The Dent to Our Peaceful Nation Tag

Zambia is a peaceful nation. Zambia is a Christian nation. Zambians are the most friendly people in the world. These statements are what we have constantly told ourselves, sadly, this last week has caused an earth shattering dent into those statements. It has brought into question many of the things we pride ourselves in. The xenophobic attacks on foreigners in the compounds this week may have brought to the surface some of the hidden resentments towards foreigners that exists in our communities.

The looting and destruction of the foreign particularly Rwandese owned shops in compounds such as Garden, Zingalume, Chaisa and others was done under the pretext of retaliation. In the midst of the recent ritual killings many have found it easy to blame it on foreigners. After all no Zambian can be so heartless as to slash someone open to get their organs. So we think. It is also difficult to fathom how Rwandese in the current economic situation can have flourishing groceries while Zambian ones are struggling. Some people in the compounds believe that it must be as a result of some witchcraft which involves private parts, hearts, eyes and livers.

Freezer looted for Rwandese shop

Last year, we spat in disgust when South Africa was experiencing xenophobic attacks against Mozambicans, Nigerians, Zimbabweans and other Africans. We scolded them for their un-Africaness. Today, we have been hit in the face by the same attacks we condemned. We as a nation must not cheat ourselves that this resentment towards foreigners success in this country is something new. We lie to ourselves that we hold hands and sing kumbaya with all people who are not Zambian. Yet how many times have we heard statements such as "These Chinese, these Congolese, these Zimbabweans...." Sadly, some of this tone in the message has come from some politicians who are looking for scapegoats to their inability to function as leaders.

The danger lies when blanket statements of a certain nationality or even group of people are made as the cause of our pain, poverty, hunger and suffering. Every time that feeling arises we associate it with that specific group of people even if they may have nothing to do with it whatsoever. The  mob mentality that was exhibited in the compounds did not just arise in a day. This may have been tensions that have been brewing for months and possibly years that were never addressed.

The level of comprehension is quite worrying too. Are these communities saying that they only reason the Rwandese shops are flourishing is because of witchcraft? Would they have felt differently if the Rwandese shops were struggling? Having spent a year in a foreign country I got to understand that immigrants tend to work harder than nationals. This is because they do not have the full benefits that citizens get. Therefore, they have no other option but to work and toil for their businesses to ensure that they succeed. They do not have the entitlement that citizens get. We have seen how countries in Europe and America are attempting to make it much more difficult for people to migrate there my cutting down their benefits.

I am not blind to the fact that there are some foreigners who are involved in criminal activities in this country. But we cannot allow ourselves to persecute all foreigners on the basis of a few who have been caught on the wrong end of the law. Further, we can no longer hide behind the curtain of Zambia being a peaceful and Christian nation if we do not make any efforts in making it that way. Our leaders, political, social and cultural have a strong role to play in encouraging dialogue and the co-existence of all people regardless of nationality, race, or tribe. Finally, can people get off their behinds and get to work, others are successful because maybe they have made a decision to work hard.

Sorry Mwebantu, Mtumbi Has More Facebook Page Likes

Last week Friday 11 March 2016 Mwebantu achieved a milestone. They hit the 500,000 page likes of their Facebook page. To celebrate this achievement they put out a headline, 'Mwebantu leads in social media presence in Zambia, reaches half a millionlikes on facebook'. This headline received numerous congratulatory messages on Facebook, I too was proud of them for reaching this mark. However, someone forgot to tell Mwebantu that they are not the leader in this regard because there is at least one person ahead of them.

Mwebantu headline

It is ironic that Mwebantu who are a media outfit can make such a grave mistake. They are supposed to be the ones to double check their facts, make sure they put out accurate information and provide readers with information that is truthful. They should have known that Mtumbi Goma Photography page had well over 523,000 Facebook page likes at the time they made their claim. I am now well aware that many people have brought this to their attention and they have yet made a retraction of their claim, therefore this blog is here to set the record straight. Mwebantu News Media does NOT currently lead  social media presence in Zambia. Mtumbi Gome has more social media presence. I am quite cautious too to make the claim that Mtumbi Goma Photography leads social media presence in Zambia lest someone else pops up who has more page likes. There is a lesson perhaps for all to learn in Mwebantu's blunder.

