Tribalism and Namibia

PIUS DUNAISKIA FEW MOONS ago, the highly respected professor Andre du Pisani, in an erudite op-ed in The Namibian, concluded that, after 30 years, Namibia is not working.

Something is amiss.

Our Namibian dream has become a myth. We are failing our people and creating a bleak future for our children.

Last week, tribalism became a hot-mic issue on social media. Many shed all pretence, took off their gloves and let out their frustrations. Admittedly, it is uncharacteristic of me to use offensive language in public. My anger, though, reflects the depth and urgency of the plague of tribalism besetting us.

Tribal fall-out has already significantly damaged Swapo. The recent ‘introspection conference’ pointed out clearly that minorities no longer feel comfortably nestled there. This trend is bound to continue.

Namibia is on a knife’s edge and it is increasingly difficult to not sound alarmist and emotional. An honest audit will provide a strong dose of reality on just how unequal the country is along tribal lines. I don’t believe it is a mere perception among minorities. I don’t even know whether we dare call it ‘systemic tribalism’ at this point.

We are desperately crying out for leaders to drive home that the apogee of all our efforts in Namibia, our sacred national encompassing project, is to build a strong and cohesive nation able to resolve tribalism and corruption.

Afro-pessimists abound. Their prophecies of doom point to overwhelming historical precedents that political identities in Africa usually take on ethnic forms, with the resultant destructive competing claims to political power.

These are the roots as political power is the platform to unfairly and crudely monopolise access to a country’s resources with impunity.

Right now, we need a majority from all tribes to strongly advocate that Namibia must, at all costs, pursue the ideal which prescribes that Namibia belongs to all its people – irrespective of their ethnic, racial, gender or religious background. Tribal apologists must be unmasked. Minorities should feel Namibia is also their country. A true sense of ownership is wanting.

Scholars state that ethno-nationalism (read tribalism) is a reality and an emotive power that has historically shaped many borders. It remains a potent force and continues to inform political thinking and considerations, causing political spasms as we have witnessed in Namibia.

We can only profit from facing tribalism head-on and having a laser focus on national unity. No one wants to be trapped in an artificial state.

As with any major challenge, to get to the promised land we need exceptional leadership of the calibre of Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere – to intensify the harmonisation of race and ethnic relations through a deliberate national programme of nation-building. The considerable powers vested in the Presidency and the government must be fully harnessed to create a fair nation at peace with itself.

I will give a few antidotes:

Firstly, we should place stronger emphasis on our glorious history of anti-colonialism and teach our children where we come from as our fight against colonialism and apartheid developed a sense of national cohesion, a by-product of the crucible of oppression.

We should return to that place where we stood as one. The mean and skewed political ambitions prevalent now, by elbowing others out of structures, are dangerous. A cursory look at Swapo’s organisational structures is telling. We must renew the essence of ‘One Namibia, one Nation’ and ‘No one must feel left out’.

These must be given genuine substance.

Secondly, we should stop living in denial about tribalism. Treating this menace with kid gloves will only help ensure we are caught unawares. When tribal wars erupt, it will be too late to save our country. We have recently witnessed how ethnic and xenophobic violence has exploded in stable democracies elsewhere.

As much as we have developed independent state institutions to deal with skewed professional public behaviour (the Office of the Ombudsman) and corruption (Anti-Corruption Commission), we must create a similar entity to root out tribalism.

And it should be funded well to give it teeth. It should identify the roots of tribalism, develop measures, launch awareness campaigns and work hard to attenuate ethnic identities or dangerous ethnic consciousnesses harmful to our survival as proud Namibians.

Nation-building, which began through our common fight against colonialism, should be pursued with greater focus. Our white compatriots must feel comfortable here in their own country.

Thirdly, Namibia must continue to stress the need for strong and fair leadership at political, business and administrative level. Leadership is crucial in developing a truly non-racial, non-sexist, non-tribalist society. Leaders who rely on tribal entrepreneurship to enhance their political fortunes should not be tolerated, and their political space must be cut back.

Fourthly, the state should keep reassuring ethnic minorities of their political place in the sun, steering away from perceptions that a majority dictates the national agenda. It is well known that minorities can easily feel politically inferior and marginalised, and this may limit their public participation.

Fifthly, the state must bolster its institutions to educate the public on, and instil in us, the benefits of a peaceful democratic constitutional order, where political and religious tolerance, the rule of law, transparency and good governance reign supreme and are held in as high regard as fundamental political values. This is a tall order, but it is realisable.

It will require the pursuit of justice and inclusion through a truly national process that will result in the election of a trusted political leadership.

Unity, justice and liberty (in Namibia’s national crest) were embraced by our founding fathers and mothers.

They are the pillars on which Namibia is built.

Let us fix our country.

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