If you were in doubt as to who owns Zimbabwe, the doubt must have been laid to rest by now. Zimbabwe belongs to only one man whose name is Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe has been sworn in for the 6th term and for another 5 years in office. Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 and he is now 84 years old or more.

Mugabe won the latest elections in which he was the only candidate. That would explain the reason why it was so easy and quick to do the counting and announce the result in a record timing.

As a matter of fact, invitation to the swearing in which took place today (June 29) were sent out even before the results were announced officially.

The opposition party pulled out a week ago citing violence and intimidations by the ruling party as the main reasons. The opposition argued that the run-off election cannot be free or fair because people were being haunted down, maimed, imprisoned and killed. Indeed, Tendai Biti, the opposition party’s Secretary General is now on death row courtesy of a treason charge against him.

Nevertheless, the image or symbol of the opposition leader remained on the ballots and surprisingly the opposition pulled some substantial votes. As the opposition members were being hunted down, some of them had the time to send cruel messages to Mugabe. MUGABE IMBAVHA (Mugabe is a thief) was one of the messages that was left on Mugabe’s election posters in a suburb of Harare. Another message was HAULUME BOB (you won’t get anything Bob). But Mugabe got everything. Zimbabwe is his personal property!

In the presidential elections held in March this year, the results came in in trickles and eventually stopped. No one knows exactly the outcome of that election. Indications were that the opposition won the election perhaps with a landslide or with 120, 000 more votes but those will remain speculations. Everyone in Zimbabwe and elsewhere, for the sake of elusive peace, believed the electoral commission that the first election held in March ended in a stalemate even though final results were not made public officially.

Who knows the truth? I think Tendai Biti does and that’s why he could pay with his life if Zimbabweans continue to look on the same way Nigerians did when Saro Wiwa was slaughtered by an animal called Abacha. One Gambari, the man who turned his eyes away during that gruesome murder of Saro Wiwa is now accepting invitation to head Niger-Delta peace summit in Nigeria. Wonders and mediocrity don’t cease in Africa.

Mugabe and his evil machinations cannot continue to claim that the opposition (MDC) participated in this run-off because that would amount to confirmed insanity. Why would it be possible for the results of the run-off to be available in a record time while the results of the elections held in March remain scanty or unknown?

Sometimes, I imagine that some parts of the world are living in the Stone Age. It cannot be true that we are all civilized. Our thoughts and actions do not indicate that the whole world is living in the same period of time. For example, what Mugabe is doing now in Zimbabwe (or the scenarios in Zimbabwe and Nigeria as an additional example) WILL NEVER happen in Sweden or Britain in the year of our lord 2008. NEVER!

Indeed there are serious problems the world over and we still have living dictators scattered around here and there but to pronounce democracy on the political events in Zimbabwe or Nigeria is tantamount to daylight rape.

It doesn’t matter how Mugabe presents his case. The truth is that he WAS a hero of independence whichever way that was achieved. That was in 1980. In 2008, Mugabe is not a HERO. His present image is that of a power drunk insane octogenarian. It appears as if the man is going down and he wants everything and everyone to go down with him. History abhors that Mr. Bob!

To many of us, it doesn’t matter that he blames the West for the troubles in Zimbabwe or that all he is doing is to prevent the re-installation of “foreign rule” through the opposition in Zimbabwe. The fact is Bob has past his prime and his invincibility aura had since given way but he ignored all the signs. Only a short time is left for Bob.

Zimbabwe today has 80% unemployment rate and probably the world highest inflation rate at 165 000%. Once a darling of Africa, today’s Zimbabwe is struggling with extreme poverty, homelessness and instability. Zimbabwe has a $10million note that may not sustain you over two days! The other day, a queue for bread was mistaken for a queue at a polling station! Zimbabweans are fleeing from their homes in thousands and Mugabe is blaming it on the West. How?

Beyond Mugabe, unless some drastic reconciliation and reasoning take place, I see a very bleak future still in Zimbabwe. This man called Bob has sown seeds of discordance over the country. He gave land to the people who are loyal to him: the army and other greedy people who could not do anything to match the productivity of the foreigners he chased away were those who benefited from Bob’s land reclamation.

These greedy people are behind Mugabe and they will strangulate the opposition further when Mugabe is gone. They will not want to part ways with their lands. They are afraid of a new leadership with new orientations albeit alleged western. There is a serious danger ahead in Zimbabwe after Mugabe. It is a sad situation.

aderounmu@gmail.com

Thy Glory O’ Nigeria…!

