By Dr Charles Ngoma
‘Until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.’ (Daniel 4:32 ESV Bible)
Just over 2,500 years ago, a powerful King of the then world’s most powerful kingdom heard these words reverberate through the corridors of his magnificent palace one afternoon as he proudly looked over the great city that he had built. The city’s ‘hanging gardens’ were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was not long after this, his empire fell, over run by the neighboring smaller kingdom.
What has happened in North Africa in the last month is not new in the history of our earth. Kingdoms, empires, states have come and go. Some like the great Roman Empire have crumbled from without, worn down gradually by bruising attacks from the despised Barbarians. Others have been overthrown over night. Whichever way they go, it is clear that there is not one kingdom or State or system of government in human hands that will last forever.
However, what is strange about the ‘revolution’ that is taking place in the north of Africa and Middle (middle from where?) East, is that it was unexpected. Who would have guessed that in such a short time, the strong man of Egypt, Mohammed Hosni Mubarak would be gone! Here was a man who ruled with an iron hand and with the help of his secret police intimidated, killed and incarcerated many without trial. Many Dictators have very little to fear from their own people but have to keep their eyes skinned watching the events outside their borders and countering the rhetoric of Western democracies and media. Mubarak, yes, he may have heard a few uncomfortable words from Western leaders, but by and large, he cooperated fully with them, maintained a peace treaty with Israel and kept the dreaded Islamic brotherhood under control. It is possible that the Egyptians were useful to the Americans in their infamous ‘extraordinary rendition.’ The western intelligence machines had no clue that something like this was about to happen. It seems to me that when it comes to Arab geo-politics, the US and its friends tend to get the intelligence very wrong! Remember the ‘weapons of mass destruction’ that evaporated from the deserts of Iraq?
Nobody seems to know exactly where these revolutions in the Middle East are going. Israel has been quiet over the period and that is expected because Mubarak’s Egypt was an ally. If democracy does prevail in Egypt there is a strong possibility that a pro-Islamist government may be elected. This is what happened in Gaza when Hamas won the popular vote. Then there is Al Qaeda. People must not forget that Al Qaeda’s second-in-command is an Egyptian and Al Qaeda can adapt and change tactics very easily in order to achieve their desired end! What would that mean for Israel and its security? Perhaps Israel must revisit its sacred texts in which one Seer warned Israel 2,500 years ago not to rely on Egypt. This Prophet called Egypt ‘a broken reed’ and that is exactly what Egypt will be to Israel as it tries to lean on it. The time for Israel to ‘look upon Him whom they have pierced’ may be just around the corner!
In digression, let me just say that those in Zambia who are calling for such a revolution are not only misguided but irresponsible. Zambia is a democracy and the Zambian people have the power of the ballot to change government. There is no oppression in Zambia and there is not a single person in detention without trial. Indeed, the courts, notwithstanding what a few shout out, have acted freely without pressure from the Executive. No government is 100% supported by its people. If you interview selected members of the US citizens, you could go away with the belief that the Obama administration is the worst in the history of the country! Similarly you can select those who believe that this is the best ‘since sliced bread.’ The point however, is that all are free to cast their vote and abide by the decision of the majority. Those who are in opposition must sell their manifestos to the electorate and convince all of a better government and a better life. That is democratic politics.
Revolutions as they go are always unpredictable in the final outcome. In the last century we begun with the Russian revolution that ushered Communism into the world and within 50 years, the Communists were threatening to dominate the whole world. The dream came crushing down with the fall of the Berlin war! Capitalism is back on the menu and greed and materialism go unfettered. This is not time to rejoice, but time to seriously consider what exactly has happened in Egypt and Tunisia. There are several forces that can easily hijack a cause and use it in such a way that the later state is worse than the first! The world may rue the day that dictatorships fell in the Middle East!
Whatever has happened in Tunisia and Egypt, it is for those who wield power to understand that they have no monopoly to power. Sooner or later the power will be taken away from them and what remains should be a legacy to be proud of and not a bitter taste in the mouth at the mention of the name! King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that ‘the Most High rules’ and the Kingdom was given back to him and the overthrow was postponed until his son’s reign. Political Leaders must learn that the scepter is a borrowed one, and while they are at it, they must do all they can to better the lives of those they lead, because some day, the post will pass to another. Similarly, the most powerful nations must also realize that they will also not last forever. By the end of this century, there will be another super power on earth. It may be human, it may be super human, but it will definitely be different from what we know now! At the last, King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that there is a ‘dominion that is an everlasting dominion and a kingdom that is an everlasting kingdom.’ Blessed are those who belong to it!
Walasa. Who can know what happens? Idi Amin was celebrated but before long, the Ugandans were in misery!
