BLANTYRE, Sept 28: A powerful editorial in the Nation on Sunday has categorically said no to secession being pushed by some politicians and sections of people in the North.
In the editorial, titled “We say no to secession,” the newspaper wrote:
“The necessity of accommodating divergent political views in a democratic state like ours cannot be over-empasised if the country is to encourage crucial political processes towards building a mature self-governing society.
“This is why we support the stance taken by the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) to facilitate a national debate on proposals being advanced by some quarters for the country to adopt a federal system of government.
“Let Malawians speak their minds on how the wish their country to be governed.
“What we do not agree with, however, is the idea of accommodating secession calls.
“In as much as we believe that deliberations are essential, it seems baffling that anyone should consider breaking up a country due to concerns or challenges that a roundtable discussion can easily resolve.
“Whatever grievances some quarters of society have and no matter how legitimate the concerns may be, the solution cannot be to dismantle this country into pieces.
“We are not disputing the fact that there are genuine concerns calling for immediate attention and action, but secession is certainly not the right way to address such issues.
“It would be unwise for a small country such as Malawi to plant seeds of discord among its people just because some overzealous individuals cannot think of better and unifying ways of solving some challenges facing the country.
“Even in the face of nepotism, lack of development or the quota system of selecting students into the University of Malawi (Unima) and many other issues that are being cited by proponents of secession, there is no justification whatsoever for the country to take this regrettable path.
“Secession will mean dividing this nation and scattering the 14 million citizens who would be forced to make a choice on which country to belong to.
“over the past decades, we have been one Malawi; the warm Heart of Africa. We have together fought colonialism, dictatorship and ushered this beautiful country into democracy.
“In this long walk, we have stood together as one Malawi; our patriots have shed blood for Malawi as one country.
“Where did things go wrong that the word secession should be heard in our minds?
“When we sit down to debate these issues, let us lay down emotions, selfish motives and think carefully about what such words may turn this country into.
“Let us not rip this country apart.”—Maravipost.