UB council has lost the plot
Mmegi Editor | Thursday March 26, 2015 12:03
The Council says it worries that student would be radicalised if they were to campaign along national politics of Botswana Democratic Party, Umbrella for Democratic Change and Botswana Congress Party. How ridiculous!
This is an ill-advised move, for the mere fact that UB students are elders who are capable of making choices between wrong and right. They are not only future leaders of this country, they are leaders in waiting and therefore should be mentored or prepared for the world that awaits them in the immediately after completion of studies. It is also surprising that the University offers Political Science courses, and therefore, as the highest institution of learning, and therefore, it can only be concluded that the students are exposed to politics whilst at school. There are many subjects or courses that are offered at the school, including religious studies.
The university is a place where future civil servants, diplomats, political leaders among others are groomed. It is a place where leaders of worth, of international standing are trained. As Batswana, we should aspire to see a Motswana addressing the United Nations General Assembly, African Union, and articulating issues with confidence, representing his or her country.
It is also our conviction that Botswana should compete globally, politically, economically and otherwise, and that can only be achieved by graduates who have undergone such vigorous debates whilst they were still in school.
It baffles the mind what kind of nation the current government wants to produce – a docile nation that cannot debate, or enjoy the pleasures of life whenever and wherever they want to. Is the current administration seeking to take away the vibrancy and the freedom of association, even dictating how, when and where to worship?
When President Ian Khama went around the country in the early years of his presidency, saying that he is not a politician, we did not anticipate that his words will result in the some people imposing his stance or false views on the whole nation.
Our view is that there is nothing wrong with students engaging in politics, as long as they act within the laws of the country. Those students do not want to engage in politics would have a choice not to, and will enjoy their lives outside politics. This move will promote voter apathy, something that we are fighting at the moment.
In a nutshell, politics rule the world and there is no how we can, as a nation, attempt to deny ourselves the right to participate and/or hold political views. And by nature, university students are political animals, and so they should be let to be.