THE Zimbabwe Organisation for Youth in Politics (ZOYP) has called on youths to stand up for their rights saying passiveness will see them continue being a wasted generation.
Speaking to NewsDay yesterday, ZOYP founder Emmanuel Nkosilathi Moyo said the older generation leading the country did not care about the youths, hence the need for them to “economically and politically” liberate themselves.
“It is up to the generation of young people of today to stand up for their political and economic freedoms and reclaim Zimbabwe,” he said.
“The yesteryear generation took it upon themselves to directly confront the (colonial) system that had deprived them of their right to self-determination.
“It is, however, sad that they (liberation fighters now leading the country) later turned into monsters and oppressors of today. They became worse than what they fought against.”
Moyo said it was disheartening that after the country gained political independence in 1980, the dream of millions of Zimbabweans, particularly the youth, were shattered in successive years.
“Zimbabwe is now a laughing stock and a shadow of itself and millions of lives have been ruined and the dream of every young Zimbabwean now is to leave the country,” he said.
He said the sacrifices made by freedom fighters in liberating the country from colonialism had lost significance.
“Significant commemorations like the Heroes Day have now lost significance due to the ongoing oppression and authoritarianism,” Moyo said.
In an interview with NewsDay on the eve of Heroes Day, opposition politician and former Citizens Coalition for Change leader Nelson Chamisa described Zimbabwe as a “sick country” with severe problems, including poverty, unemployment and high inflation, among others.
Chamisa said citizens had the answers to their problems and they “must fix” the challenges and “find answers” to their own questions.