Mtumbi Goma Photography Page as at 13/03/16 at 22:00 hours

Mwebantu Facebook Page as at 13/03/16 at 22:00 hours

The use of statements such as you are the best or first are best kept to the hip hop world who usually love making unfounded claims. Unless you can absolutely prove that you are the best or first then it is advisable to stay clear from such statements because you risk being put in your place. To prove that you are the best or the first you have to make sure that you have done your homework and are definitely sure there is no one above you.  You need to prove that you are the best or first by presenting evidence that can be in the form of numbers, accolades, recognition from third parties or other acceptable means. This task is usually difficult to accomplish therefore, if you are not sure whether you are the best or first it is a risk to put such a claim before products or services.

The fact is that Mwebantu made a major gaffe and it is only right that they should correct the inaccuracy that they represented. In a way I feel that they did an injustice to Mtumbi Goma Photography at the very least by claiming a lead that was not theirs in the first place. Mwebantu one day may well be the leader in social media presence but until then that lead is not theirs. I can safely say that I know someone who has more Facebook page likes and that is Mtumbi Goma Photography. Numbers do not lie after all.

What Are Zambians Good At?

Occasionally I ponder about the state of affairs in Zambia. It could be its political, cultural and social aspects. Often times after I have pondered I would come to some form of a conclusion. For a long time, however, there is one question that has been bugging me and I had not seemed to come up with a satisfactory conclusion until now. What are Zambians good at?

Brazilians are known for their football prowess, Kenyans and Ethiopians their marathon stamina, Indians for their mathematical acumen, French for their wine and cuisine. I do acknowledge that these may be stereotypical statements but they do have some truth. That then comes to Zambia, what is it that Zambians are stereotypically known for?  I have searched my brain for an answer and as hard as I have tried I cannot come up with an answer to that. I know many people will point to football but I highly doubt it in comparison to other countries in Africa such as Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana who have superstar football players we are pulling at straws hoping that Charly Musonda Jr. will play for Zambia some day. Leave the lad alone. Even our lone Africa Cup win can hardly be used to as shining example of what we are good at.

Now even if I may be disappointed to not find one single thing that Zambians do exceptionally well in comparison to other countries, I may somehow have found an answer that can soothe my conscience as to why that is. The answer came to me in the form of the bestselling book called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book Gladwell mentions the 10,000-hour rule. He stresses that for anyone to be an expert at something they need to be doing that thing for a minimum of 10,000 hours. He uses examples such as Bill Gates, The Beatles, and Mozart among others to show how they each invested 10,000 hours sharpening their craft. This was almost like a Eureka moment for me.

It finally made sense, who in Zambia invests 10,000 hours in anything? Take a look at our society where academic accomplishments are held as the Holy Grail. Children are scorned if they attempt to deviate into any other activities that do not include learning their times tables or learning how to spell. We assume that every child somehow has an innate ability to be number one in class. Therefore, parents and guardians hire tutors, provide extra lessons and use fear to somehow churn out these supposedly high flying pupils. This is despite the fact that some children may have learning disabilities such as dyslexia that unfortunately is rarely diagnosed. Therefore, a child may not be academically gifted but they may be artistic, athletic, or technical geniuses. But we spend so little time cultivating these talents that no one ever achieves their 10,000 hours. Malcolm Gladwell even does admit that sometimes to accumulate those 10,000 hours someone may need to enter a special designed school programme that nurtures the talent or gift.

One can then argue that our society is not so accommodating to someone who does not have a high school certificate, diploma or degree. Individuals who do not have the necessary academic qualification are looked down upon. Anyone who tries to do something outside the accepted careers is bound to face a lot of opposition. No wonder there are few people who have reached the 10,000 hours mark. You would then think that maybe we could have done well in the academics arena but still Zambia rarely makes a blip on that radar too. There should be somewhere where we are just missing it.

I have not lost hope to find something that Zambians are good at. Until I do I will continue churning out these blogs hoping that I reach my 10,000 hours target. At the moment I think I am around the 5,000 hour mark, if I include all the other writing I do. Maybe my readers know something that I do not, what are Zambians good at?

