By Dr. Chiyaba Njovu
It is very saddening to see recent developments in our Country over an on-going Barotseland issue that dates back to the colonial era. Ever since I became a student of basic history in my student days, I learnt about this agreement which for all intentions and purposes was a history lesson for us to learn how mining rights were acquired in Zambia by the British South African (BSA) Company. Little did I know that this seemingly outdated piece of contract would be a subject of upheavals in our Country. I am neither a Lawyer nor a Historian so forgive me if my thoughts are misplaced. To the best of my knowledge, I had always assumed that the Barotse Agreement was amicably resolved when Dr. K. D. Kaunda agreed to incorporate Barotseland as our Western Province in Zambia at the time of Independence. If my knowledge serves me well, this issue was dead and buried until after the re-introduction of multi-party politics in 1991. If we are to be sincere, I am sure most of the youths of Barotseland who are being used to spearhead the restoration of this agreement neither know its contents nor have they ever read it. To them, it is a story they hear about when they gather around the fire places with their grandparents or great grandparents for those who may be lucky enough to have lived to see their fourth generations in the family.
I am neither going to apportion blame on the Lozis nor am going to say that they may not be entitled to discuss this subject. There may be merits and demerits on either side of the story but as pragmatic leaders, what are we supposed to do under the circumstances? We need to solve the problem. Legal arguments or moral arguments do not solve social problems in most cases. It is constructive engagement with the people concerned that solves such problems. We all know that use of force does not solve a problem but suppresses dissenting views at that particular time. This is undesirable and therefore pragmatism demands that we clearly define the problem and put it in context once more. The Barotse agreement had its purpose at the time and possibly served its purpose at the time. With changing times, would that agreement still serve the purpose for which it was designed? This was an agreement signed long before Zambia came into existence in 1964. One would imagine that any discussion of this issue should take into consideration the changes that have taken place since 1964. Failing to recognise this fact would be missing the point and the problem will not be resolved.
As a democracy, it is our responsibility to ensure that every citizen’s views are heard and respected. We all have our rights and responsibilities but failing to honour your responsibilities would robe others of their rights. That must be made clear. The people advocating for anarchy are robbing other well meaning citizens of their right to enjoy freedom. As a start, I would suggest that the government constructively engages the clandestine Barotse Patriotic Front and/or the Barotse Restoration Movement together and listen to them. The idea is to let them educate the nation of their true intentions and what they hope to achieve. They might have some valid points which are distorted by third party reporting. These reports may be misleading the nation. There is no need to threaten them with arrest as they are entitled to air their grievances on matters that affect their well being.
It is after these aggrieved people have stated their case that the government could respond to their issues in the context of Zambia today and see if their grievances truly emanate from the abrogation of the Barotse Agreement by the Zambian government. The Barotse Agreement may be used as a decoy for other motives. There may be some ulterior motives by some power hungry people who may be hiding behind the Barotse Agreement and that would easily come out if these people were openly given a forum to present their case to the nation. That is what the nation needs to know. What is the real problem?
I would urge government to accord them such a forum as a matter of urgency to avoid further losses of innocent lives. This is an election year and this issue could be potentially explosive if not properly handled. It is always nice to talk and openly dissect issues in a transparent and honest manner. If these people fail to come out in the open then government would be perfectly in order to halt any further discussions as they would have been proved not to be interested in serving the interests of their Country. Once their grievances are heard and put into context, the nation should be allowed to air their views and see whether consensus would be reached and the matter settled once and for all. I am sure most Zambians may also have a say once matters are transparently discussed with a view to solving the problem. And I am sure consensus would be reached as we all know the benefits of a United Zambia that enjoys peace and tranquility. Our Children deserve development and not the resurrection of historical graves. And time spent discussing matters that would leave Barotseland a better place than it was would be most welcome by most well meaning Zambians.
To sum up, I would really be happy to see a Zambia where people lived above tribal considerations. For those of us that went to truly national Schools, tribal issues were never heard of but only in jokes amongst tribal cousins. Why should Zambia be divided according to tribal regions in this day and era? We always pride ourselves as an example of a Country where unity truly works in a nation but the readings over the past few weeks are really saddening. One-Zambia and One-Nation motto still stands for me and means well. I am sure that most Lozis would not want to see that happen and would rather see development projects evenly distributed in all provinces according to what their land resources can support. These are the kind of progressive issues we need to be discussing in this day and era. For example, a deliberate scheme to encourage massive production of rice in Western Province would help create employment and get most youths out of poverty. Fully exploiting the water resources to allow for commercial fishing would be another idea to help alleviate poverty. In my view, anyone talking development and/or decentralised management of development resources would have my support as local knowledge is always useful in solving local problems. There is real value in using local knowledge in development planning. But to talk about restoring agreements that may not mean much to the common man is in my view stretching it too far. Let us move with changing times and live for a better tomorrow. One Zambia and One Nation!!!
