27/01/2025
Shadaya is right!!
Zimbabwe’s biggest problem is that it has many brilliant minds, but they can’t work together because of egos; they try to pull each other down.
Most West and East Africans I have met who work in civil society have always pointed out this issue, asking why Zimbabweans backbite each other and speak ill of one another based on falsehoods.
There are a few powerful Zimbabweans who will pick up the phone after seeing that one of their compatriots has made it somewhere, and they will rubbish one of their own with lies!
A South African friend asked me ten years ago why some well to do Zimbabweans go out of their way to trash and attempt to destroy one another!
When one of their own does well, there is always a “BUT this” and “BUT that.”
They go and gossip about each other at embassies; it is deplorable!
Instead of supporting each other and sharing great ideas, they subtweet each other.
It is a sign of educated people who lack wisdom.
If your life is obsessed with trying to undermine others, it means you are an educated clown/fool with knowledge but zero wisdom!
Maturity and wisdom is when you are able to accept a great idea from someone you don’t like, if you can’t do this it means you are automatically an educated clown.
So the issue of egos and lack of collaboration among Zimbabweans, particularly those in positions of influence, is a major hindrance to the country's progress.
The prevalence of backbiting, gossip, and attempts to undermine fellow Zimbabweans not only creates a toxic environment but also detracts from the potential benefits that could be reaped through teamwork and mutual support.
I don’t have to like you, that is why I always recommend Doris Kearns Goodwin's modern classic work, Team of Rivals, about the political genius of Abraham Lincoln, his unlikely presidency, and his cabinet of former political foes.
Zimbabweans haven’t devolved mentally to do this, if you disagree with them, you become an enemy simply because you have a different view.
That is also why ZANUPF has stayed in power for this long—because even in our opposition, there are issues of not wanting to hear what others think, even when you realise that your ideas are sinking your project!
Very few Zimbabweans have the maturity and the adult brain’s ability to praise someone they don’t like when that person has done something good or come up with a brilliant idea.
Working together results in factories and businesses, while working alone results in mansions and expensive cars, which add nothing to the growth of our society!
Developed nations don’t talk about individual genius only; they talk about national success.
America has the biggest economy, China has made strides, Britain is ahead in service industries like finance, and Germany makes great cars.
They are not obsessed with individual success but with societal progression!
If you can’t accept and applaud great ideas and strides made by someone you don’t like, then you are a victim of arrested development, you still have the brain of a toddler!