Dr Ngoma, do you actually understand why the Tunisians and Egyptians revolted?
ya very timely warning lets follow closely whats happening in north africa and the middle east prophesy is being fulfiled
In digression, let me just say that those in Zambia who are calling for such a revolution are not only misguided but irresponsible. Zambia is a democracy and the Zambian people have the power of the ballot to change government. There is no oppression in Zambia and there is not a single person in detention without trial. Indeed, the courts, notwithstanding what a few shout out, have acted freely without pressure from the Executive.
Tata tamwikala mu Zambia…tatwalande ifingi muli bafyashi….where do you stay? staying without medicine, proper saitation,higher fuel princes,not sharing country earnings equally, allowing foreigners to abuse locals…e.t.c oppresion is not just about imprisonment.
Dr. Ngoma, while I agree with most of your points of view, I wish to disagree with you on some points. Yes, Zambia has no political prisoners and we have freedom of speech to a certain degree, but please look at the Auditor Generals reports for any year in the recent past. There are glaring reports of misapplication,misappropriation of funds,unbriddled corruption brought to the attention of government year after year with no action. High unemployment levels are the norm,no commitment to implementing constitutional reforms that will benefit the majority with politicians who measure economic progress by the number of second hand Japanese vehicles on the roads. Surely,a form or other of a non violent Zambian revolution is due.
@Kapompo, whats your point?
Amakumbi, be careful of some of these prophesies that you hear. Reflect on them as opposed to swallowing these lines of thought hook, line and sinker.
Zambians are not oppressed.we are a free people.we choose our leaders,we insult them freely on this blog and others so cut the crap that Zambia is due for a revolution.You are insulting the Egyptians who would have done anything to have what we have.What we Zambians trully are is LAZY,MEDIOCRE and full of TALK.Those of us in the diaspora just yap and yap.Set businesses,buy the mines,build hospitals build schools after you have done this then you have earned the right to criticize those who are in zambia and those running the country.I have invested in my country and hope to do more in the near future.
Jane Doe! Without proper structures to support that same investment by indegenous Zambians, proper and egalitarian tax collection mechanisms with robust income redistribution and provision of social services NOTHING will be achieved! The government of the day has the responsibilty to make sure that this things are in place otherwise the investments you talk about will be just money down the drain. We need to kill this snake from the head.
Recently we have been hearing some clowns hallucinating ignorantly that they will do an Arab world option in Zambia after losing elections. Forgive them they don’t know the Arab world extremism does not survive in Africa proper. As a matter of precedence lets learn from Uganda this Friday when Uganda votes.
Uganda opposition threatens Egypt-style protests
Opposition members in Uganda are threatening Egypt-style protests if next Friday’s presidential election is rigged so that Yoweri Museveni can extend his 25-year grip on power.
Museveni is widely expected to win another term in office, and the Ugandan military and police would likely crush any attempted revolt.
“As long as people are oppressed for a long time, as long as they become hopeless in all processes … then a time comes when their anger explodes,” opposition candidate Kizza Besigye said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Museveni, who seized power in 1986 as the head of a guerrilla army, faces Besigye and six other opponents in the election. The longtime leader, who has been accused of quashing dissent and reversing presidential term limits, warned against unrest during the upcoming poll.
“I hear some characters talking about violence during elections. There will be no violence. Whoever attempts will do so at his or her own risk,” he said earlier this month.
Pro-democracy protesters in Egypt brought down President Hosni Mubarak on Friday after three decades of authoritarian rule. Analysts are playing down the possibility of a similar Ugandan uprising.
“There may be some pockets of people coming to protest but it won’t be full-scale,” said independent security analyst Levi Ochieng. “The…
in zambia we change leaders using the ballot paper we dont allow tinpot dictators. RB maybe old but he has only been around for less than three years and the majority of zambians are very happy with his rule thats why we continue to enjoy peace and economic growth. those think the happenings in arab world can come to zambia can dream on. ask kima lozi with that unpopular revolt which was repelled within minutes. zambia we enjoy peace under RB we have tuma roublerousers like ka bwalya we can allow them
Dr Charles Ngoma you are a disappointment. I visited one govt hospital last week here on the Copperbelt. The wards literally stink! WHY? There is no linen and patients are asked to bring their own from home.Seriously the smell in these wards is not different from what you get in police cells. Tell me if this is not oppresion. And this a a mining town from where you get atleast 30 trucks loaded with 30 tonnes of copper leaving on a daily basis. That’s about $9m revenue going out daily while the MMD govt just looks on or shares in the rape. They tax us heavily and they then share our tax ( Ref. Auditor General’s Reports!). Tell me what is more oppresive than this! Dr. Charles Ngoma what is wrong with you? You make me sick!
