By Abraham Mabvurira

WHAT is so wrong about a nation full of young boys and girls who so love their nation to the extent of willingly laying down their lives in defense and protection of it?

Of course, nothing is bad about that -since patriotism has never been and shall never be a vice. What is wrong about a dedicated younger generation of men and women who are committed to the development, progress and prosperity of Zimbabwe?

Most certainly, nothing is awry about that, for every thriving nation on God’s earth constitutes young men and women who are ready to work with older men and women to build a nation they desire, strongly founded on a shared dream.

Alas, this is not the case with modern day Zimbabwe since the younger generation is invariably at loggerheads with the older generation; while the older generation believes that they should be guiding the youth in the running of the nation, the young ones on the other hand erroneously believe that the older generation should retire and let the young people run the national affairs of the country.

 As a result this  creates a state of disharmony and discord between the youths and older generation who are a reservoir of knowledge crucial to nation building. 

Our beloved country is glaringly blessed with abundant human and natural resources however, when it comes to patriotism, nationalism and unity among the people there is a cause for concern. 

The only chorus prevalent among some of the the youths is negative criticism, whining and whimpering  about  the state of affairs, without proffering concrete solutions and ideas that would engender national prosperity and move the country forward.

Most unfortunately, ours is a generation that has graduated with degrees  where scholars spend countless hours scrolling through their cell phones, shouting obscenities and engaging in inconsequential debates and discussions on social media, or writing discourses that have nothing to do with propelling Zimbabwe to an advanced state, be it socially, economically or politically.

What happened  to the spirit of Chimurenga ,where the young and old worked together to achieve national independence and  the sovereignty of Zimbabwe?

What happened  to the National Youth Service, a platform that was instrumental in training and nurturing patriotic citizens?

Apart from the Hebert Chitepo School of Ideology and the security organs of the country such as the Zimbabwe National Army,- the National Youth Service is the only proven arena that can practically instil patriotism among young people.

The education system has dismally failed to do that. The reason why the education system has failed to inculcate patriotism among the youth is clear; as a nation, we inherited an education system that was deliberately and meticulously designed to work against Black people or Africans; such is the  template of the European education system in Zimbabwe.

Yes we acknowledge the adjustments and amendments that have been put into place to enable the Zimbabwean education system to shift from education 3.0 to education 5.0 but nevertheless, more has to be done; the principal  component being to make African graduates and scholars think African. 

Our education system should not make a holder of various degrees and PHDs feel more English or European, on the contrary, a well-educated African should feel more African than all ‘uneducated’ Africans after attaining more degrees and PHDs.

This, however, can only be achieved after a successful overthrow and dethroning of the current biased European education system in favour of the initiation and investiture  in an unadulterated African education system that is solely based on African philosophies, principles, values traditions and beliefs.

For it is not by mere coincidence that our modern day Zimbabwean youth by the moniker “Ama 2k” are grossly involved in debauchery and moral decadence.

It is not by chance that today’s generation has no respect  for the sanctity of life and it is not by chance that the children we have today exhibit uncouth and animal like behaviour; for our innocent children are merely acting upon a long written script that was authored by the imperialists, a deadly script whose rehearsals are being religiously practised in the classroom.

It is not by happenstance that our young men and women have no respect for higher authority, law and order. 

Everything they are doing is  a result of the influence of an unprogressive Western  education system. 

It is therefore the duty of the Zimbabwean Government to detonate this educational ticking time bomb, before  a  whole generation is turned into useless citizens  and academic zombies. With a  correct developmental education system, Africa and Zimbabwe in particular, shall be great again and the seed thereof shall sprout into a bigger tree of national pride, unity, nationalism, nation building and unwavering patriotism.