Robot  # 1 | 29.06.2008 15:20

If you were in doubt as to who owns Zimbabwe, the doubt must have been laid to rest by now. Zimb...Read the full article.

employlawone  # 2 | 29.06.2008 15:53

Dear Sir, Thank you for your piece. At secondary school I won a prize for 'Services to College Life' and was presented with a biography of Robert Mugabe. From then he became my hero. Over the years the adoration has turned to dismay and now utter disgust. We can all justify anything in the name of African liberation and can insist that the end justifies whatever means. If I were Mugabe I would not have pretended to be a democrat but adopted 'the dictatorship of the proletariat'. He messed around pretending to be a democrat and went through a charade only to onleash violence of the al la carte variety when he was in danger of being voted out. However, the question I ask is if this character, Comrade Bob is as heineous as he is painted how come he has survived till now? It is either the people have all been pumelled into submission or they have silently co-operate with Uncle Bob. I can speak no more! With regards

k k kazinsky  # 3 | 29.06.2008 17:54

I really don't get it at all. How an article about Mugabe somehow makes a u-turn to connect Saro-Wiwa, Abacha and Gambari is just beyond me. Try keeping it real,fella. And stop the silly whining which is becoming too old and annoying. In my humble opinion, Abacha was one of the greatest HOS in that country.Remember that Abiola himself submitted a list of candidates for politcal offices in Abacha's government. Then he(Abiola) fled the country saying "they are going to kill me". Then he returned and declared himself president.Haba!!!! Saro-Wiwa was given a very fair trial,found guilty and deservedly HANGED. His (Saro-Wiwa's) victims were murdered in cold blood(remeber he labeled his victims "vultures") without the least bit of a hearings.I stood behind Abacha for that wise decision to get rid of this scum. As for Gambari, he has many years of experience dealing with such matters at the international level. What is the problem here? A prophet not being recognized in his own abode?Who really appointed you,a Yoruba, to make decisions for the people of the Niger Delta? This condescending ass-kissing proclivity of your group is getting on our collective nerve.You wouldn't happen to think we are as dumb as a sack of rock,would you.I mean your condescending patronization is so frigid cold that I can literally chip away at it with a hammer. This is how so effing real it is.Why don't you go fly a kite with a hole in it and leave us to wallow with our own ineptitude. Finally, mugabe is no fool. Ever asked yourself who is financing his opponents run for prez of Zim? It will surprise you to know who. Why don't you Africans just quit sniffing glue and think a little bit.

Adeola Aderounmu  # 4 | 29.06.2008 18:26

=k k kazinsky;4295062633>As for Gambari, he has many years of experience dealing with such matters at the international level. What is the problem here? A prophet not being recognized in his own abode? JJC comments indeed! Please read: Why we’ll not attend the Niger-Delta Summit by the President of the Ijaw National Congress =k k kazinsky;4295062633> Who really appointed you,a Yoruba, to make decisions for the people of the Niger Delta? This condescending ass-kissing proclivity of your group is getting on our collective nerve...Why don't you Africans just quit sniffing glue and think a little bit. Really? So where are you from? Did I really get on your nerves? BECAUSE you are non-african? Jävla jäkla djävul!!!

Agidimolaja  # 5 | 29.06.2008 23:28

Poor K K Kazinsky, The circumstances in Ken Saro Wiwa's case have fatally misled you. He was not deservedly hanged as you proclaimed because he was unjustly accused. Did you see him kill those people he was accused of killing? Did you hear him with your own ears confessed that his victims were vultures? Kindly tell us,how a man that was unjustly accused could be desrvedly hanged.You strayed away and got lost. These type of useless nonsense that you are hereby disturbing us with were very common in those dark days of our nation when your good friend Abacha was rampaging the country. It was characteristic of Abacha to put crimes on anyone he felt uncomfortable with or percieved{most of the time wrongly},then got him arrested,arranged a sham trial and then be wasted.Check Abacha's record and be well informed,big dog. How are you so sure it was not Abacha' agents who actually killed those that you called Ken Saro Wiwa's victims and tied the gruesome murder to Ken Saro Wiwa's neck so that he may be eliminated? Musa Yar'Adua{the senior brother of current President} was falsely accused,arrested and killed in detention.Was he also deservedly killed? O dog,stop barking,dog! If untimely death did not stop the dreaded evil Abacha, and he killed all the notables that he arrested and lockeed up;a pathetic liar like you would be saying it {as you are saying it today} that "they were all deservedly hanged or executed". We are just so sick of the likes of you pedling falsehood at the expense of hapless Nigerian people and I wish above all things that the likes of you quickly extint from the surface of this planet. I don't care of what sort of qualification Gambari has.The truth remained as it is, that he is not qualified to lead any peace mission in Niger Delta. Was it not the same Gambari that tried so frantically to sell Abacha to the outside world as a good leader?Was it not Gambari that told international communities that Ken Saro Wiwa and his associates were common criminals? No one,including the writer of the article is helping the people of Niger Delta to make decisions on Gambari.The people of Niger Delta made their own decision and it should be respected, that Gambari cannot lead the Federal Gov't peace delegates. Fair and simple. Did I hear you,big dog, asking of who sponsored the opposition in Zimbabwe?You know who and I do too.Your people! The same stock of enemies of African people who have always come out with all sorts of craftiness to impose their kind of leader on Africans. Those who sponsored the opposition were the same people who sponsored Robert Mugabe in the begining as against peoples' choice,Joshua Nkomo. Who sponsored the opposition in Zimbabwe? Your people! I mean the likes of Whitehall;the likes of now homeless and nationless white settlers of Zimbabwe who are in dare need of lands that have never been theirs but, were forcebly stolen from legitimate owners;the remnants of former South African apartheid gurus.I know more if you would need more names and groups. They were the ones that installed Mugabe and also the same one fighting him today.