#13.Lady gaga. Where were you in 1986 when the copperbelt exploded in riots over mealie meal price hikes? Where were you in 1990 when Lusaka revolted against UNIP and KK? In the meantime there were UNIP die-hards using state propaganda fooling a few people that all was well. Where was the ballot then when KK’s police shot and killed children that were only asking for food? I dont know where you live but I believe you dont feel the pains that most of us Zambins feel. If you live in Zambia, please move around and see your so-called economic growth in schools and hospitals, Dont rely on what the MMD and RB tell you on ZNBC TV. Ever read ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell.If not look for this book and be assisted to understand what your RB is doing to Zambia! Dont just support BLINDLY!
According to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2),Babylon was conquered by the Persia and Persia was conquered by Greece.Greece was also conquered by the Romans.
Question: Who conquered the Romans?
no 15 mopao whatever your pains are go and vote. why do you want violence when you have the right to vote. BANE PF KAPONYA@s use your vote not your fists and dumb heads. Egype can never happen in zambia. we zambians have more sense and really why the rush for violence. convince the same zambians you say are suffering to vote for you and give us a programme or plan for our country which is better than the SNDP recently launched. Where is the PF manifesto???? Zambia is a free deomcratic country and every zambian with an NRC above the age of 18 can vote. so go and vote and stop advocating nonsense here. Dr. Ngoma has given his opinion and he is absolutely right. thats why we the majority prefer to vote for MMd rather than sheep in wolves clothing!!
#15 mopao mokozi im in zambia and have seen for myself how zambia has developed within a short period. you must be blind mopao you go to juberg hosps run by govt you will find our hosps to be much better. dont just think of milpark or morningside those are private clinics. have you been to mandahill, levy junction, soweto market, nakadoli market, kapiri sch and hosp, new roads in twin palm, chalala woodlands, bumper harvest and all maize bought by FRA with 3.7trillion kwacha in farmers pockets not sata dreams this is real my dear mopao. give RB another 5 years zanbia will be a paradise. how do you survive in juberg with all the crime and hard life
#17 post/sata have no intergrity well said my dear sister or brother reflects the mind of a true zambian.
Thank yoou bloggers for your comments.
I have nothing to fear or hide from, so I will reply to you all right here and right now.
#2 Kampompo.
I work with many Egyptian and Tunisian doctors young and old. Some whom I have taught, have gone back. They have revolted for varying reasons, but chiefly because they want ‘freedom.’
#4. Ba doctor, #5 King Jullian
The problems you mention are the very reason why there is POLITICS. You go and vote for a government that will fix those problems you are talking about. By the way, we had worse in 1980s, when we had no choice but to vote YES or for a frog! YOU do have a choice towards the end of this year to bring in an alternative.
#14 Mopao Mokonzi wa zabanga
Take some Stemetil for your sickness. I wish you quick recovery. I am not defending MMD policy here. That would be a subject for another day. Perhaps that is one problem we have in Zambia where we see everything through the same lens. Once we have a quarrel with someone, every issue revolves around the quarrel. Is there any wonder why our Politics are so stagnant? As lady gaga has stated, these Egyptians and Tunisians would give their life for the liberty that you Zambians enjoy. A dirty hospital ward or public toilet is NOT oppression, it is mismanagement.
A Nigerian proverb says: “those that have nothing are not sleeping because hunger pains wake them each nite, those that have everything are equally not sleeping because they fear that the people with hunger will come and take everything”. I guess the key argument is that if a family, or shall I say, a city, or a nation overlooks the plight of the majority, one day the situation will erupt into chaos. On this blog, many feel that when a person complains about the status quo, they are PF Kaponyas, and have no direction in their thinking. Sad, but only time will tell. Who would have imagined KK to be out of state house? So it shall be on a given day for MMD.
#21 ati Dr. Charles Ngoma, you call it mismanagement, my question is by who ? Isn’t the powers that be that mismanage by not properly funding these institutions that are supposed to be in charge. Hospitals smell like one is in a public toilet, food is not served to patients and the few workers who have decent jobs are heavily taxed. Just take a walk (Not a ride) at the Inter City bus terminus and see the filth there, Freedom way, Chachacha Road to name a few.
#23 Chisanga Mfumu
I haven’t got much time but I will return later.
Suffice to say for now that cleanliness does not need a lot of money. It has to do with attitudes of people. It has been said the ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’ and ‘charity begins at home (imisango)’. It is not government that throws litter everywhere and anyhow. It is not government that pisses on the floor in a public toilet. It is not government that defeacates on the side of a toilt pan. Where these facilities are not available, that is an opportunity for private enterprise to provide them in a free market economy. We Zambians were spoiled by the UNIP govt. which discouraged enetrprise and infected us with a dependence syndrome. Yes, Govt is to blame for appointing inept managers of public institutions.
