By Margaret Kamba 

Many shops in town have been displaying Valentines gifts enticing customers to drop in and buy for their loved ones. Many have fallen for the trap and prepared beautiful gifts to be delivered on the 14th of February, if not the weekend. Those without lovers wallow in the thought that if only they had.

There was one Valentine's Day I will never forget in my life. It was during my teenage years and at boarding school. These were common back then. I am not quite sure about now. 

This was that special time when only heaven knew where those roses came from. They were literally on the dining hall tables and whispers about who would get them circulating. I never did have a boyfriend then, but on that particular day, someone happened to whisper to me the name of the boy who apparently had a crush on me and was going to give me a rose. You can finish the rest of the story and conclude it however you want to. 

Here we are, year in, year out, with so many making a killing at this time. People in love must budget for this season apart from the birthday and perhaps a vacation at the end of the year.

I am not quite sure if many who follow this tradition actually know what the origins are. They simply get into the queues to buy lingerie for their loved ones because if they don't, things could end badly. Men are in trouble, I tell you. Unfortunately, they also allow it. At least most men do. 

What is unfortunate about this whole tradition is that even in primary schools, you find children being taught about the day at the expense of local heroes and heroines. 

One particular school this year actually decorated its entrance with red and white balloons and asked the pupils to come wearing red and white. I could not believe my eyes. I am still asking myself what the purpose of this was. Maybe it is because I am detached from reality. But what kind of reality teaches and inculcates a foreign culture when the local culture is available?

It would really be intriguing to find out if on specific days like the upcoming National Youth Day, Independence Day, and many others, the same school would put up such a performance.

I always argue that I do not need to explain to my children who peppa Pig is or what a castle is when I need to be telling them about Ambuya Nehanda, the heroine of their country of birth. 

They should know the history of the country they come from in order to be proud of it and patriotic. They should be able to visit places such as the Great Zimbabwe, Naletale Ruins, Victoria Falls, just to mention a few. In this advent of a new economic revolution, taking them to productive farms and manufacturing industries will help them appreciate their country's development.

What am I saying in all this maze? I am saying that we are prioritizing things that are not important, which continually make us mentally colonized and inferior. 

The standards we peg for ourselves are based on another race, which has its own flaws in terms of governance and the way of life. 

As we continue to keep glued to their customs and traditions, we remain followers and not champions of our own traditions and culture.

Do celebrate these traditions at your own peril because they are nothing but a deviation from what truly matters.