(Last Updated on December 23, 2021 by zimdaily)
Those who may not be aware of this slogan, must be living under a rock somewhere out of Earth. Well, the phrase is ngaapinde hake mukomana (NHM), a slogan recently introduced by the MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa.
It has brought renewed hope, optimism to Zimbabweans across the political divide. As Steve Biko would say: “People must not give in to hardships of life, people must develop hope”.
Finally, Zimbabweans have hope that together and in unison they will remove the Zanu-PF government, come 2023. People can’t wait to remove Zanu-PF.
Zanu-PF has made errors of judgment and has taken people for granted for far too long. To both their own supporters and to those of the opposition, Zanu-PF has failed to fulfil even 10% of their 2018 promises.
The meaning behind ngaapinde hake mukomana
I will begin by separating the slogan into three words, then analyse the combined meaning of the three words which make the slogan. This is because there is a deeper meaning behind the phrase and the reasoning that Zimbabweans are now alive to the propaganda against Chamisa and now fully understand Zanu-PF.
The problem with Zanu-PF is that it lives in the past. Zimbabweans have mastered the art of pretending to support Zanu-PF when they don’t like it at all.
Zimbabweans are tired of the Zanu-PF rhetoric, that is why you hear them saying ngaapinde hake mukomana. With the popularity the slogan has gained, it’s certain that Zanu-PF will be history. Any attempt to thwart the will of the people will be met with equal and opposite reaction this time around.
Ngaapinde
This is an confirmation by Zimbabweans that they have agreed that Chamisa, should be their leader. Zimbabweans have accepted that for him to win the plebiscite, people across the political divide should vote for him. The number of people who are attending Chamisa’s rural rallies confirms that he is the man of the moment.
The ngaapinde wave has shown that Chamisa is liked across the political divide. The recent outbursts by Vice-President Chiwenga in response to the utterances of Chief Murinye are testimony that Zanu-PF is in panic mode.
Chiefs are assumed to be Zanu-PF supporters but Murinye’s utterances should be cause for concern for the ruling party. The message was clear that people are ready to unite to vote Zanu-PF out of power.
Hake
Those who understand Shona will tell you that this word is used after disappointment or as a way to give a chance to something that was previously overlooked. This is a satirical way of telling President Emmerson Mnangagwa that his time is up.
People are fed up with Zanu-PF and it will not be given another chance to ruin the country, hence, ngaachipinda hake mukomana. People can no longer be fooled by Zanu-PF propaganda that Chamisa is a Western stooge, they love him as he is. So, its high time Mnangagwa knew that no amount of face powder can beautify a frog. No matter the good you try to portray, people are fed. Even if Zanu-PF soils Chamisa’s name, people love him.
Mnangagwa has said, Chamisa is a boy, is immature, invited sanctions, is power-hungry, has failed to run councils, has no party, has failed to lead his party, is leading a nameless party, and has no strategy but people have turned a deaf ear to all that and they are saying ngaapinde hake mukomana.
This slogan is sending a strong message to the Zanu-PF leadership that people will vote for that boy overwhelmingly.
Mukomana
This is the death knell of Zanu-PF in that it is a rare admission to the surprise of Zanu-PF that the people know and understand that Chamisa is young but they want to give him a chance. This slogan has transfixed the Zanu-PF propaganda machine. Zanu-PF used to parrot the cliché that Chamisa is too young to lead Zimbabwe. People are united and know that he is young but still want him to be voted into power regardless of what Zanu-PF thinks. The people of Zimbabwe are tired of Zanu-PF. They simply don’t care a hoot about what it says. People want the boy in.
Slogans
I have always argued that in all its failures, Zanu-PF is excellent when it comes to creating jingles, slogans and songs for elections. It knows how to connect with people using jingles, songs and dance. This shows it is a party that, indeed, fought a war as song and dance played a large part in raising morale during the liberation struggle. This was a war that was characterised by song and dance and surely Zanu-PF had one up against the MDC, which clearly was out of its depths when coming up with slogans.
The slogan #GodIsInIt as a campaign slogan in 2018 was no match of the largely infectious and well-thought-out #EDPfee.
You could not argue over that. These two slogans were incomparable; they were not in the same league. #EDPfee was in its own league.
You cannot help but admit that ED Pfee was a much better slogan than #GodIsInIt.
I may be wrong but I think that #GodIsInIt may have been as a result of acts of omission or commission by the top leader himself, Chamisa, because of his Christian beliefs.
It sounds good on paper, but God and politics should in most cases not be used in the same sentence. Whoever came up with that slogan must have thought that by putting God in the equation they were creating one of the best slogans ever, but this is politics, God is in everything, so it was and is not a good campaign slogan.
We can debate it but at the end of the day, we all know the truth. It is a sign of true leadership to admit when you are wrong. Such is the admission by MDC that it went out of its way to find a catchy, fresh, unique campaign slogan that resonates with the suffering masses of Zimbabwe. Indeed the slogan struck an unusual and unexpected chord with Zimbabweans of various political pursuasions including the youth and swing voters. Swing voters are people who are not firm supporters of any political party, and whose vote is difficult to predict in an election.
I have had discussions with people across the political divide about slogans. The MDC Alliance supporters may not be ready to admit that their campaign slogan for 2018 was a disaster; more so that it was in English. That did not make the slogan any better. Politics is a game of understanding your audience. MDC Alliance failed to understand its audience. It is all very well to use English but it is clear from how slogans in the vernacular have captured the masses that English may not be the best medium to use as far as Zimbabwean election slogans are concerned.
I stand to be corrected. I believe that a slogan should be created first in vernacular language to have an impact and may be translated into English if need be. #GodIsInIt was a toddler compared to the undeniable and infectious #EDPfee. The opposite is now true in the case of NHM.
Source – NewsDay Zimbabwe