The world will be more dangerous when the goddess of democracy recruits more converts. Can you imagine democracy in China? These big countries will have to either break up into smaller countries or become federations of states. I would favour a federation for Zambia with each province run autonomously like in Ethiopia.
no 21 DR NGOMA FANTASTIC THANKS FOR HAVING THE COURAGE TO RESPOND. CONTINUE BEING A PATRIOTIC ZAMBIAN. LADY GAGA, I AM A MALE AND I LOVE ZAMBIA AND I WILL MOST LIKELY VOTE FOR HH BUT NOT SURE YET. BUT NEVER NEVER CAN I VOTE FOR SATA OR ANYONE FROM PF, BA CHIMBWI NO PLAN
Fwaka, please give us a break, when has a Pf kaponya ever written something sensible? yes zambia is still developing bu the point that sensible people like dr. ngoma are putting forward is that there are also some good things about our country. you cannot build a country on daily insults and negativity. zambia is not at war! Zambia is getting better and it will rise tobecome a middle income economy. even china and USA the two biggest economies of the world have poor people in their midst. in fact china suppresses its people even more than most of the worst dictatorships in africa but yet it is now the second biggest economy in the world. but even there people are agitating for a change and you still find many that are poor just like zambia. the key is you have a vote use it wisely
Dr Charles Ngoma,
Thanks very much for both this article and time taken to explicate some points questioned. It would be a bad practice to pick up the debate without acknowledging your decorum in responding to questions here. I absolutely agree with you on the issue of mismanagement and public attitude that need self recorrection. Though not having saintly regimes since independence, public attitude has degenerated towards public responsibility and accountability. The question is what have been our citizenry responsibilities in building and fostering high standards in every sphere of our society? We litter, steal, pillage and depend on the Government to correct our own mess. Has Government got to be the player at every level of our free society?
In Singapore you chew a gum and throw it on the street, you go to jail for over 5 years.
In China you are proven engaging in corrupt practices, you you are gone. talk of illicit drugs, you are summarily executed.
In the US public nuisance is a punishable by law. You don’t litter, or see citizen pissing on street corners either.
As Zambians change starts with citizenry responsibility first in an inside out process. From individual to a family, community to a national culture.
Government buys medicines and medical equipments, employees steal and either resales them cheaply or take them in their private practices. If tomorrow we end up with shells of public institutions, is it Government? Government and citizens need to work together is arresting this degenerating culture of irresponsibility.
#27: This is a blog, i need not give you a break. The more you generalise the more wrong you become. If, in your own opinion Zambia is developing, so be it, you are free to air your opinion. In other people’s opinion, the opposite is true. The problem is people try to generalise the issue of “Kaponya” thinking you they ba “some of us”; and thats why you get no sensible exchange of ideas. If you go to an argument with a preconceived idea that your colleague is a Kaponya then you may havea problem of listening to other people’s opinion. Zambia has many self inflicted problems because the educated, like you, have failed to use education to develop everything, from leadership to politics; hence the high levels of poverty, injustice, to name but a few. This is my opinion.
In addition, for as long as I pay tax, and am a youth, I will not sit and waste time praising people who are paid very well for poor performance in government. We have suffered a lot, and have lost many close relatives and friends to death for lack of basic medication and or medical staff. If you guys live in “priviledged” Zambia, good on you, but your actions will catch up with the rest on a given day. Even if the government is to build many things, we know they are doing it because of elections, and that its probably going to cost the tax payer (me) 1000%plus over and above normal costs because of procuring stuff at a rushed pace; plus nichekeleko. For now, its your Zambia, but nothing stays the same in nature, things will change.
Senior Citizen
Thanks for your kind words.
“Israel has been quiet over the period and that is expected because Mubarak’s Egypt was an ally.”
The military council in Egypt said that it would honour International treaties. BUT the Koran absolves Muslims from breaking a treaty with unbelievers.’ Allah and His Messenger dissolve treaty obligations with the pagans.’ (Surah 9 v 4) and ‘How can there be a league, before Allah and His Messenger with the Pagans..’ 9 v 7.
This means that there is no guarantee that Egypt will keep its treaty with Israel were an Islamic party come to power in Egypt. Indeed, Islam encourages its followers to ‘fight them, and Allah will punish them by your hands, cover them with shame, help you (to victory) over them.’ Surah 9 v 14.
@ 16 The Romans were conquered by idolatry and sexual perversion which are both abominations to God. For the more contional minds I can give you the outside nations that benefitted from this new weakness of the Romans. The franks, Goths, asians took the western Roman piece, while a thousand years later the ottomans took the western.
#35 Mwanawakwitu
The Roman empire was not conquered, it was just weakened by mixing with the rest of the world like iron and clay. It is still around and its legal systems, persist till today. But there is a Kingdom which will finish it off eventually.