I SHALL borrow from one senior, and wise, citizen who once said that impromptu issues lead prompt decisions. How I have to come to value that statement. Prompt decisions do not always serve an intended purpose. Likewise, nothing desirable is likely to come out of anything impromptu.
When it comes to matters that are sensitive to the wellbeing of a society, quick decisions and unprepared flare-ups could prove detrimental. On that backbone, public figures with a huge following need to wisely gauge what they say or do prior to going public with their decisions.
That is called responsible conduct, a very important quality in any leader. Acting irresponsibly just because you have political support is rather juvenile and reckless. Any seasoned politician with the best interests of the nation at heart wouldn’t take that route just to stir public empathy.
The opposition Chadema is of late seemed so bent on organizing demonstrations as though its whole survival depended on it. My understanding of the functions of any political party is that staging demonstrations would be the last resort in getting a party’s point across.
I also understand that staging demonstration is a constitutional right. But I also understand that rights and freedoms can easily be abused by people with sinister motives thus the need for limitations. One limitation always begins with the person granted the rights and freedoms, and that is making sound judgment before exercising one’s right.
One would also expect a registered political party that plays the role of the official opposition in the august House to act responsibly and strive to keep peace. The decision by the Chadema leadership to stage demonstration just because one of its legislators and a few supporters were arrested and remanded in prison by no means reflects responsible conduct.
For one, it can be matter-of-factly stated that the Chadema legislator, Mr Godbless Lema, refused to post bail the first he was taken to court so the party should not try to muscle state organs to have things their way. On the other hand, since when have we started interfering matters that are before the courts of law?
It is my understanding that Chadema has some sort of friendly affiliation with the Conservative party of the UK. Not so long ago the Conservatives were an opposition party, but now it has formed a coalition government. Perhaps Chadema should learn a thing or two from them, they don’t stage protests just because something does please their leader(s).
Ever since the general elections ended last year, Chadema has carved a niche for itself as a party of protesters. I wonder if they realize that not everybody wants to be party to regular protests that have not brought to bear on anything. The productive time wasted, and money to some, could have been put to other good use.
Furthermore, the people’s power slogan is being wrongly used by the party. Trust me, they may have people lurking around, but the power lies elsewhere. All this fuss was because of the MP who is in remand prison and not the dozens of followers. Conventional wisdom alone is enough to make one reach to that conclusion.
The 80/20 Rule is at work here, of the vital few and trivial many. Had it been handful supporters of the party languishing in remand prison for breaking the law, we probably wouldn’t have heard about the matter. But since one of the party’s maverick MPs is involved, we are forced to make do with sleepless nights.
The party, apparently, wants to use the Arusha mayoral elections’ saga as a political tool to influence political decisions at the national level. That again is juvenile. If at all the party cared about people, it would have reali9zed that it hurting businesses and disrupting people’s daily lives every time they stage a demo.
Chadema should learn to leave some things to civil rights groups and organizations and focus more on its activities as a political party. As a political party that may someday be given the mandate to form a government, staging demonstrations every time something does not seem right may come back to haunt them.
Unless, of course, the party’s leadership is certain that they will never make it that far and so they just want to play with people’s emotions and sentiments before they disappear into oblivion, never ever to come back.
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