Many lessons could be drawn from the wedding of Leader of Opposition Honourable Botsalo Ntuane over the weekend. Ntuane will bear with us for not allowing his wedding the privacy he may have wished for. Well, it was not a secret wedding after all. He is not a private citizen. He is a public figure and as such his wedding was always bound to attract the publicity that comes with the territory he is in. First things first. Congratulations are in order to the now Mr and Mrs Ntuane.
I wish them a blissful marriage ahead, filled with loads of love, happiness and irreversible blessings.
Like I already mentioned, a lot of lessons could be drawn from weddings such as that of a leader like Ntuane. Well, the purpose of this piece is not really to focus on why Ntuane, as a leader, needed to tie the knot. My focus is solely on the people who graced Ntuane’s wedding and the important lessons that could be drawn from their attendance. I was so overwhelmed with awe when I arrived at the wedding to find His Excellency President Ian Khama amongst the people in attendance.
Well for me really, being in the same tent with the president or even shaking hands with him is nothing that can add a kilogram to my weight. Nothing to excite me uncontrollably. However, for me, it means a lot when a president of the ruling party can attend the wedding of a leader of opposition. That is something we should celebrate as a nation. Such a gesture is rare amongst many African nations.
Look, I have always implored our politicians to view those on their opposing side as mere political opponents and not as enemies. The wedding of Ntuane managed to send across the message I have always tried to preach to our politicians. I have always urged our politicians to draw a line between their political and social lives. Our political differences do not and should not close doors to our social interactions. As Batswana, we can never run away from that which unites us socially on the basis of what divides us politically. We differ politically because we have different views and aspirations on how we want our country to be run. And indeed our country can be run differently at any given time by our different political parties. What we can however not run differently is how we want to interact socially. We are such a closely knit, small nation and we connect through the same social aspects such as marriages. We work for the same employers, we attend the same churches, same schools and hang out at same social spots.
How nice it was to see the BMD president Gomolemo Motswaledi sitting next to BDP president Ian Khama after their protracted legal battle some months ago. How sweet it was to see the BCP president walking to shake hands with President Khama of the BDP. Both the BCP and BNF had some events scheduled for the same weekend but the leaders of the two parties made time to attend the wedding. It is this kind of spirit that I wish could extend to their followers. Last week I rubbed the BCP and BNF youth leagues up the wrong way but my intention was not to ridicule, provoke or demean them. I was trying to show them that there is nothing wrong with them socializing with their BDP counterparts. You’ll remember I had mentioned how they turned down an invitation to play a game of soccer with the BDP youth league because to them, socializing with BDP members is no different from sleeping with the enemy. All I was trying to do was to make them do exactly what our political leaders did over the weekend when they showed the nation that they may have political differences but they remain a ‘family’ outside politics.
Take me for example, I count amongst my drinking buddies staunch supporters and members of the BDP. I may differ with them politically but that doesn’t stop me from socializing with them. I hang out with MacD Peloetletse and Lee Lesetedi (hope their party wont reprimand them for being my friends).
It is when we are in a relaxed atmosphere having our drinks that I get the chance to explain why I regularly criticize their party and its leadership. It is through our social interactions that I explain to them that I do not hate President Khama despite my criticism of his leadership. While at the wedding, a lot of people phoned to ask what Khama’s presence meant for the BMD and Ntuane’s political future. To many, Khama’s attendance signalled or paved the way for Ntuane’s return to the BDP. I say crap!
