AT the National Heroes Acre last week, during the burial of national hero Retired Brigadier-General Felix Ngwarati Muchemwa, Father Emmanuel Ribeiro delivered poignant words.
They carried an important message.
“Ngatisabate Zimbabwe nemaoko akazorwa ruredzo kana ane derere,” he said.
The man-of-cloth is fully qualified to deliver the statement for, in an unassuming manner, he contributed to the liberation struggle saving many a fighter from sure death at the gallows.
Zimbabwe is a nation under siege.
We are suffering for our resources, for our policies.
But no amount of pain or pressure from the West must lead us to relinquish Zimbabwe into the hands of our enemies.
We are a nation that can boast independence in the truest sense of the word.
I shudder when some people, who claim to be progressive and development-minded, make noise when it is unequivocally stated that the country will not compromise our nationhood.
We have been given, by generations past and present, a unique gift of ownership of our country.
Let us not belittle that gift of ownership.
Let us not dream of mortgaging our country.
Always, as the battle hots up, there are those who will be for capitulation, vanodududza.
But this is not the moment to give in.
And there are those who take advantage of bad situations for personal gains.
Ngatisabate Zimbabwe nemaoko akazorwa ruredzo
All our initiatives stem from the deep desire to live up to the demands of our history, our cultural heritage and the limitless potential of our natural and human resources.
We have come thus far and should not now falter.
The last thing we need in this ongoing struggle to become the nation that the rest of Africa can look up to is loss of focus.
Each and every one of us matters in making our country a great nation.
It is important that each and every one of us be found defending our multi-dimensional territory; the physical, cultural and intellectual territories.
Let us do everything to build and not destroy Zimbabwe.
Let us deliberately choose to do what is best for the country.
Let us rekindle the Zimbabwean spirit that saw hordes of people leaving the country to receive military training to free our beloved nation.
We must act in ways that build and not destroy the Zimbabwean ethos.
We want to be ourselves in the family of nations and not to apologise for who we are.
Let us not lose our spiritual bearings, but continue with restoring our sense of purpose and patriotism.
Let the old act in ways that will deliver guidance, direction and support to the younger generations.
It is our responsibility to explain our values and ideologies to the young so that we nurture them into real patriots who believe in their own country.
Our tradition and heritage as Zimbabweans should never be compromised for expedience and ‘convenience’.
The values that promote and instill hunhu/ubuntu that guided us must not be substituted for fads.
Taking pride in being Zimbabwean and prioritising national ideals while fully serving the country should not be viewed as a weakness, for it is not.
Serving the country is not optional; it is an obligation for every Zimbabwean.