) members from other parts of South Africa who never profited from the corrupt presidency, the late and controversial Jacob Zuma presidency looted and torched hundreds of businesses. Zuma is a Zulu.

I agree with the king of the Zulus who warned that “my father’s people are committing suicide” by their involvement in the violence which took nearly 125 people, following the 15-month prison sentence of the former -President Zuma for contempt of court for corruption. .

Somehow our beloved South Africa, like Nigeria, has refused and failed – through a combination of historical and contemporary factors – to organically move to competent, inclusive, responsible countries of the world. and harmonious. What’s next for South Africa as things fall apart?

Dr Chido Nwangwu, author of the forthcoming 2021 book MLK, Mandela & Achebe: Power, Leadership and Identity, is the founder and publisher of America’s first African-owned internet newspaper, USAfricaonline.com, and established USAfrica in 1992 in Houston. He is the recipient of several awards for excellence in public policy and journalism, civic engagement and community empowerment awards and has appeared as an analyst on CNN and SKYnews. He was an adviser on African affairs to the former mayor of Houston, Lee Brown. @ Chido247

–

Dr. Chido Nwangwu.

United StatesAfrica

+ 1-832-45-CHIDO (24436)

[email protected]