There are many lessons that Umbrella for Democratic Change leaders can learn from a certain Morgan Tsvangirai of Zimbabwe.
Until he crashed into oblivion the entire world had earmarked Tsvangirai as a crown prince who was going to wrestle power from Zimbabwe’s ageing dictator, Robert Mugabe.
In Botswana where he once sought asylum following periodical madness that invariably always descends on Zimbabwe every time there is an election in that country, Tsvangirai was for three months given the courtesies reserved for visiting Heads of State.
As Mugabe’s militias killed innocent Zimbabweans back home Tsvangirai stayed in a five star hotel in Gaborone, with all the imaginable royalties all paid for by the Government of Botswana.
President Ian Khama saw nothing wrong sharing his presidential jet with Tsvangirai.
The head of intelligence services was effectively Tsvangirai’s number one body guard.
It was, to use, Mugabe’s favorite clich├®, a moment of madness.
Like everybody else, as a country we got ahead of ourselves and gave Tsvangirai the throne long before he could attain it.
As it turned out we celebrated a victory that never was. And in the end we looked foolish as the biggest winner was Robert Mugabe who from day one warned us that Tsvangirai was not just a buffoon but also a tea boy of western leaders, especially the British Tony Blair.
Tsvangirai made many mistakes.
Other than that he was not by any stretch a smart politician, Tsvangirai’s biggest folly was that he failed to harness his popularity at the time to push for real power. He set the bars too low.
His biggest weakness is that he failed to get Zimbabweans into the streets to protest Mugabe’s heinous crimes.
He also failed to tap on the coattails of the then prevailing euphoria to bargain for more authority ÔÇô for himself, for his party, but most importantly for the long suffering Zimbabweans.
Time after time, he was outfoxed by such experienced hands like Thabo Mbeki of South Africa who were clearly out to cut a good deal for their liberation godfather.
In Zimbabwe today, Tsvangirai is regarded with scorn.
Mugabe was in Gaborone this week, officially to check on the SADC secretariat of which he is ironically the top man.
But a slick and experienced political hand that he is, it was for him also an opportunity to drive home a message to Botswana -  a onetime backer of his now vanquished rival that he was afterall still in charge.
History, they say, is written by the victors. And from his demeanour this week, Mugabe is clearly relishing it.
Zimbabweans regard Tsvangirai not only as irrelevant but also a villain.
They remember him as the one person who not only derailed but also squandered their revolution.
I was reminded of Tsvangirai’s travails this week as I tried to piece together just what Umbrella for Democratic Change has been doing since October 24th last year.
UDC leaders should use Morgan Tsvangirai as a template with which to remind themselves of what is needed to stay relevant in politics.
Complacency, detachment and endless celebrations do not deliver state power.
Since October after their amazing vote of confidence, UDC leaders have largely been nowhere to be seen.
On the eve of Workers Day on May 1, a leading trade unionist grumbled to me that UDC leaders were not taking his calls. He lamented the fact that they were not even returning them.
“As we speak the country is reeling under the jackboot of power cuts occasioned by corruption and incompetence of the current government,” he said to me.
“Yet UDC cannot even get their supporters into the streets to protest this misery,” he added.
He was right.
The capital city can go also for weeks without water. And we have not heard a single voice of protest from UDC leadership. It would seem like the UDC leaders are now ensconced and content with what peripheral positions they got last year.
Like Tsvangirai, it seems like they are not eager to attain state power.
Ushered into many positions in October last year, UDC leaders now need to show the nation what they really are made of.
They need to show the nation a backbone. And they do not have a lot of time to do that.
As a nation we cannot for ever live on memories of October 2014.
Life has to move on. And those who do not want to move will as it happened with Morgan Tsvangirai be swept aside by the tides of time.
From their behavior, it is difficult to determine if UDC leadership is overly optimistic or lacks optimism.
Either way, their attitude is not good for themselves, not for their followers and certainly not for the country.
For now people are giving them all the benefit of doubt.
But as it happened with Morgan Tsvangirai, that will not be forever.
The moment people withdraw that goodwill, UDC will overnight switch from being a hero to a villain.
There is more than enough evidence of that across the border to the east.
UDC leaders should call off their honeymoon celebrations and get back to the people who voted for them.
The sooner, the better!
