SELLOUTS WITH SHUT-UP POSITIONS, OLIGARCHICAL GERONTOCRACY AND A GENERATION HELD HOSTAGE By Job Shipululo Amupanda 31 March 2014 SAMUEL Huntington, in The Clash of Civilizations, discusses conflict sources, finds that cultural and religious identity will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. His was a response to Francis Fukuyama’s book, The End of History, which told the world that the spread of liberal democracies and capitalism is the end of human sociocultural evolution and the final form of human government. Huntington did not analyse conflict sources between generations in post-independence Africa. That many youth are rapidly obtaining permanent residency documents to work and settle in foreign countries is no longer news or surprising. The existence of youth along roads waiting for a Samaritan to pick them up for a job – including cleaning and collecting dog faeces – is not news either. We weren’t shocked to read that ‘struggle kids’ had resolved to take their government to court over their exclusion from the Veterans Act. Words of a young mother that she dumped her baby because of her evidently scary future aren’t hard to comprehend. These are all manifestations attributable to the youth condition in what has become a ‘Scramble for the National Cake’. These are all responses of a generation held hostage. In Namibian today, a young person who speaks out unequivocally about problems faced by the youth, yours truly included, is dealt with at three levels; (1) he/she is co-opted by getting a ‘Shut-Up Position’; (2) easily dismissed as a power-hungry individual; (3) or is displayed to our intoxicated society as having no respect for elders. If you refuse one, you spend much of your activist time mitigating the effects of two and three. But truth is sacrosanct no matter the turbulences. Revolutionary morality teaches that some amongst the collective must sacrifice and be sacrificed for the greater good. Truth is like cream in a glass of milk, no matter how much milk you pour in, cream will remain on the very top. History does not record any remarkable progress brought by roses and flowers. The honest among us admits that youth empowerment in Namibia is nothing but an appendix discourse, an after-thought in development planning. The National Assembly has a total of nine standing committees but saw no need to have a committee on youth. The National Youth Council obtained force of law only in 2009 while the Wage and Salary Commission (Wascom) dealt with the privileges of the elite as early as 1995. Women empowerment is promoted vigorously yet young women continue to be victimised and excluded by older women. There is no reason to believe that young women will benefit from the current manifestations of the so-called ‘Women Revolution’. Researchers recently shared findings that youth representations in Board of Parastatals amount to less than eight percent. We had previously discussed the separations of powers. Even musical group Ndilimani is concerned. In ‘Volume 9’, the musical group radically and solemnly sings about how members of the elites double as Member of Parliament, cabinet, a farmer, a headman and many other positions. Constant analysis of the national situation, inclusive of generation antagonism, is very important especially when youth have moved into the realm of despondency. Youth must be warned of the ‘dangers of heroism’ as explained by Prince Mashele in his book The Death of Our Society, that things begin falling apart when “people believe that their social, political and economic fates depend on the actions or benevolence of special individuals in society who possess extraordinary abilities and powers that are beyond ordinary citizens.” When youth state a particular issue and question a particular conduct, it is not because they are under a deliberate urge to disrespect anyone, cause formlessness or lawlessness; they are simply moved by their genuine stake and interest in the shaping of the society they will inherit and run. Evidently, there is no future-oriented progressive dialogue between young and old, succession between the generations. The Political Freedom Fighters remain intact and consolidated at the top of the food chain accompanied by a few of the new generation occupying ‘Shut-Up Positions’. Those identifying with the new struggle are at the bottom of the food chain, divided in strategies towards the ‘Scramble for the National Cake’. Some believe, as a generation, they deserve a share in the national cake and must radically push through their generational programme of action. Others use a strategy of being ‘well-behaved’ and ‘disciplined’ as a password to the national cake. All we see, in the final analysis, is a generation held hostage. The elders are responsible. They must seriously think about this matter and discuss amongst themselves first - and then lead an inter-generational dialogue in the interests of national harmony, growth and prosperity. *Job Shipululo Amupanda is a leftist youth from Omaalala village in northern Namibia. Follow him on Twitter @Shipululo
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:42:32 +0000
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