I VIVIDLY remember, in 2016, when I wrote about plenty opportunities for new graduates.
That was in November.
Seven years down the line, I still maintain that when a person receives an education, he/she is empowered because the idea is to transform him/her into a better citizen.
Zimbabwe will do well and emerge victorious because her children, regardless of gender, have, and continue to receive, equal opportunities.
We take our hats off to those who have joined the world of academic excellence and give our heartfelt congratulations to those entering the world of knowledge.
They say knowledge is power and that power has to be exercised.
Thus, I find it disturbing that there are some in our midst who have become masters at influencing our graduates to rebel and ‘fight’ Government for not creating opportunities for them.
Government has created an environment that lets them get an education and invaluable skills.
The same Government has availed them opportunities in all the sectors of the economy.
No doubt we are a self-sufficient people, lacking nothing.
As a people, we have shown that we are capable of running existing technologies and creating new ones.
And as it stands, there are plenty of opportunities in mining, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and ICT, among other sectors.
We are a nation that has so much that still needs to be done.
Foreigners are not exploiting and ripping us off; the Government has made sure that we are not cheated.
The thousands being churned out of tertiary institutions cannot only be good and designed to be employees.
The thousands of acres that have minerals await to be exploited, not by outsiders but by our people.
Our agriculture and related fields graduates must bring new innovations to curb the rampant effects of climate change.
Crop scientists must establish more advanced drought-resistant seeds, while the engineers develop more irrigation technology and modernise our approach to agriculture.
Those who have finished business studies should meet head-on the challenges and craft strategies to solve the problems suffocating the economy.
There are also loads of opportunities in the Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector.
This engine presently driving the economy needs to be perfected to take the economy to the next level.
With fresh knowledge from our graduates, the SMEs sector can leap where other nations crawled.
There is the manufacturing sector.
There is no reason we cannot manufacture our own products and create our own brands that will go on to conquer world markets.
Already, a number of youths have taken up farming and mining, providing a clear example that this is no fantasy or wishful thinking.
We have young millionaires in the country and we can have more.
Our misfortune has been that of people who want to place Europe and the US at the centre of human experience and development.
Our graduates must believe in themselves and not carry the illusions and delusions that have been foisted on us throughout years of colonial bondage.
We do not need the whiteman to come from some foreign land and give our graduates jobs.
Therefore, let us take a cue from the Asians and Arabs who have learnt to be themselves and developed throughout the ages.
Education must teach and show us that we are our own liberators as Zimbabweans.
