WHY AM A PROUD MALAWIAN TODAY

By: Peter Qeko Jere

As of late many people have questioned why I write a lot on issues affecting Malawi as if am a student of political science or if am planning to join politics in future. They question why Malawi has become so special to me this time around and why should it be today and not the previous time when I was here at the University of Fort Hare doing my Masters degree. Just a while ago someone emailed from the US and she is wondering why I write apologetically about Malawi. The shift around me is very clear for everybody to see and witness. I have therefore decided to respond to the many questions people have about my current position through this network.

To begin with, it is true that I spent some of my free time thinking and writing some things about Malawi. I have been compelled to do this because of the negative journalism out there against my country. There are some few confused and unprincipled minds whose main agenda is to write negative stories about this great land. They claim to be citizens of this great nation but surprisingly they continue to do negative journalism where the only thing they know best is to write against the land of my birth. As a patriotic citizen of the land, I have an obligation to defend my country from any form of negative journalism. There is this unwritten natural law which forces me to defend my country from such negative journalism out there.

How can they call claim to be true Malawians when they spend sleepless time planning to tarnish the good image of my motherland? Now how true Malawian are they, if they plan to write negative stories against their own land. For some of us, we don’t have any other home apart from Malawi and this is the land of our birth. That is why we take up the pen to fight back if anyone writes negatively against our only home in the world. We expect citizen of the land to do patriotic journalism where they have obligation to promote and not destroy the good image of the country. This is where you do everything under your power to protect and promote that which you have. The only thing that every citizen of this great nation have is Malawi.

I for one, Malawi is my very being and you don’t separate me from this rich heritage because this also represents the land, mountain, valleys, rivers, beautiful plains and our great lake. I am aware of my history and heritage which is so much rich and its all attached to this great land. So when I write, its something that comes from my heart not my head, as a way of protecting and promoting the land of my birth.

Secondly I write positively about Malawi because this time around we are so much privileged to have the Head of State, His Excellency Dr. Bingu Wa Muthalika who passed through the corridors of several Universities in the world attaining both undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications. What I mean is that in Malawi we have the President who is educated. He has a Bachelor of Commerce, Masters Degree and a PhD in Developmental Economics and he is also a writer and has several publications behind his name.

One of his masterpiece is the book called, ‘One Africa one Destiny” published by Sapes Trust in 1995 where in chapter 3 (Muthalika 1995:60-90) he deals with the definition and issues of democracy in relation to the will of the people. I think you all need to read this book and this chapter if you are to understand democracy as African people. I think politicians also need to read this so that they get a clear understanding of what the will of the people is all about.

In fact my President has written some more books related to his field of study (Developmental economic) like the following: Toward multinational economic co-operation in Africa (by Praeger 1972); The Vibrant Circle of growth; A Case study on Regionalism in Africa in Regional integration and the New International Economic order (UNITAR-CEESTEM-Perganom Press 1981); Transnational Corporation and Technical Cooperation Among Developing Countries in The Challenges of South-South Co-operation (RCCDC-Westview Press 1983); Regional and Sub-regional Integration in Africa: Perspectives, Problematiques and Prospects (Research and Information System for the Non-Aligned and other Developing Countries/ EL Colegio de Mexico 1987 (Muthalika 1995).

In additional, our President is not only educated but has also worked in a number of well known international organization like the World Bank, United Nations and for a good number of years he was the General Secretary of PTA now called COMESA. This is the kind of a man you can comfortably associate with mainly when you are an upcoming scholar and a citizen of this great land. Thus I am proud that am a Malawian and a patriotic citizen of the land.