Elsewhere in this issue we run a piece about member of the Lesotho Defense Force reading up to do not only national but regional sub-continental duty in the Republic of Mozambique shooing off the rebels who are threatening national peace and order in that nation.
Understandably, the move to participate in the noble continental initiative of nation building is a concerted effort by other African nations particularly those on the Southern African region.
This comes after the leaders of the Southern African region met Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo on May 27, 2021 to try to persuade him to allow a Southern African Development Community (SADC) force to tackle Ansar al-sunna; a terrorism group that has taken on the Northern Province, Cabo Delgado in arms.
It is reported that the Cabo Delgado insurgency is rooted in local social and economic conditions. Northern Mozambique is home to many Muslim minority, which were long marginalised from national political power. Ethnic and linguistic divides also feed a dynamic of political exclusion.
According to reports, the endemic corruption and series of natural and human-made economic disruption have heightened social tensions. One result has been a generational and ideological struggle within the northern Mozambique Muslim community that evolved into the current extremist rebellion.
While the decision by our armed forces to participate in the combat is so notably noble and brave, it is the participation that exposes our deformities, lack and results of bad governance. Of all the countries that have heeded the call to go and assist Mozambique, ours is probably the only one boasting only combat agility, because the last time I checked we were good, very good even.
Ours will be the only ones arriving at the play/battlefield in borrowed transport. The military as the only institution taken care of to the extent of having aircrafts, unfortunately has those that can only move from here to there.
We urge our national leadership to take this as a lesson and try and do things the way other nations with sound leadership and a patriotic outlook do it. It is embarrassing that we cannot as a nation, spend a few millions on our national guard yet the, mostly superfluous, parliamentarians have it so easy that they can waste government coffers to preserve their selfish interests. Finally, let us all come together and wish our men well and ask that God grant them wisdom and ability to work well and come back with significant victory.
