In Zambia’s increasingly theatrical political arena, a curious contradiction continues to expose the hollowness of many opposition campaign narratives.
Politicians such as Makebi Zulu, Brian Mundubile, Fred M’membe and other perennial presidential aspirants endlessly lecture citizens about Zambia’s “vast wealth”, “untapped minerals”, “abundant land” and “limitless opportunities”.
Yet, despite their loud declarations that prosperity is everywhere, they remain desperately fixated on capturing government office the very institution they simultaneously portray as broke, corrupt, and dysfunctional. 
The contradiction is impossible to ignore.
If Zambia is indeed overflowing with opportunity, why are the same political figures who claim to understand wealth creation unable to create sustainable prosperity outside government corridors?
Why must every route to their survival pass through State House, ministerial appointments, or access to public coffers?
One would reasonably expect that individuals who have already enjoyed the privileges of public office complete with access to influential networks, policy knowledge, international contacts and insider understanding of markets would naturally transition into thriving private enterprise once out of government. After all, they constantly preach entrepreneurship and economic empowerment to ordinary citizens.
But reality tells a different story.
Many of these political figures appear incapable of functioning away from the comfort of government proximity.
Instead of building industries, expanding agriculture, investing in manufacturing, or creating jobs, they spend every waking moment plotting a return to political office. Their obsession is not national transformation; it is access to the convenience of State resources.
That is why their rhetoric often collapses under the slightest scrutiny.
They tell marketeers, farmers, and unemployed youths that Zambia is rich beyond measure, yet they themselves behave as though the only viable source of wealth is government.
They insist the economy is full of opportunities, but strangely, they cannot harness those same opportunities independently. Instead, they re-emerge every election cycle with recycled slogans, bitterness, and exaggerated promises.
The truth many citizens are beginning to recognise is that some politicians do not seek power to serve the nation. They seek power because they have failed to build meaningful success outside politics.
This explains the desperation, the endless press conferences, and the dramatic claims of persecution whenever political fortunes decline. For some of these individuals, losing political relevance is not merely an ideological setback it is an economic crisis.
There is also a dangerous dishonesty in pretending that governing Zambia is easy while simultaneously campaigning aggressively for control of the same government. If leadership is such a burden and the economy is such a disaster, why is the relentless hunger to occupy public office?
Why the bitterness whenever they are excluded from State machinery?
The truth is that deep deep down their hearts, these politicians understand something they rarely admit publicly: Government remains the easiest gateway to influence, contracts, visibility and financial comfort for politicians who have failed to establish independent economic strength.
The Zambian people deserve leaders whose competence exists beyond campaign podiums.
Citizens should ask hard questions of anyone seeking the presidency: What have you built outside politics? How many jobs have you created without State assistance?
What evidence exists that these politicians can manage national resources better than their personal affairs?
Leadership cannot merely be about shouting slogans about “abundant resources” while personally surviving on political relevance.
If Zambia’s opportunities are truly limitless, then those who claim to understand them best should demonstrate that reality through enterprise, innovation, and self-made success- not endless dependence on the very government they criticise daily.
