Pyramid scheme politics: High hopes, low returns and the frustration.

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Why the country is failing to move away from Nelson Chamisa


It is going to be difficult for us as a country to move away from Nelson Chamisa. He is charismatic. He is the man of the moment even when he is currently not in the arena. That’s how influential he is.


Forget about the other guys currently leading the CCC or any other opposition leader for that matter. They are ‘villains’ in the Zimbabwean story. 


It is disingenuous to think that Chamisa suddenly becomes a nobody in our politics because he resigned from the CCC, his brainchild. 


First of all, we  should come to terms with the fact that,  whilst he resigned from the CCC, he did not resign from politics, he is just on a political sabbatical. 


This is clear in his speeches. 


This is where it gets interesting because our relationship with Chamisa as a country is complex and has a history: We entered into a political relationship with him which in hindsight has proven to be a toxic one . This is typical of people desperate for change. Even in romantic relationships, desperate people fall for anything cunning that looks different from their ex. 


As a result, we invested so much in him. We put all our hope in him. We vilified anyone and everyone and stood by him even when he was making glaring mistakes. 


We were conditioned to think that besides him, there is no one. This is why we supported him even in the face of his rise to power which  was not only controversial but unconstitutional. 


We continued to support him even when he called us stupid after people took to the streets and others died defending their vote. Now, there are those who say, “You want Chamisa to fight and die alone whilst you’re doing nothing”. Well, some brave people died defending their vote and he called them stupid.


We continued supporting him in the face of his strategic ambiguity which was clearly undemocratic and an outright centralisation of power in the supposed democratic alternative. For a desperate people, not  everything should be scientific and logical, so we took a leap of faith and gave him the benefit of the doubt. Discerning voices that saw the looming disaster were silenced and called names. 


We continued to support him because those who set the agenda and  control the narrative, the likes of  ( we shall not mention names ) made him a saint and a saviour. 


Now, he suddenly quits ( resigns from the CCC )  does not account for anything, and continues to say he carries the hope of two million people and some people  think people will leave him alone. How, when he keeps posing as the people’s leader and continues promising people hope? 


People have questions. People need disclosure. People are waiting for him. Just like in romantic relationships, people fail to move on until they find disclosure. So, despite his shortcomings, like we have overlooked his shortcomings before, we still want him to lead us.


In short, we are confused and stuck and ZANU PF will rule until further notice.


We are going to need to heal from this pyramid scheme politics to move on. 


We have to take responsibility for joining the pyramid and staying there despite the signs and symptoms.

 


It’s time to reflect and introspect.

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