Tribalism

A friend of mine sent me an informative paper that she wrote about the situation in Kenya. To be honest I have felt slightly bored with yet another alleged tribal outburst on our continent; not to mention the lack of good committed leadership. However, the paper forced me to think about tribalism and the fact that it keeps on raising its ugly and ignorant head. Please note that my comments on tribalism have little to do with whatever the factual accuracy of the allegations of tribalism in Kenya. They are about tribalism in general and I would like to have a good sense of what people think about it. Are you passionately driven by this genetic membership or indifferent to it but acknowledge your DNA and feel it matters as little as the corns on your feet?

I tend to think of it as an important nostalgic tool that has the capacity to make me feel warm and fuzzy but will not get me into a war of any kind. I disagree with the manner in which tribalism on this continent is continuously sold to us as the source of all our problems. It equates us to bumbling cave dwellers and says that we are the only race on earth that lack dynamism. What is frightening is that we select leadership that is not committed to us and our well being but their own greedy and selfish ends. True, one does not become a career politician out of altruism (the genesis for some could be the latter but a lot happens later on as one graduates into a seasoned politician and have to deal with sharks that have no scruples) but I have to think that there must be men and women on this continent that simply want to see their countries and its citizens flourish and grow; and want to prove that they are the kind of leaders that can inspire a nation to greatness and instill pride in being an African.

I think of myself as South African, female, African, black, a sister, an aunt, a friend, a partner & lover, a reader, proud, etc, etc and the fact that I belong to a particular tribe is much lower in the hierarchy. Do not get me wrong, it is important to me but it does not supplant my country, family, continent and its people. I would have to say that I'd sooner "shoot to kill and ask questions later" if a someone I loved and my country were threatened. There is no tribe that has more of my loyalty than another, my own included.

I am probably being simple but I think good management/governance and attending to the necessary issues & challenges in a country lend itself to giving a nation the opportunity to evolve in other critical ways. (I cannot be certain that Maslow's hierarchy of needs is most definitive but it is an important guiding tool). I want to know why, why, why, we are stuck on tribalism. I can understand a level of upset about favours being bestowed on a particular leader's tribe/family but the question for me is what these alleged leaders are doing to ensure that every citizen has a chance to determine his/her own fate/destiny. Further, I doubt that the favour and benevolence allegedly bestowed extends to more than 5% of the tribe. I would hazard a guess that the majority of the hallowed tribe is yet to feel the benefit of their ancestral and genetic membership, and lucky to be alive in the said leader's lifetime. The curious point then becomes how the 95% (poor sods) who are not any closer to being blessed with the crumbs at the king's table, can allow themselves to be roused to agitate and protect a greedy and selfish minority in their midst.

If we are to be believe the rhetoric about favour being bestowed on a certain tribe in the South African (SA) context, the Eastern Cape should by rights and the tribalism logic, be the most organised, well educated and wealthiest province in SA. However, the last I checked, that is not the case. The Eastern Cape and Limpopo could be borne of the same genetic seeds, what with their similar challenges - the worst for me being the high levels of illiteracy and abject poverty plaguing them both. The favoured tribe, my fancy left foot!

The challenges are the same and in some cases even worse but we let some mindless twits outwit us all. Populism, a need for earthly messiahs and thinking on an empty stomach are the biggest enemies hindering true leadership and phenomenal development on this continent. It is time that we demand some basic things from our leadership: sustainable food supplies, housing, education, jobs, safety & security, accountability & responsibilities (there must be no holy cows, none), good basic health and the use of their skills for the good.

We are getting tediously boring as Africans, we learn nothing (we replace one despot with another with agile ease), insist on using one homogeneous brain - who would have thought that possible with so many intelligent, skilled, reasonable, talented and amazing Africans, and we seem not to hold ourselves with much esteem and regard.

Those that will insist on seeing this as 'bash the African yet again' note would have missed the point completely and I pity you and others that may be driven to gleeful orgasmic fits and call this Africans attacking each other must finish the repairs on your spaceship and find another planet to inhabit.

Famous African proverb: "it takes a village to raise a child"! I am who I am because of so many Africans and want the opportunity of giving my children a country and continent they can brag about instead of crying & cringing by its mere mention. Let us adopt an attitude of: It stops here and never again!

mtb, jhb, 08.01.08