DID WE ATTAIN INDEPENDENCE OR IT WAS A CHANGE TO A MORE ADVANCE TYPE OF COLONIALISM?

Lance Sannie Banda

By Lance Sannie Banda

Freedom is categorized in four pillars namely; Political, Economic, Social and Religious Independence.
Have we attained any of the four pillars in 58 years of the supposedly Zambia’s independence? Our colonizers have defined all the four pillars of independence and we have so far attained none of the four.
Let me labour to explain why I believe that the four pillars of Independence are far from being attained;

1. *Political Independence* – The system of governance we are using is controlled and defined by the Colonizers. 58 years after Independence, Zambia does not have its own constitution to govern its affairs. After all the years of the perceived Independence, we still look to the colonizers to define good governance and our education systems produce civil servants who are taught how to manage our institutions of governance using the colonial defined standards and practices of governance. Yes, anyone who diverts from that system of governance is isolated or eliminated by the colonizers. In addition, most of our political leadership is imposed on us by the colonizers, making them imposters and agents of imperialism in difference forms. None of our thriving political parties today are self -funded, they cut deals with former colonial powers or indeed new neo colonial slave masters. The Political Agendas our successful leaders have pursued has never been to emancipate our people but to continue saving the dictates of our slave masters in many forms they come to us. We remain sub divided into the same colonial boundaries 58 years after the so-called Independence. If this was true Independence, we would have reverted to one Africa before demarcations by the Colonizers.

2. *Economic Independence* – Zambia and many African Countries remain a source of wealthy for our former colonizers and new slave masters. They determine the price of our natural resources and despite having these resources in abundance, they come and extract these resources and sale to themselves at their determined price leaving majority of our people in poverty over the years. We borrow from them and when we become indebted, they use their institutions to prescribe hash conditions in the name of bailouts and they suddenly position themselves as helpers to being economic recovery when they are the creators of the problem. This process helps them to ensure we remain economically dependent and never become Independent. Yes, we are not economically independent today.

3. *Social Independence* – Before colonialism, our social lifestyle and culture reflected in our way of life. Today, the colonizers dictate what is socially right or wrong. Our culture, morals and values have been diluted and the social impact has been severe in our generation and over time it is diminishing. They have control of all social media platforms influencing social change and human interactions across our Country and beyond. They decide who posts there and what content is posted. They now define social protection as cash transfer to our rural and vulnerable population, our Indigenous livelihood, sense of family and social connections has been broken. Our children’s social behaviors are modelled by modern appliances at home and at school, our society sense of UBUNTU has been taken away and YES now they are on the trajectory to force unnatural and strange sexual behaviors and appearances which completely changes our societal norms. We are not in control of our social independence as a people, its being controlled somewhere and the effects are clear for all to see.

4. *Religion Freedom* – They have defined what we should believe and how we must do it. Christianity remains a colonial project which has recorded significant success over the years in Zambia and across many African Countries. Today most of us have forgotten our own religions which they made us we have blacklist as wickedness and witchcraft. Yes, we have abandoned Nyambe and Nasilele, the Gods of our land who kept our forefathers in peace, health and tranquility. We have denounced them and pronounced our colonizers God as above any other God on earth. This religion has demonized anything black as satanic…..Today we can’t have even a black weeding, it’s a white weeding which is acceptable and Godly. Black is only associated with sadness (Funerals, protests etc). A white actor pictures is in most of our homes hanged and worshiped by our people. We have been brainwashed by the same religion to think that there is nothing good on this earth, we must accept our tribulations and wait for a better life somewhere in heaven and that the same white actor we have been made to hang on our walls and worship will come and take us home where we will enjoy honey, walk in golden streets and never to suffer again. Yes, Zambia has since declared itself a Christian Nation……We are not religiously free.

The struggle for true freedom is still far-fetched in our life time. There is need for an African Awakening and struggle to actualize true freedom for Zambia and the Continent of Africa. This struggle will not be easy to undertake but it is possible to attain real freedom from our Imperialists, Slave masters and colonizers. This generation can start this revolution of awakening and pass on this struggle to the next generations until Zambia and Africa is Free.

For and on behalf of *Generation Lead Zambia*

*ViVa the Spirit of Pan Africanism
*Viva GLZ
*ViVa African Rising

Nelson Mandela and Kenneth Kaunda -Mandatory Credit: Photo by John Parkin/AP/Shutterstock (5938824a)
South African black nationalist leader Nelson Mandela, left, joins Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda in Lusaka, after meeting with seven African Presidents and commonwealth leaders. Mandela said his African National Congress will make no concessions in negotiations with the South African government until it has equal footing with the ruling National Party of President F.W. De Klerk
Mandela Concessions, Lusaka, Zambia

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