Sangil: The rise and fall of Mugabe

AS IT is oftentimes said, |behind a man's success there's a woman behind ".... And of course behind the man's failure a woman also maybe behind him. Look what happened in this country from 1972 up to 1986. I don't have to elaborate. Even people who have no keen sense of history know what I wanted to share.

I read last week an article in the Philippine Star written by one of the best writers in the country today, Alex Magno where he detailed Zimbabwe's strong man Robert Mugabe, 93 years old, rise to power in 1980 up to his downfall after the country's military placed him under house arrest few weeks ago. I like particularly when he ended his article and I quote: " There's a lesson for all leaders thrust to power by events larger than themselves. They must be larger than vainer men. They must learn to be humbled by the responsibilities of power rather than aggrandized by the trappings of high office."

I hope the three above sentences will be carefully read by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and most especially people close and and who have his ears. Special mention to Bong Go, Mocha Uson and Salvador Medialdea. ( Sana naman hindi kayo matulad sa mga langaw na natuntong sa kalabaw na gusto malaki pa sa kalabaw). At least the two guys, Go and Medialdea are nice, humble and likeable people according to my kins in Davao City, Sonny Dizon and Bebot Marfori, both are friends of the Dutertes. A friend of my daughter name Aki who is with Uson dancing group has also nice word for the Assistant Secretary of Malacanang press office.

News dispatches are reporting that Mugabe's downfall was caused by the overly ambitious wife Grace, 52 years old and referred to by African media as "Gucci Grace" for her penchant to shopping for signature items and splurging on these items together with her sons as the people in the country are experiencing extreme poverty. She was reportedly a shopping addict. Maybe she has also thousands of shoes in her racks. (Do you remember someone in our country who can compare to Gucci Grace?)

And not satisfied with that she coaxed the dictator to remove the Vice President so she can succeed the aging husband. He heeded Grace request and sacked the vice president. That was design for them to stay in power. However, that was the last straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. Enough is enough. The country's military moved in and the Mugabes were placed under house arrest. It ended the conjugal dictatorship. It spelled the end of the Mugabe era in the once very rich Zimbabwe.

So many lessons to be learned here. I hope local elected officials in our country will have the chance to read this item. Don't be too greedy. As it is said in Tagalog: 'Pagka haba haba man ng prusisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy.

Tweets:

- Many workers both in private and public offices received this early their Christmas bonuses. Don't splurge, leave some cash for the Xmas day for your inaanaks and visiting relatives.

- Will the Department of Trade and Industry monitor prices and not be contented with their suggested retail price labeling. This holiday season many supermarkets don't heed SRP.

- With many supermarkets competing, consumers are expecting price war. But the opposite is what's happening. Madami SALE kuno. Do you believe the gimmick?

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