Being causative is not necessarily about having unlimited power or being responsible for everything. It is about reaching your full potential and taking a godly approach to life. You are not accountable for every external event, but you can decide your stance, your actions, and the influence you exert. Some things will always be beyond your control. Causation is about responding with intention and acting where you have leverage.
People who are causative in their environment tend to live better lives than those who remain at the mercy of circumstances. A simple daily habit can help. Each morning, ask yourself, “What is one thing I will start today?” Each evening, reflect, “Where did I react as an effect, and where did I act as a cause?” Then adjust for tomorrow. In short, take small, deliberate actions, choose your responses, shape your conditions, and work within your sphere of influence.
Instead of just focusing on being influenced, take action. We live under two spiritual forces, and we can choose to push back against negative influences or lean toward positive ones. When Jesus taught us to pray, “Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven,” He was encouraging us to let ourselves be used to bring positive change to the world around us. That’s how you go from being shaped by your surroundings to taking the responsibility to shape them for the better.
Colonialism, Responsibility, and Civilization
As bad as colonialism is considered to have been, black societies were also not always taught to take responsibility. Many did not understand cause and effect. Apart from being white, what was the colonial masters’ other sin? Black people also exercised power over others. Uncivilized people, whether white or black, have often assumed power through military prowess. Introducing better education and a good healthcare system was an undeniably positive development by whites for blacks, whether we choose to deny this or not.
It is deeply dishonest to apportion all blame to white colonialists. Blacks were not the only victims of colonialism or imperialism. America was also under British colonialism but later rose to become great in the entire world. Rather than blame colonialism for the African condition, let us also consider the possible benefits of colonialism. White people contributed to some form of civilization. Of course, racism is not civilization, but being able to read and write advances civilization. Africans should not be ashamed to admit that education was not their priority.
Ndebele Culture and the Logic of Power
The typical Ndebele man, for instance, valued three things that commonly sustained their admirable culture: women, cattle, and beer. Agricultural farming was necessary mainly for producing corn for subsistence food and traditional beer. A man’s status symbol was having many wives, who helped with agricultural farming, and a large kraal of cattle and goats. Happiness was limited to that condition, in which traditional beer was idolized and linked with the ancestral religion, which governed cultural traditions.
Adventurism lay in becoming a warrior and developing skill and dexterity in the use of the assegai to win wars. This was a common legacy of humanity, which has operated on a survival-of-the-fittest logic from time immemorial. No nation on earth has escaped that rudimentary phase of human development. The skill of fighting enabled a nation to get the best women, increase its population, and create a great army to ensure stability.
However primitive that way of life may seem, it characterized the normal standard of living. Some people accuse whites of having brought the Bible to stupefy Africans. Anyone with such a distorted view ought to be excused, as it depicts the nature of humanity. What can you expect from a person who does not understand the principle of being causative in their own environment? Such a person can condemn even the best food brought to him when suspecting evil intentions. That is how the best opportunities get rejected among the uneducated.
Lotshe’s Wisdom
Rather than loathe the whites, what if those Ndebeles had considered Lotshe Hlabangani’s suggestion? Lotshe was killed for suggesting that they engage the whites in communication rather than treating them outright as enemies. He was labelled a traitor by his comrades, who killed him. Only after they were defeated in a war in which their ammunition was inferior did they realize that Lotshe had been right after all. Wisdom is not found in emotion; it is found in engaging in communication with one’s adversary.
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace” (Luke 14:31–32 NIV).
The Ndebele fighters were slaughtered in that unbalanced war. Lotshe’s suggestion had been to consider fighting those whites only after developing skills in the use of modern weapons. That is common sense. Unfortunately, common sense does not appeal to emotionally driven people. They killed Lotshe for suggesting such a noble idea, rather than honoring him.
Reactive Mentality Today
The same mentality continues to haunt Africans today. This is why President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia is loathed, rather than praised, for creating workable policies for the Zambian people. The folly is evident in the suggestion that ZANU PF’s destructive trajectory is the best option for Africans. It can be nearly impossible to reason with people who hold onto such a destructive mentality. Claiming that colonialists invaded Africa for exploitation may be true, but also true that they may have intended to advance civilization in Africa.
The Bible, although possibly manipulated, was the greatest vehicle for advancing civilization. Only fools cannot see anything good in the Bible. Consider a heap of rubble mixed with dirt and gold. A person can focus on the dirt; suggest disposing of it, without noticing the nuggets of gold within it. That is a sign of lacking wisdom, yet another person may ignore the dirt and concentrate on taking advantage of the nuggets of gold. That is wisdom.
A blanket condemnation of colonialism’s evils, without considering any of its good intentions, affects people with reactive minds. Such reactive thinking may have helped push ZANU PF into a destructive mode. Nothing good can be found in that thinking pattern except the normalization of the abnormal. Hatred of white people is mistaken for heroism in revolutionary activities. Yet there is no difference between white people and black people except skin colour, which is insignificant and, in the end, perishable. What should be considered valuable is the dignity of humanity, which is enhanced by education.
Education, Humility, and True Understanding
A person can be educated or uneducated regardless of skin colour or racial background. It is also important to recognize the role of education in correcting certain misconceptions. Someone may earn a doctorate in a field and still lack true understanding. When addressing the Pharisees, Jesus highlighted this truth, often seen in proud individuals who believe themselves wiser than others. Genuine education is marked by humility and a constant readiness to learn.
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (John 9:39–41 NIV).
Zimbabwe: Victims or Agents?
