By Mthokozisi Mabhena
A NATION is like a family. It is held together not just by the bloodlines that connect its people, but by an unspoken agreement that every member, regardless of their ambitions, belongs to something greater than themselves. A family without coherence, without a shared understanding of its values, will eventually fracture under the weight of its disunity. And so too will a nation.
Our ancestors, in their wisdom, understood this long before we did. They built communities around the fire, telling stories that did not just entertain but instructed, stories that reminded people of who they were, what was theirs, and why it was their duty to protect it.
Culture was not a luxury; it was the foundation upon which everything else rested. Without it, a people would wander, lost and uncertain, susceptible to the erasure that comes with forgetting oneself.
It is this coherence — this unity of purpose — that we must reclaim if we are to achieve Vision 2030. I will not tire of repeating that the ambitions we have set for ourselves as a nation are not the responsibility of a few individuals in Government offices or corporate boardrooms. They belong to all of us. A vision, after all, is not merely a document filled with lofty ideals; it is a shared dream that requires collective effort to bring it to life.
I have always been fascinated by how a person’s sense of self influences their choices. A person who knows who they are walks with confidence. They do not flinch when questioned. They do not seek validation from others. They do not hesitate when asked to stand for what is theirs. And a nation, much like an individual, must possess this self-knowledge.
Zimbabwe is a country with a deep and rich history. The Great Zimbabwe Monument stands as a silent witness to a time when we built civilisations that thrived, when we traded with distant lands when we ruled ourselves with pride. But history, when not actively remembered, fades into myth. And myths, when not believed, become nothing more than stories without consequence.
We must remind ourselves, every single day, that we are Zimbabweans. That our identity is not something borrowed, not something that needs to be justified or explained to outsiders, but something that simply is. The world does not wait for those who hesitate. The world does not grant success to those who remain uncertain about who they are. The world belongs to those who walk forward with the unshakeable confidence of people who know themselves.
But how do we reclaim this self-knowledge? We begin with the simplest of things. We teach our children their history — not as a collection of dates and facts, but as a living, breathing narrative of who we are. We ensure that the language of our ancestors is not lost to the corridors of history but is spoken with pride in our homes, in our schools, in our workplaces. We remind ourselves that our culture is not an inconvenience, not something to be discarded in the pursuit of modernity, but something that defines us.
Self-knowledge is the foundation. And from it, everything else flows.
I have met people who speak of their country with shame. They look to the West, to the East, to anywhere but home, searching for something to admire, something to claim as superior. They lower their voices when speaking of their roots, as if embarrassed by where they come from.
And yet, I have also met people who speak of their country with unwavering pride. Not the blind pride of arrogance, but the deep, unshakeable pride of a people who understand that their home is not perfect, but it is theirs.
There is a certain dignity that comes with loving what is yours. A certain courage that grows from believing in your own potential. A nation that does not believe in itself will always struggle to progress, because doubt is a form of paralysis. It halts movement, kills ambition, and allows external forces to dictate what is possible.
We must unlearn the shame that has been imposed upon us. We must reject the idea that our languages, our customs, our ways of being are things to be hidden. We must cultivate the kind of self-pride that does not waver in the face of adversity.
There is a reason why colonisation did not begin with physical conquest alone. It began with the systematic dismantling of self-worth. A people who do not see value in themselves will not resist when that value is taken away. They will not fight to keep what is theirs if they believe it has no worth.
But we are not a people who surrender easily. Our history tells us that much. We fought for the right to call this land our own, and we must now fight to ensure that we do not lose ourselves in the process of modernising it.
What does it mean to love your country?
To love one’s country is to recognise its flaws and work tirelessly to fix them. It is to demand better, not out of spite, but out of a deep belief that the nation can, and must, be greater than it is. It is to wake up each morning with the understanding that you are part of something bigger than yourself.
A nation that loves itself does not wait for others to tell it what to do. It does not seek permission to define its destiny. It takes bold steps, unafraid of failure, because it understands that progress is not always linear, that setbacks are not the end, that growth is a process.
Our ancestors understood this. They knew that to defend what is yours, you must first love it enough to see it as worth defending.
Patriotism is not something that can be forced upon a people. It must be nurtured, taught from childhood, woven into the fabric of everyday life. It is in the way we speak about our country, the way we uplift one another, the way we refuse to participate in narratives that diminish who we are.
A patriotic nation does not need external validation. It does not seek approval before taking action. It moves forward with purpose, knowing that its future is its own to shape.
Vision 2030 is not a Government agenda. It is not a political slogan. It is a call to action for every Zimbabwean who dares to believe that our nation is capable of greatness. It is a recognition that the success of our country does not rest in the hands of a select few, but in the collective will of the people.
Coherence. Unity. One voice. These are not abstract concepts. They are the foundation upon which progress is built.
We must stand together, not because it is easy, but because it is necessary. We must believe in ourselves, not because we have been given permission to do so, but because we must. We must love our country fiercely, not because it is without flaws, but because it is ours.
And if we do this if we reclaim our self-knowledge, embrace our self-worth and commit to a shared vision, there is nothing that can stand in our way.
Zimbabwe is ours. The future is ours. And the time to act is now.
