A CHAT FROM LONDON: Of the referendum in Scotland and fruits of Zanzibar…
What you need to know:
Why has almost every single English politician been pleading with Scotland not to break away from the UK?
Scotland. Scots. Scottish. How many Scots have you heard or do you know? Alex Ferguson, legendary Manchester United coach. Or Brendan Rodgers of Liverpool. Maybe football is not your thing. How about James Bond, one of the best exports of UK culture, played by Sean Connery, the Scottish actor? Not a movie person? Prefer females? How about the 2009 “Britain Got Talent” sensation, Susan Boyle. This Scottish madame sang at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, last month. Her total wealth is calculated to be over 20 million pounds. Speaking of women from Scotland we must mention Elsie Inglis, born 1864 and died at the height of the World War I in 1917. After qualifying as a doctor, Inglis dedicated her life to the health of women in hospitals.
Another famous Scottish doctor is David Livingstone whose history is famously connected to Africa. When I was a kid in the 1960s, Livingstone was considered a hero. Places, roads and institutions were named after him. The man helped pave the way for colonialism as well as abolishment of slavery.
Adam Smith, the 18th century economist, whose theories still influence studies of labour and free enterprise. Alexander Fleming, Nobel Prize winner, inventor of penicillin in 1928. And Sir Robert Watson-Watts, pioneer and initiator of the development of air radar, crucial in strengthening the military capability of Great Britain, subsequently, helping defeat Germans in the Second World War. We are just touching the surface here and so the question is...
Why has almost every single English politician been pleading with Scotland not to break away from the UK during past weeks? Why was PM, David Cameron quoted “begging” Scots to stay in the United Kingdom?
Think of Zanzibar wanting to break away from Mainland Tanzania. That is how “hot” the topic has been...
By the time you read this article, the Scottish referendum would have passed yesterday. Listen. We are used to the United Kingdom, (our former colonial masters) being the most revered empire in the world. United Kingdom is Wales, Ireland, England and Scotland (plus 790 tiny islands off her coast).
In Kiswahili Waingereza, Uingereza or Kiingereza all mean the same thing. In our world any white person we see is Mzungu and a Briton is Mwingereza. Scottish, Irish, Welsh, English? Hard to spot the difference.
I must admit before I came to live in the UK, I never quite understood the different British regions and accents within the union.
For you can distinctly note a Scottish person by their accent. Scotland itself is said to be over 5,000 years old but it was in 1707 when the Act of Union was declared. Scots as British subjects took part in most imperialistic things including the dreaded Slave Trade. For example in 1817, Scotland had access to a third of slaves in Jamaica. No wonder many Jamaicans have Scottish names. It was even speculated that the father of famous mixed race Jamaican musician Bob Marley was Scottish.
Scots have a unique accent.
There are numerous English accents: Australian, Caribbean, African, South African, American, African American....etc.
Just like we have a multitude of Kiswahili accents.
The Zanzibar Kiswahili accent stands out. And here we have a similar political chess too. The Union with Tanganyika is not as old as the United Kingdom. Yet, Zanzibar has been crying to break away, just like the Scots; screaming at inequalities.
Zanzibar, has likewise, offered us amazing individuals. Singer Siti binti Saad, pioneer of Swahili Taarab, the golden voice of the 1930s and 1940s and subject of a biography by Shaaban Robert. Sultan Seyid Barghash (1870-1888), is credited to have created Stone Town and other distinctive buildings of interest in Zanzibar.
Lately Zanzibaris (and Pemba) have contributed immensely to the East African literature. Novelists Adam Shafi and Professor Said Ahmed Mohammed in Swahili and Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah in English to mention some. Zanzibar’s distinguished leaders e.g. military legend Colonel Ali Mahfudh (died and buried in Mozambique) and politician Abdulrahman Babu who passed away in London in 1996 are always spoken in intense admiration. The late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is believed to have said that the only Tanzanian he “feared” was Colonel Mahfudh.
Again, why would a group want to get away from a cherished union? David Cameron warned the Scots not to separate because of him. “Do not mix the temporary with the permanent.” There is too much to lose in a divorce.
In unity, it is always advised, there is strength. But that strength has to be equally shared. In its continuous yearning to get away from the Union, Zanzibar keeps saying Tanganyika has been benefiting and decisions are controlled from the Mainland. The Scots allege the same.
On Monday night, press reports estimated oil revenues from the North Sea to rocket if the referendum favours a political divorce. We have not yet spoken of banks and political votes. No wonder politicians are frantic.