pappilo  # 6 | 30.06.2008 02:09

I dont think The world should really be concerened about Mugabe. As long as his people are happy with him despite record breaking 100,000% inflation figures then we should just let Zimbabwe be! The people of Zimbabwe voted him in and we must let the will of the people be. The man had about half the votes in the 1st round of presidential elections which simply means the man is loved by half the population so why all the hoopla. He went on and got 85% of votes in the 2nd round of elections.......So wetin come concern the rest of the world As my people will say; wetin concern Agbero with overload

fxo  # 7 | 30.06.2008 04:28

=pappilo;4295062755>.......So wetin come concern the rest of the world As my people will say; wetin concern Agbero with overload Ya. When Abacha was in power, his cronies also went about claiming Nigerians love Abacha and would become suicide bombers to defend him. The day he died, the entire country jubilated like we had won a world war, a football world cup and a "chicken in every pot" on the same day A wise man once said, " when they came for my neighbor on the right I said nothing, when they came for the one on the left, I said nothing, today they have come for me, nobody is here to say anything". I thought African were their brothers keeper.

delemajek  # 8 | 30.06.2008 08:41

Zimbabwe is another time bomb waiting to explode. Those who think the 'helpless', starved people of Zimbabwe should ask the locals. Were Abacha/Babangida's cronies not providing unsubstantiated figures that Nigerians 'prefered' their form of rule! Two of my friends who lost relatives in the Mugabe-perpetrated crimes recently came back from their funerals with live accounts of how terrible things are in their own country-apparently 'cos one man thinks he has sole claim to power As Nigerians, we definitely should be and are rightfully concerned abt the sufferings of fellow Africans i.e Zimbabweans.

tonsoyo  # 9 | 30.06.2008 09:10

=k k kazinsky;4295062633>I really don't get it at all. How an article about Mugabe somehow makes a u-turn to connect Saro-Wiwa, Abacha and Gambari is just beyond me. Try keeping it real,fella. And stop the silly whining which is becoming too old and annoying. In my humble opinion, Abacha was one of the greatest HOS in that country.Remember that Abiola himself submitted a list of candidates for politcal offices in Abacha's government. Then he(Abiola) fled the country saying "they are going to kill me". Then he returned and declared himself president.Haba!!!! Saro-Wiwa was given a very fair trial,found guilty and deservedly HANGED. His (Saro-Wiwa's) victims were murdered in cold blood(remeber he labeled his victims "vultures") without the least bit of a hearings.I stood behind Abacha for that wise decision to get rid of this scum. As for Gambari, he has many years of experience dealing with such matters at the international level. What is the problem here? A prophet not being recognized in his own abode?Who really appointed you,a Yoruba, to make decisions for the people of the Niger Delta? This condescending ass-kissing proclivity of your group is getting on our collective nerve.You wouldn't happen to think we are as dumb as a sack of rock,would you.I mean your condescending patronization is so frigid cold that I can literally chip away at it with a hammer. This is how so effing real it is.Why don't you go fly a kite with a hole in it and leave us to wallow with our own ineptitude. Finally, mugabe is no fool. Ever asked yourself who is financing his opponents run for prez of Zim? It will surprise you to know who. Why don't you Africans just quit sniffing glue and think a little bit. Another newly recruited Almajiri on rampage. Thank God you can't use your bows and arrows and cutlasses on the internet. You are only confined to your rabble-rousing rant of a raving ant. I am watching you! We will soon send you back to the bottomless pit of hell where you crawled out from.

Anambra Movement  # 10 | 30.06.2008 10:03

=delemajek;4295062847>Zimbabwe is another time bomb waiting to explode. Those who think the 'helpless', starved people of Zimbabwe should ask the locals. Were Abacha/Babangida's cronies not providing unsubstantiated figures that Nigerians 'prefered' their form of rule! Two of my friends who lost relatives in the Mugabe-perpetrated crimes recently came back from their funerals with live accounts of how terrible things are in their own country-apparently 'cos one man thinks he has sole claim to power As Nigerians, we definitely should be and are rightfully concerned abt the sufferings of fellow Africans i.e Zimbabweans.QUOTE> Nigeria is a bigger timebomb waiting to explode than zimbabwe. zimbabwe has only election issue. Nigeria has the following issues: Yaraduas' election issues in court, Lack of direction of the government, worst poverty in the land, unemployement & starvation due to non-payment of local contractors for executed contracts, insecurity due to deperation of the youths. How many Nigerians have died from our bad roads, election violence, insecurity, genocide in nigerdelta, hunger and starvation because of the greed of Nigerian politicians? Nigerian illegitimate government is morally incompetent to talk about Zimbabwe because when you point "ONE FINGER" at mugabe, "4 FINGERS points back at you. charity begins @ home

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