WHAT IS OUR STAND?

The strive to develop Africa is still on, but the need to take control of our own is not an easy task. As youths, we can see the need to claim what is ours but do we have support from everyone involved? Are you as a leader,an elder or an ordinary citizen in an African country willing to be open minded and see reason and reality as it unfolds before your eyes?

Our leaders have the final say, because they influence what we see as youths. Can they believe in us to change the continent? We never said shut down all communications or relations with other continents, but all we are saying is it is time to trust our worth. You hire a Chinese company to come and construct roads in the country but all they bring is themselves and their families,their labour and equipment; they never use local resources found here. Have we not learnt a thing from our days as labourers? Can’t we take it from here and move forward. You took us all to school abroad to learn all these things,when will we now have the chance to put it all to practice?

It always amazes me how we prioritise foreign things over what we have as a country and amazingly as a continent. Looking at the issue of language. I am from Botswana,unfortunately I can only speak Setswana and English; meanwhile, there are more than 5 languages spoken by people of different tribes in Botswana. Languages, that I believe we could have all learnt and thereby enabled to easily communicate with one another anywhere in the country.  But no, we are still like foreiners in our own country. We can only communicate with those from our tribes; it’s even worse because no one seems to care. We would rather be taught French than one of our indigenous languages.

As if that’s not enough, I feel our people are yet not proud of who they are; this alone messes up everything. As a Motswana child, I believe my mother tongue should have the priority over other languages. The reality is that in Botswana, if you do not speak English fluently you may feel left out. Our  leaders and other role models who enforce this negative trend would rather have their children know any other foreign language than their own indigenous language.

I’m sorry to say this but if other continents feel the need to own or oppress us,I don’t blame them. Do we not bow to everything they say or do? Are we not even willing to abondon that one thing we could cherish and be proud of-our indigenous languages- just to be like them? We need to find the base of our stand; otherwise, we would remain like those Christians whom even though they know the truth, would rather move from chruch to church in search of prophesies;  where they end up being decieved by false prophets who are just after material things and would never tell them the truth.

To change our continent we have to first establish where we want to go, find out what is keeping us from getting that and strategize plans to get there. This would of course require our willingsness and sacrifice from us; our leaders would also need to sit up. We are still holding onto to the past but it is time to move on. Yes, we were colonised in the past but don’t we think its time to get past that? Like a man who loses his wife either to death or divorce and remaries,we also need to remarry. It is time to set new rules,new standards and new approaches to overcome our habit of hiding behind other people and chat a new course for a new future. It is now the time to stand up and be proud of who we are and what we have.

Kealeboga Marebole

Botswana