49th Independence euphoria gone, what next?
Michael Dingake | Tuesday October 6, 2015 11:30
Other villages must have envied Digawana for having had the radio music and entertainment at their doorstep. Side-by-side with the entertainment, song and dances of the Day, I am wondering whether the organisers of the annual festivities shouldn’t start a programme to disseminate information about the history, significance and importance of our political independence as Batswana.
I may be wrong, but I have a nagging thought that perhaps many Batswana may be in the dark about what this independence we make a fuss about, may mean. Do they know? Does every Motswana know why we celebrate the 30th September annually and make a fuss about, ‘boipuso?
Do Batswana know who our coloniser was, the background of our colonisation? Did we struggle and fight for our independence like other countries fought for their independence? What did our ancestors and leaders intend to do post-independence? Did we set themselves, a programme to effect independence? If we did, shouldn’t we dutifully remind ourselves and be regularly apprised about the progress chalked so far with regard to why ‘independence’ is worth celebrating?
Do we know the role players in the fulfilment of this event; how best should we remember them?
There was excitement at the national stadium on 30/9/2015; the 22,000 celebrants watched in excitement the fireworks that dazzled and adorned the skies, watched Zebras give the Ethiopians a run for their money. We didn’t win but showed our beautiful colours nonetheless to warn them next time our hooves might trample them under! His Excellency Lieutenant General ian Khama honoured some citizens and a company with medals to distinguish them and inspire us to greater heights scaled by medal recipients! We heard him speak about the torch, the symbolic torch to illumine our path to 50th year, the golden jubilee, we will celebrate on 30 September 2016.
Precisely what is ‘boipuso’? How should we celebrate it to pitch it high enough so that commemoration resonates with its national importance? We all have personal ideas, I can imagine and I have my own which I wish to conclude with. But first a couple things: Our President in his speech appealed to Batswana to embrace the principles of democracy: “…..
As this torch tours the whole country, it will symbolise our pledge to keep the flames of these commitments burning so that we continue to be an educated, compassionate, safe, tolerant, united and proud nation we have been renowned for….”
The President here was reminding us of our Vision 2016, our dream! Some dreams come true. Will this one come true, next year? Who shall we blame if it doesn’t come true? Our failure to change our work ethic as citizens or political activists, who may be unequal to the task of the realisation of our dream(s)? We need to ask this question and answer it honestly!
Botswana is one of the many African countries which attained independence following the UN ‘Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples which states that the subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation, constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights, is contrary to the Charter and is an impediment to the promotion of world peace and cooperation….’ The declaration reminds one of Thomas Paine, American theoretician who said, “Man is born free, but everywhere he goes, he is in chains..!” This, I believe sparked the prairie fire that prompted Americans to issue their ‘Declaration of independence’…. The Americans have never looked back, though they had to rob the Indians of their land and bring the Africans bound in chains of slavery to work their plantations and make them the most prosperous nation on earth! We must admire them for having been the first in history to fight for and assert their liberty and independence….
Curiously, did Britain colonise or protect us? Our distorted history tells us that three dikgosi: Khama III, Sebele I, and Bathoen I, travelled to London in 1895 to ask Queen Victoria for protection against Paul Kruger’s Transvaal boer marauders. Distorted history, because the three dikgosi went to see Queen Victoria not to negotiate protection but re-affirm the agreement Kgosi Montshioa of Barolong had already clinched with the help of some missionaries for the whole land of Batswana (Bechuanaland) before the Southern part of it was annexed to the Cape, to become British Bechuanaland in 1885. An important point to bear in mind is that made by David Magang in his works that we wouldn’t have had Botswana to talk about had it not been for Kgosi Sechele’s victory at the epic Dimawe battle against Paul Kruger the Transvaal Boer president. Sechele’s victory dealt a mortal blow to Kruger’s ambition to fiddle with the land of Batswana; hence Kgosi Sechele need be recognised not only for our nationhood but ipso facto our independence! Tshekedi Khama and other dikgosi need also be recognised for consistently refusing to allow Bechuanaland to be incorporated into apartheid SA as the British Albion had conceded in the 1909 Vereeniging constitution which disenfranchised black South Africans!
Having recognised the role of the above-mentioned dikgosi and others we could then name some of the awards bestowed on deserving citizens on Independence Day in the name of these heroes instead of blanket Presidential awards! It would keep our memories green of the roles of leaders before us.