MANY thanks to The Patriot for hosting quite a number of articles recently which traced the introduction of what is called ‘Peace Studies’ in some of our universities.
The articles exposed at length the nature of the studies, their orientation and intended outcomes as well as some of the organisations which have been dutifully bankrolling these studies!
The articles went on to identify some of the leading local experts who have spearheaded this programme after being carefully groomed for such a role by institutions such as Bradford University in the UK.
On the face of it no one in his right mind would like to quarrel against the idea of ‘Peace Studies’!
The title of the programme itself sounds benevolent and soothingly reassuring.
However, in practice, the kind of scholarship being generated by these local experts turns out to be pro-regime change, anti-African and unashamedly pro-Western.
This outcome confirms the proverbial saying that, “he who pays the piper calls the tune”.
A number of observations are in order here.
First: There is a big gap amounting to an anomaly between the semantic suggestions evoked by the title of the programme and the actual content of it, between outlook and values of the graduate produced by such a programme and the location and social values within which graduates from such a programme are expected to work.
The fact that the programme sets up the West as the model on good governance, democracy etc at the expense of an African worldview does not help much in creating harmony between the graduate and his or her surrounding social and cultural environment.
In other words whatever skills and knowledge the graduate acquires during the study period, all these are coming from the West, lock, stock and barrel.
In brief, the programme re-colonises the minds of our youths during an era when we should be doing the opposite.
Second: It is important for us to appreciate the kind of double-dealing that Western donors undertake to secure their goal of re-colonising the minds of our youths before re-colonising the country itself!
We discover that the same donors such as George Soros’ Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), Britain’s Westminister Foundation For Democracy (WFD) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) of the US, all these organisations have been funding the so-called ‘Peace Studies’ in Zimbabwe while at the same time funding other activities designed to effect regime change in Zimbabwe.
This double-pronged approach is supposed to work on the assumption that Africans are not sophisticated enough to perceive what is at stake.
It also works as long as some of our universities and other related institutions remain gullible, blissfully isolated and unconcerned about the larger national struggle to retain our sovereignty — a struggle that has been going on for over 15 years now!
Third: The key question which arises is: How many other training programmes are being hosted by our universities, programmes which are conceived and funded by the West and deliberately designed to promote the interests of the West at the expense of our national interest?
The other question which begs for an answer is: Can we as a nation afford to avail our university facilities and time to Western countries so that they can promote their interests, relying on our own youths?
Does such generosity, almost suicidal in its innocence, make sense at all?
Fourth: Closely related to the questions stated above is the issue of ownership of our national institutions!
If indeed we own them, it follows that we should also assign them specific tasks or mandate which, when carried out, generate social and economic value for the whole nation and for our continent as well.
But for this kind of value to be realised our sense of ownership has to go beyond owning the buildings themselves, the facilities that we purchase and install, and the time that we allocate for such institutions to function; our sense of ownership has to go beyond what we see and manage to a level of influencing the character and perspective of the ‘content’ generated at such institutions.
And this can be done without being parochial and authoritarian or infringing upon the academic freedom of anyone.
All that should be insisted upon is that all studies take into account the context and interests of Africans in Zimbabwe and those on the continent.
In other words, all our studies and programmes should be undertaken from a specific point of view that is relevant to us and not dangerous to all of us!
The bottom line is that such content or ‘software’ has to generate value for us and not against us as a people!
There is nothing new or original in saying this!
All those who have studied at universities abroad know the relevance of what is being stated here!
Fifth: Related to the issue of point of view from which studies should be undertaken there is an urgent need on the part of our universities to design courses which are studied right across the academic spectrum, courses which ensure that those studying law have something in common with those studying nuclear physics, that those who are into medicine have something in common with those who are studying linguistics, that those who are into statistics share something in common with those who are specialising in engineering.
And that compulsory course which will become a pre-requisite for one to proceed with degree studies should at one time or other relate to national history vis-a-vis the global world!
Most of us remain naive in the way we relate to the larger world mainly because no one has ever bothered to teach us how to relate to that world.
If we were to study and understand our history as we have shaped it and as it has been shaped by imperial history of other nations, we would automatically possess the guideline we so urgently need for us to relate to the rest of the world in a way which is far from being suicidal as is the case almost always!
Put differently, values such as patriotism, loyalty, commitment, solidarity, dedication etc. do not come by on their own; they do not exist, just like that!
Neither do they drop from heaven, like the proverbial manna of biblical times!
All of them have to be cultivated in one form or other for the sake of our collective survival across generations both as a people and a nation.
And universities can easily take a lead in this!