In his famous book titled ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’ novelist Chinua Achebe wrote this, ‘Nigeria is not a great country. It is one of the most disorderly nations in the world. It is one of the most corrupt, insensitive, inefficient places under the sun. It is one of the most expensive countries and one of those that give least value for money. It is dirty, callous, noisy, ostentatious, dishonest and vulgar. In short, it is among the most unpleasant places on earth’.
The words corrupt, inefficient, insensitive, dirty, callous, noisy, ostentatious, dishonest and vulgar seem to accurately describe contemporary Botswana. Perhaps this description of Nigeria that is in tune with present day Botswana explains why this country continues to be ranked as one the unhappiest countries in the world. Indeed Botswana was once a great country that has since gone to the dogs.
When I was in primary school I belonged to a generation that looked to teachers, nurses, cops and soldiers as role models. Identification with these role models determined our later life choices and gave us a reason to pursue education for an honest living. These role models carried considerable significance beyond just the fame and attention ascribed to them. They symbolized a society that desired to make it by fair means; a society that modelled a culture of hard work, honesty, integrity and discipline. That was then and it is now history.
In place of teachers, nurses, cops and soldiers the new generation see as role models men and women who have made it via the shortest cut. The new role model is the con artist, crooked businessman, commandos with their intimidating service rifles and most notably the pretentious, arrogant, corrupt politician. Politics has become the equivalent of wealth. The illiterate, savage and shameless politician and sly bureaucrats are our measure of a prosperous life.
The culture of hard work and honesty has been replaced by a culture of corruption that has become a blueprint to prominence hence corruption has become a normal affair to such an extent that followers of these bloody corrupt politicians could publicly suggest the beheading of those who dare write stories about suspicious transactions. Worryingly, the new generation is convinced that their value is society is measured against their ability to humiliate, marginalize and destroy everyone and everything in the service of corrupt politicians.
The world must accept that Botswana has fallen prey to corrupt and savage leaders who use idle youth as bounties. Indeed Batswana are reaping what they sow. For as long as politics is left to violent wing nuts, bigoted zealots who wear sweat for cologne, the architects of vulgar politics and those who have stolen enough to ascend to political stardom, Botswana will continue to nurture a culture of corruption, ineptitude and impunity. The negativity inherent in partisan politics means that thugs masquerading as party loyalists have been mobilized and do get paid to defend crime lords and malign critics. This arrangement provides fertile ground for breeding arrogant and assured thieves in politics. Now more than ever before, abuse of power for personal gain has become the raison d’├¬tre for political activism and the desire for political office.
Except in the eyes of the rented na├»ve jobless youth used as shepherd dogs and of course dyed-in-the-wool political dinosaurs with fancy titles such as ‘Honourable’, ‘Excellency’ and so forth, Botswana has ceased being an African success story; a model for progress and prosperity. It is thus not surprising that people who still offer laudatory commentaries about Botswana are those who are ‘eating’, the idiots who take pride in cheering the bandits and of course outsiders who are determined to see this country collapse on the weight of systemic corruption.
In spite of chunks and chunks of overwhelming evidence of nepotism, bribery and abuse of power for private gain by our leaders, agencies such as Transparency International continue to rank Botswana as the least corrupt country in Africa. This ranking ought to be viewed with scepticism for it is as mischievous and stupefying as it is just a ruse. This continued glorification of Botswana as a ‘clean’ economy seems to derive from a subconscious bias that perhaps desires to legitimize corruption and incompetence that will ultimately see Botswana collapse like other failed African states.
Perhaps these agencies want to see this once African miracle go down the drain and limp alongside some of the world’s most decayed countries. This deceitful cartel includes diplomats who seem to have a sinister agenda and are always happy to misrepresent fact and present Botswana as a corrupt-free country when they are fully aware that our leaders no more hide when they steal. This is certainly diabolical and cannot be right unless these diplomats share in the loot.
When all is said and done, the collapse of Botswana is fundamentally the failure of leadership. While yesteryear leaders placed the interests of the nation ahead of theirs, our new generation of leaders seem more eager to own private islands, palaces and ranches. Over the last decade, the quality of leadership has deteriorated to a level where people are appointed to leadership positions on their ability to insult opponents and their readiness to take the bullet for their master.
Contemporary leaders are arrogant and openly parasitic perhaps in the full knowledge that they have emasculated state organs that would otherwise take them to task. Our leaders do crime in the knowledge that they will get away with it and this has been demonstrated many times than we care to remember. While we are within our rights to ridicule our leaders for failing to lead by example or for being a wrong example, ordinary people ÔÇô the rabid party faithfuls equally take the blame for cheering and defending the honourable thieves.
The reality is that with ordinary citizens backing the looters and supporting theft of public resources, Botswana has been hijacked by callous thieves and it will take a miracle to halt the rot. And this because one need to steal enough to become a politician or become a politician to steal enough and hire idle youth as guard dogs so that ultimately either you are a thief or a rented idiot paid to see no evil.
And it get even worse when the few citizens who refuse to cheer on the looters simply stand meek and silently lament the state of our society without wanting to take responsibility to make things right. Even then, the very few who realize the tragedy that has befallen our society shamelessly appeal to the same politicians, the same bandits, the same fraudsters and same rented buffoons to save the country from ruination.
At this point one is reminded that in not more than 10 days Botswana will inaugurate a new Head of State offering a possibility for radical changes necessary to stem the rot. It has been said and if need be, it has to be repeated loudly that Botswana’s fundamental problem is failure of leadership and any reform that seek to restore the country’s image as a model for progress and prosperity must target the leadership.
Essentially, Botswana need to be rid off thieving leaders or those perceived to be thieves or unethical and have in their place men and women of integrity and purpose. Thus, His Honour Vice President Masisi is called upon to decisively appoint into Cabinet, people capable of restoring hope in a rather hopeless society. Anything else, in particular, a return to Cabinet by a majority of the current Ministers would be a bold statement that indeed this country is run by thieves, for thieves and the rest can go hang.
You are our last hope Mr President-Elect.
