Those who know me well will attest to the fact I’m not so big on political rallies. I seldom attend freedom square rallies. Ga ke motho wa di freedom square. I only attend freedom square rallies for amusement because really, that is where politicians put aside their intellectual capacities and embark on inventive verbal humour. I remember when I once asked a BDP operative if they are genuinely celebrating their acquisition of people such as my friend at Old Naledi who left BCP and joined the BDP and his response was that they needed such people only to boost their freedom square pool. He said such people are freedom square material in that they are gifted in shouting at the top of their voices in front of people without necessarily making any sense. So that is why I attend freedom square rallies only when I want to listen to people shouting without making any sense. But don’t get me twisted. There are people who can speak at rallies and still make sense and mostly those people who make sense at rallies are good even at other platforms.
Take for example Wynter Mmolotsi. The guy makes sense at every platform he gets to address people. Take him to a freedom square, parliament, panel discussion, radio or televised discussion and he will still excel and force you to listen. With others, like my friend at Old Naledi, all they are gifted in is freedom square talk. Anyway, enough with freedom square. My point really is to let you know I attended a freedom square rally that was staged by the UDC this past Sunday to welcome Margaret Nasha. I couldn’t have missed it for anything. Even Valentine’s couldn’t stand on my way. This time I didn’t go there for my usual dose of freedom square laughter. I went there because I knew, just as did everyone in the country, that the UDC was not welcoming a sardine into their fold. Mma Nasha is a big person, in every respect. She is a big fish. A whale even. Not even a thousand Lottys can tip over the scale on Mma Nasha. When big people like Mma Nasha are scheduled to make statements, every sane person has to dewax their ears and listen. Even those who couldn’t attend the rally made sure to follow the proceedings on social media or through friends who attended. I can assure you that even President Khama who two days earlier had claimed not to give a damn about Mma Nasha’s defection had his people on the ground to capture Mma Nasha’s statement for him. Mma Nasha’s rally attracted people from all walks of life.
Actually at some point I was confused as to which party was welcoming Mma Nasha because BDP members came in almost the same large numbers as the UDC. I couldn’t stop laughing to see the very same people who claimed Mma Nasha was a spent force not worth crying over, being the ones occupying the front row space with sombre faces. It is delusion of grandeur to label Mma Nasha a spent force. Mma Nasha ga se mokoduwe. She is still physically and intellectually intact. How can she be binned when her contempory, Hilary Clinton, is busy campaigning for the presidency, to prove that people Mma Nasha’s age are still very much fit to hold political office at such higher levels. I was happy to listen to Mma Nasha respond to her detractors who say she is a power monger who only defected in pursuit of positions of political power. Mma Nasha made it clear to everyone that indeed she aspires to hold higher positions including the presidency. Let me take this opportunity and further support Mma Nasha in her boldness and openness about her aspirations. I say, only a fool can join politics and not aspire to scale up the political hierarchy. Interestingly, or perhaps should I say annoyingly, it is those people who never worked hard to occupy those higher political positions that are barking are frowning at Mma Nasha’s presidential ambitions and aspirations.
I was also appalled at some of the comments made by BDP activists who in their desperate attempt towards self-consolation said Mma Nasha was good riddance in that she was no longer taking active part in BDP activities. To them, just because after losing the speakership of the national assembly she decided to take a back seat and rest at home meant she was no longer useful to the BDP. How stupid! Are these people trying to tell us that BDP stalwarts such as former presidents and former members of parliament and cabinet ministers who have since taken a break from active politics are no longer important to the party? Are they saying it will not be a big deal if Kwelagobe, Skelemani or Ndelu Seretse and others defected from the BDP just because they have been quiet after losing in the last general elections? My message for today was simply to let everyone know that Mma Nasha is big and that I will not entertain any arguments to the contrary.
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