So I Type Amen, Then What?

Recently, my Facebook timeline has been bombarded with requests for me to type Amen on a status from a pastor, bishop, archbishop, apostle, commander, prophet, papa eish they are just too many I am even failing to keep up with the titles. The reason for typing Amen is that I am supposed to receive some form of blessing in my life- a car, written off debt, a wife, cash among many other things. Then if I do not type Amen it then implies that I am missing out on all the goodies stored up for me. Does typing Amen in the Facebook comments really work?

I am trying to rationalise how the whole thing is supposed to work. I do not know if God is holding on to my blessing just waiting for me to type Amen before He makes the flood gates open. Could it be the reason that my bank account is not overflowing or I do not have that Range Rover yet is because I did not type Amen. Maybe when I type Amen it is meant to ignite something in the heavens that the showers of goodies will drop on me. Perhaps there is something about a Facebook post, it could possess something supernatural that my carnal mind cannot comprehend.

The one thing that I do know for certain is that there is no consensus, as to whether typing Amen is right or wrong. There are sections of society who believe that this is nonsensical hoodwinking. Some Christians who type Amen are often accused of being gullible and failing to use their common sense. Then for the ones who do type Amen, they proclaim that it is a statement of exercising their faith, defending their actions by saying that God works in mysterious ways or it is also a means of showing solidarity. Of course, Psalm 105: 15 (NIV) which says, "Do not touch my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm," has been used to warn others against speaking ill of Christian leaders. Here I would like to be enlightened, are people using this verse appropriately or it is used as a means to scare people from speaking their mind.

The challenge that I have is using guilt or manipulation as a means of forcing people to type Amen or share a post. Statements such as the first 1,000 people to type Amen will receive a miracle from God or if I do not type then I should expect bad luck in the next 7 days. I do not need my arm to be twisted in order for me do something. It should be my prerogative to do so. I have seen some rather absurd statuses that have left me wondering why people believe certain posts. The sad answer may be that some people are quick to believe whatever they are told as long as it comes from a 'prophet'. It has come to the extent of eating grass, church members being kicked, punched, trampled upon all in the name wanting to receive a miracle or someone pretending to be walking on air. Perhaps it is the levels of desperation and misery that exists in our society, that people are looking for hope to cling to because that might be the only way they will make it through the day. Or should we blame the church leaders who take advantage of the desperate church congregants, who are willing to defend them with all they have and they know this.

Choosing whether to type Amen on a Facebook status is an individual decision. I have not done it so far because I do not believe that I need to be the first 500 to type in order for God to bless me and once the 500 have typed then it means God's blessing and favour will not come my way. Secondly, it is high time we began to question some of our church leaders and doctrines. Rather than follow blindly we need to start  our sentences with why, how, when and what? The good part is we do not have to touch the anointed, we can always ask them from a distance.

So why do you type Amen? If you don't, why don't you?

My Life with Chibwibwi

I reckon it is hard for people who do not stutter to understand why people like me who do actually stutter. Trust me if we could speak without pauses every now and then we would definitely do it. Unfortunately, some of us have that speech disorder called a stutter or locally known as chibwibwi, it was a word used to describe me when I was growing up.

Many people will not believe that I actually do have chibwibwi; the fact is that I do. I have just learnt to disguise it pretty well. It is not easy growing up with a stutter, usually you are the butt of the joke and often you are afraid to speak in crowds, or air your views. There is also a stereotype that people with chibwibwi are short-tempered. Well I am far from short-tempered as they come so that stereotype is not entirely true. I also do not know whether the use of the word chibwibwi is derogatory, I just came to accept it as one of the tags that were labelled on me. Anyway that is a debate for another day.

The thing with chibwibwi, it is not like I choose to have it or choose to do it on purpose to annoy people. It just happens; it's rather hard to explain. One minute I can be speaking fluent and flawless like the strokes of the violin and then the words come out in pauses like a car that has run out of gas. This is perhaps what non-stutters must find very peculiar.  The strange thing is that we will even stutter on the simplest of words. Whereas a non-stutterer will just pronounce the word, "Ball", one who does will say, "B-B-B-B-Ball. It is like someone is removing a bath tub stopper from your mouth very slowly. At times you can see the pain, impatience and amusement of the person you are talking to as you struggle to say the word. For some individuals with chibwibwi this can be a huge dent to their self confidence.