Recently, social media was buzzing with debates about whether life was better during Smith’s era than under the ZANU PF government. Such arguments are pointless when they come from people who see themselves as mere products of their circumstances. They are like rattling stones, swayed entirely by their environment. Nothing worthwhile comes from such individuals: if the wind blows south, they go south; if it blows north, they follow north.
When the wind pushes them into discomfort, they resort to comparing past and present leaders. These are people who could not influence the past, cannot shape the present, and have no control over the future. They lament when a bad government is in power but also fear what lies ahead, clinging to the old saying that the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t. Such thinking reflects people who find comfort in being reactive rather than proactive.
When things go wrong, they always blame someone else and see themselves as victims. Every year, Zimbabweans gather at the National Stadium to celebrate independence, yet many seem unaware of its true meaning. These are the same people now lamenting the consequences of poor governance, leading to amusing debates such as “Ian Smith was better than ED!”
The Illusion of Black Majority Rule
It may be true that, despite claiming oppression under Smith, blacks were actually freer than now. Was Smith really so unapproachable? Like any reasonable authority, he would not have tolerated lawlessness. There is a statement often attributed to him—“I envisage no black majority rule in this country; not in a thousand years!”—that is frequently taken out of context. This remark stirs unnecessary emotions, and those who despise Smith for saying it rarely pause to consider whether there has indeed been black majority rule in Zimbabwe.
The truth is that only a minority has been running the country for decades without true black majority rule. Nearly half a century under ZANU PF has still not brought genuine black majority rule. The big question is: “Do we envisage any black majority rule ever taking effect in this country?” ZANU PF seems to be moving toward a dynasty under ED Mnangagwa, but a dynasty does not necessarily mean black majority rule.
Black majority rule means a government where black citizens run the show, a concept Nelson Chamisa calls “citizenocracy.” This means the black majority elects leaders through free and fair elections, with systems in place to remove those who fail to meet voter expectations. It’s essentially how a republican state would operate under black majority leadership.
In the past forty-six years, Zimbabwe hasn’t truly been governed by a black majority. After independence in the 1980s, whites stayed in control while propaganda distracted blacks, and Gukurahundi tore apart communities in Matabeleland and the Midlands. Some might mistakenly view that as black majority rule. Margaret Thatcher’s government ignored Gukurahundi, and during that time white farmers thrived more than ever in the nation’s history.
Robert Mugabe was awarded a knighthood by the Queen of England for governing in line with the white man’s will, during a period when genocide was taking place in Matabeleland and the Midlands. Calling that black majority rule would be misleading, as whites appeared to be directing events while blacks were killing each other under Mugabe’s leadership.
The white rulers maintained this course until corruption became a major issue. Mugabe, himself corrupt as he was, could not be the right person to tackle corruption. Though winning elections on paper, he was in charge rather than the black majority. Seeking to please both his white masters and the friends who had aided his rise, he oversaw a steep economic decline.
Inflation spiraled out of control, hitting ordinary workers in commerce and industry first. Mugabe had no idea how to address it. A weakened currency eroded purchasing power, leaving workers unable to send their children to school or buy property. This environment gave rise to the labour-based movement led by Morgan Tsvangirai.
The whites had long been at an advantage, but in a moment of naivety, they joined forces with Morgan Tsvangirai to oppose Mugabe’s corruption. They should have known where their interests lay, as Mugabe’s rule had allowed them to maintain control over matters most important to their comfort. Normally, there was nothing wrong with white people supporting opposition politics, but they had remained in economic control for as long as their ally Robert Mugabe was in charge. As the saying goes, a wild cat is most dangerous when cornered.
After the formation of the MDC, the propaganda machine swung into action, casting the whites as scapegoats. Similar to current events involving Putin, a destructive mode was adopted and dubbed the “Third Chimurenga.” History captures the events that unfolded. Over the last twenty-five years, keen observers have pointed out that black majority rule has never truly existed.
Lawlessness took hold, reinforcing Ian Smith’s assertion about the impossibility of black majority rule. Life became harder for ordinary Zimbabweans, forcing thousands—if not millions—to cross borders in search of work in the diaspora. Today, disputed election results have become a familiar reality, hardly fitting the description of black majority rule. The count toward Ian Smith’s prophesied thousand years continues.
Hence, insinuations that whites were better rulers than black rulers are growing louder. What excites attention, however, should not be skin colour. It should be human dignity, which in our vernacular languages is called Ubuntu or hunhu. That condition is not created by skin colour. It suggests responsibility. Indeed, whether a majority is black or white should not concern dignified people. What Ian Smith may have really meant was that a white man could lead where the black majority could be the ones ruling.
Responsibility Above Race
Integrity carries the day. Leaders come and go. Their racial or tribal identity is not what concerns responsible people. In a truly black majority rule, the person in charge becomes the people’s servant rather than the ruler. For instance, what could be wrong with electing a white person as president if that person is elected democratically? In my view, only a mentally disturbed outlook would find that objectionable. There is no substitute for responsibility. If a white person were elected democratically, what could be the problem?
Lately, social media has been buzzing with complaints about Bret Muvheti’s VVZ party formation. The truth is, for some people, it’s hard to tell whether events in the environment happen due to responsibility or irresponsibility. In this world, nothing happens without a cause. Those who recognize their ability to influence can help fix issues that impact humanity. Regardless of their background, everyone should appreciate being born with the power to shape outcomes. A boulder blocking a path will remain until someone moves it. Each person has the potential to be a cause rather than just an effect.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, which lays out standards for lifting Zimbabwe out of its current economic depression and into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, offering relief to those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
Also available as an e-copy at Lulu.com for $6.99