Let’s debate secession but make it honest

Dear George,

Your statement that lack of development is not an excuse for a region to call for secession or federation because the other two regions are not developed is very strange.

Clearly, if the other regions have not developed, it is an indication that the unitary state has failed to service its people and we should look at new ways of running our affairs.

If the unitary State were servicing its people, then there would not be calls for secession or federalism.  Whatever the case, you should admit that Malawi, as a State, has failed and if there are some people wishing for a different arrangement, there is nothing out of order with that.

The current arrangement was passed down to us by the British after they agreed with the Portuguese and the Germans the current borders.  The people living in these lands had no say in the arrangements that the Europeans were cooking up in the late 19th century.   The people calling for secession are stating that the arrangement currently existing is not right for them and they want out, what is wrong with that?

You should know that the tribes are our identity. They existed long before this arrangement.  We can’t just wish them away.  The Malawian is an identity that was imposed on us and it is not surprising that people look at things through their ethnic eyes.

James Masamba

James,

Your sentiments remind me of what Infor-mation Minister Kondwani Nankh-umwa said this week, calling for national debate on the two questions of federalism and secession.

But for me, it is not just about the issue of debate. It must be an honest one if we want, as a country, to have an honest resolution to the matter at the end.

It is in light of this that I completely abhor and wholly reject any attempt to use falsehoods to justify why X region should secede at the expense of region Y.

My view is that for this debate to be healthy and helpful, no region should behave like a greedy spoiled brat in a family who is playing the victim and suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder, to attract all the best things to himself or herself.

It is such dishonesty that I am vehemently against because the truth of the matter is no region is any better that the other in terms of human development.

It is an insult to other regions to constantly harp on the fact that the North wants to secede because it has not had a fair share of development when there has not been such development even in the other regions.

Let the debate rage, but without the regions or the tribes holding each other to ransom by making one or two of them to feel guilty over shared poverty that is so rampant and cuts across the length and breadth of this country. It is patently not fair.

As for the tribes being our identity, it reminds of one eminent person who said for the nation to survive, tribes must die.

I am a Chewa and proud of it. There is no question about it but I don’t consider it the most important thing of my being.

It does not add or subtract anything in my life more than the connections that I have made with people of various tribes, nationalities and races all over the world.

These are the ones that have made a remarkable difference in my life and have given me opportunities that I was just dreaming of when I was growing up in deep rural Kasungu.

I repeat: Let us have an honest debate before we decide whether one portion of the country should buzz off or indeed whether we want to devolve more powers to the region than we currently have.

It is a yes on the debate of secession or federalism for me, but please make it honest.