I have good moments when the chibwibwi will not be heard then there are moments when it will surface. In high school, I did the most absurd thing for someone with chibwibwi joining the Debate Club. I thought that somehow I could be able to defeat it. I think it helped but the one thing that I then became known as was the boy who speaks very fast. Now the speaking fast was not intentional at all, it was to avoid the chibwibwi at the time that is the only way I knew how to avoid it. In my head I know that I am going to stutter a word even before I attempt to say it. For example, if I want to say, "Exaggerate", I already know in my head even before those words roll off my tongue whether they will be smooth or chibwibwi. I do not know if this is the same for other individuals with chibwibwi but that is the way it is for me. So I have two choices in such a situation, go ahead and stutter the word 'Exaggerate' or replace it with another word like 'Overstate' which hopefully will roll off easier. When I discovered this, I had to learn a lot of synonyms maybe that is why I became a writer. It is just a challenge when it is a person's name because then I cannot easily replace it.

As a child I did not receive any treatment. I do not even think my parents thought it was a problem at all. I think in Zambia, it is hardly considered as something that needs to be treated. No one appears to pay much attention to it. Whereas, I have been able to manage my chibwibwi perhaps because it is not very severe others have not been so lucky. It does result in people withdrawing and abstaining from most activities that require them to speak out. It was not until I watched the Oscar winning 2010 movie The King's Speech that I learnt of what a speech therapist actually does. In the movie a speech therapist helps King George IV of the United Kingdom with his stutter as he is supposed to make a public address. Unfortunately, in Zambia the option of a speech therapist is not available to many stutterers. However, there are other ways that can be used to assist the person who stutters.

Patience- Be patient with us do not feel the need to complete our sentences on our behalf. Allow us to finish the sentence, it may be insignificant to you but there is a level of triumph when we finally say the word.

Poetry- Experts say that reading poetry or reciting it out loud is one way that can reduce the stutter. Hollywood actor James Earl Jones (voice of Mufasa in Lion King) has attributed this method to getting rid of his stutter. I think it worked for me as I would recite at BitterSweet Poetry.

Synonyms- In most cases, I know that I will stutter a word even before I begin to say it. Knowing a number of synonyms to a word might be an alternative. Replacing the word with a synonym might come out more fluently.

Breathe- The chibwibwi usually becomes more aggressive when one is nervous and their mouth is dry. Learning how to be calm as they speak and having breath control can reduce the stutter considerably.

Understand- DO NOT speak back to us in chibwibwi. We do not it deliberately. It is a speech impediment. Neither should you show us any pity because of it.

I hope that I have shed some light on why I stutter sometimes. I do not know whether someone else who stutters follows the same pattern as I do. For a child with chibwibwi it can be very difficult especially if they do not have the right support system around them. Some children will probably get rid of it as they grow whereas for some it will not disappear. It will just have to be managed. For someone with chibwibwi it is not deliberate we speak that way, it just happens the very least we expect is for others to understand that.

Do you have or know someone with chibwibwi? What is your experience?

Nobody Trusts A Bachelor Anymore

Happy New Year! I hope you are looking forward to this year as much as I am. I am also guessing that some of you have written your resolutions and are keeping your fingers and toes crossed that you follow through with them. I am hoping for few frustrations this year but it appears the possibilities of that happening are unlikely. This year has begun the way it ended in frustrations. Early this week I experienced some level of 'discrimination' that is becoming a regular occurrence in this country and we need to address it.

Our landlord recently informed us that the rentals were increasing by 25%. Even though this came as a shocker and major sucker punch to my house mates and my pocket, it was understandable owing to the prevailing situation in the country. In an attempt to see what was available out there on the housing market my house mate and I decided to go check out a house somewhere in Civic Centre.

