So did the last two chief justices of this Republic, the current speaker of parliament, the current leader of the opposition in parliament, and the current and first woman to be the permanent secretary to the president. In other words, and unprecedented in Botswana, the first citizen (and his wife) as the head of the executive branch of the government, the head of its judicial branch, the head of its legislative branch, the head of its alternative government in the wings, and the head of over 100,000 strong public service, are all alumni of UB. Given this, it is impossible to overstate the influence of UB on the minds of those who now control the levers of power in Botswana, and on the trajectories of their personal and professional lives.
Virtually, all of these powerful citizens, all now middle aged, arrived at UB roughly a generation ago. They arrived as typical students of yesteryear. Except for one or two, they were village-bred, recipients of public education, impressionable, and impressed by Gaborone. We (and I include myself for good measure) were not particularly well-versed in university education or appreciative of how lucky we were to be there. After all, studying at UB was essentially a rite (maybe even a right) of passage for every high school student who had done well in their final exams. The institution ignited in us our desire to understand the world, our latent curiosity about ourselves and others, and our drive to explore. We arrived at UB as youngsters. Something was right. We wanted to know from those who knew. We recognised ourselves. We left as young adults and professionals.
