Feature

QUOTES THAT ARE TO LIVE

By MANKHOKWE NAMUSANYA

History safuta ayi. (Literally meaning, history is never erased.)

—Atupele Muluzi’s father, Elson Muluzi

THERE was once some cartoon in some newsletter on some campus about some certified professor who always began, progressed and ended all his lectures with quotes. The good professor always started his lectures by saying so and so said such and such, and so and so said this and that, a habit that also went on in the course of his lectures all the way through to the end of the lectures up to a point that one male student wondered on who was going to quote the intelligent professor for he never said anything himself but just repeated what others already said long before he was even born.

And, talking about quotes and quoting, many intelligent people nowadays seem to be solely surviving on quotes to look very intelligent and one of those quotes which is mostly quoted and drives many in their quests and, I strongly believe, shall stand the taste of time is that from the current US president Barrack Obama. It is a simple and straightforward quote and not unusual; it proclaims: ‘YES WE CAN!’ end of quote.

The quote, as used by many, does not go any further than that, does not elaborate what is it that we can, how we can, why we can, when we can, where we can, etcetera. It just says we can without elaborating and I also believe, yes we can. That quote is one of the quotes that I strongly do suppose shall live for it unusually inspires and provokes -in a positive way- ambitions specially hidden in us as individuals. One great thing that I learnt from that quote the first time I heard it was that I and you also can; yes we can also use quotes as all important people do like the professor in that cartoon that really did not impress me until now.

If you think that no we cannot then I say let us try using quotes and bring them out here; real quotes that have and will always stand the taste of time, quotes that are original and were said by people who were purely and soberly sober, and really meant what they said, real quotes ladies and gentlemen like these:

• "Of all people I know Tembo better. I cannot allow him to succeed me and I can’t recommend him."

-Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda.

• Tembo is a crook. He is a criminal!
• Mr. John Tembo is the one who killed the three ministers in Mwanza. There’s a record on Mr. Gadama, as you all know he was a catholic, gripping his rosary and pleading with Mr. Tembo saying, ‘mukundipheranji?’ (Why are you killing me?). Inu a Malawi lero ati tikakhale pansi ati tivotele John Tembo? (Malawians, do you think it’s logical for us today to be saying we have to vote for John Tembo?)
• I have a tape with me here in which Tembo together with other MCP members were plotting to kill all the catholic bishops for authoring the pastoral letter of 1992.
• Boma la MCP linali boma lankhanza kwambiri. Eti lero pawailesi n’kumanena ati tikavotere kokoliko. (The MCP government was a very cruel government. Strangely, they were saying on the radio today that we vote for the same cruel government.)
• Tembo is an ungrateful fellow. I gave him money to pay for water and electricity, and also buy clothes for his party women.
• Brown Mpinganjira is adulterous; he snatched another man’s wife – the wife of Mr. Lossa, a church elder at CI. Inu, kodi mwamzimayi wa ana faivi umvamo chani, osangobwera kudzatenga ma D7 ali panowa bwanji? (No translation please, please, please!)
• Kamlepo Kalua wachamba. (Kamlepo Kalua smokes marijuana)

-Bakili Muluzi, malawi’s former head of state and UDF national chairman (NB: all these things were spoken on public rallies)

• Boma la MCP/UDF coalition lizakulolani a maminibasi kukhala folofolo. (The MCP/UDF government will allow you minibus owners to overload your minibuses.)
• Things have changed, MCP has changed and I also have changed.
• Ine ndi puludzu (or buluzu?), sin’lapa ayi. (I am  unrepentant (or lizard?), I don’t repent)

-Mr. John Zenus Ungapake Tembo, MCP president.

Have you now seen? We can also use quotes and believe them and let them be our drive. I tell you that the people quoted above meant what they said and therefore we are more than safe if we trust those quotes.

‘YES WE CAN’ – one of the quotes that are to live.

Vuto liri ndi a Malawi n’loti sitichedwa kuiwala.

(The problem with Malawians is that we forget very easily.)

• Patricia Shanil Muluzi’s husband, Elson Muluzi.