The viewing of the house was going well, the person showing us the house was jovial and explained the history of tenants in the house, the area, the fact that there was limited loadshedding and no water problems. She even said there were plans to renovate in time for the new tenants. Then she asked my house mate about his family assuming he was married. The moment we mentioned that we were still bachelors you could see the look of disappoint engulf her face. It was as if we had mentioned something that was not tolerated in those parts of town. She then went into this monologue of the troubles of bachelors. In her words, bachelors bring hundreds of girls, they drink and make noise plus they keep the place dirty and don't clean. In order for us to calm the situation down before she told us to 'fuseke' and find another house, we explained that we were not like 'those bachelors' whoever they were. We said we were upright citizens who did not seek to cause any havoc to our neighbours, we were definitely not Casanovas and we even threw in that we had a help who cleaned up.  She then cooled down and the conversation about the house proceeded but I felt there was still a level of suspicion.

This made me wonder that how is a bachelor or bachelors supposed to find decent accommodation in this country if most landlords view us as no-good trouble makers, womanising pricks, filthy and noisy chaps who are an inconvenience to neighbourhoods. Conversations with landlords usually go well up to the point that you mention that you are single. It is then as if you have suddenly become infected by some contagious disease that they must keep away from. I have definitely felt this discrimination on more than one occasion and trust me it is not fun having to fake a smile and beg just so you can be accommodated. I would not be surprised if landlords started stating, "Bachelors Do Not Bother Calling!" on their advertisements. Awe, Boma itiyanganepo. Isn't there some law somewhere in the amended constitution that protects the rights of bachelors? We are humans too who just want good accommodation.

Now, I do acknowledge that there are some bad masuku among the brotherhood. Awe guys please stop such behaviour you are the ones who are making it bad for the rest of us. We are seriously running out of options. Maybe the landlords should start asking for references just like employers do when recruiting for a job. Trust me if a tenant was a scumbag the previous landlord will definitely let any prospective landlord know.

I hope my plea will be heard. But in case I have not convinced landlords and would be landlords allow me to quote from Martin Luther King Jr. (I am paraphrasing), "I have dream where granting of tenancy agreements in Zambia shall not be judged by marital status but by the content of their character...."  Because if things do not change, soon when people ask newly married men why they got married the response will be, "So I could get a house."

Shall We Talk About This List

There has been a list that has been making its round on social media lately. This list has been compiled by ummm.... ummm. I do not know who but that is besides the point. It is a list nonetheless. It has been called Zambia's Top 20 Under 35 Young Rich and Influential 2015. Now the issue is not so much the list but who appears on the list.

I am sure some are familiar with other lists around the world such as Time Magazine's 100 Influential People list, or Forbes Rich list, I am assuming this was supposed to be such a type of list. I must state a disclaimer right away, I personally know some of the people who appear on the list. Some of the people on the list are doing some pretty amazing stuff. They are taking Zambia forward and making differences in their communities and sectors. Despite this the question that a list of this kind raises is what was the criteria used in the selection of the people who made the list and were they worthy to be on it.

The reason the selection criteria has been brought into question is that there are certain people who are not on the list who many feel should have been on it. A friend mentioned that Pastor Choolwe of Gospel Envoys Church should have been on it or B-Flow who has been influential towards his fight for women's rights. There will always be someone who people would prefer to be on the list. This brings the debate, what criteria did they use to come up with the list? How did they determine that the individuals are rich or influential? Was there some kind of score sheet that they used? How did they define being rich and influential? How far spread is their influence? Did they take a poll?

If this was a list of young Zambians doing some pretty amazing stuff, I doubt few would have argued but the moment they placed it under the banner of Top 20 Rich and Influential it introduced a different ball game. I do, however, acknowledge that many people will have their own ideas of who can be considered rich and influential because these are relative terms. Hence, it would have helped if the people who came up with this list shared with us what they meant when they use the term. I think though that they liked how it sounded hence they decided to go with it, someone has been watching too much E! or reading Forbes magazine.

I will applaud them for one thing, they came up with a list, however, flawed it was. It also let me know some individuals who I had not previously known about. This was not the first and neither will it be last list that we shall see, I hope that the next one that surfaces will be an improved version. Firstly, it would be nice to know who actually made the list and also what criteria was used to choose the individuals on that list.  It will help make the process more transparent and few can argue with it.

P.S. Whoever is cooking up the next list add Frustrated Brotha on it, even at number 20.