Allow me to illustrate.

SMITH

He kept a tight grip on power, justifying this by saying he was protecting the country from Communists who were using the Blacks as a tool for their agenda to take over the world.

Access to opportunity was based on colour of skin.

MUGABE

He keeps a tight grip on power, saying that he is protecting the country from Imperialist forces who are using Blacks as a tool for their agenda to take over the world.

Access to opportunity is based on political patronage.

We Zimbabweans still have a sense of humour about our situation. The saying is- we kicked the white man out coz he was taking the cream, but we have unfortunately replaced him with a bunch that are taking not only the cream, but the milk, and the the pail, and the cow and the stool!!!

No one in his right mind wants Smith back. The one politician who dared suggest the idea has since disappeared from the political landscape, it was a crazy idea. Smith himself has largely steered clear of politics, although he wrote a book moaning that the Western nations betrayed him after he had done so much for them.

But this has to be said of him- when he faced sanctions, he strove to make the country more self-sufficient. Under him, Zimbabwe became more industrialised. Under Mugabe, all those parastatals etc have collapsed, billion dollar industries reduced to nothing through nepotism, avarice, corruption etc. And when the people dare to talk about this, we are made to suffer. This is the man you have chosen to call a hero.