Mihlali Gqada’s reflections on President Mbeki’s Nelson Mandela Lecture

The president raised a number of issues, in a seeming marathon presentation, which circulated the world and its problems in an hour. He managed to roam around critical world issues of leadership, the double decker authority of the European Ivory Towerian powers and its effect on the poor. He ambiguously, though scarred off, calling a spade a spade, warned the European forces of leading the world into temptation of a Third World War. In so doing he has undoubtedly rattled a few cages. In likening himself to the words guru, Yeats, he sees himself as an anchoret of warning on possible misfortunes, which could be avoided now rather than latter.

On the one hand it should be noted and understood that the evils of the world are not a modern day creation, therefore cannot be dissolved or halved exclusively by modern day forces or facets of those in power. In a world were capitalism ploughs its savoury seeds to ripe materialism, idealism is a mere theoretical baseless phenomenon. In a world were the market dictates camaraderie and amity there is no space for beckoning dead snakes and or sulking. In this Dog eat Dog World; the best one can do is to learn very fast how to bark as to protect his territory first and foremost. Ideally dogs should be tamed, but teaching an old dog new tricks like trying to tame a well structured and formulated bull dog is unfeasible. So be a dog and transform his bark as his companion. The sad issue is the fact that the rich gobble up the poor without fear, remorse or contemplation. All we can do as a nation is to give a hand to those willing to take it, we have seen in the case of Mugabeland (Zimbabwe) that offering aid does not automate its being appreciated and utilised by those in dire need of it, we have further witnessed that talking does not translate to action as promises do not translate to output.

The wars of the world in my observation are two fold; both deadly and evidently catastrophic; one, are those made by mere starvations, those which lead people to want to take bread out of the mouths of others, those which are driven by hunger, access to resources, famine, natural disasters which leave people destitute and not knowing what to do. This kind of war is prone to Third World countries which are on the brink of collapse, with no possible glare or peek into the future, they are circumsentual and or coincidental. These struggles are thus unavoidable, they lead to the poker game effect of betting with what a country has, natural resources; usually oil, gold, platinum, diamonds amongst many, to gain some money from the rich world, by so doing selling off a countries life line for a few a nickel to free the battered souls at a time in a countries life. This leads to never ending indebtedness, much bitter relations and a smile on the faces of the rich world as this to them equals never scourging loyalty. This is enslavement of a special kind, graver in consequence and tougher in reward. This has third world against third world, seeking assistance from first world, in the form of armament for brother to kill brother without an ounce of remorse, so that war is ridden in third world countries almost exclusive from the engine which has fuelled these wars.

The second type is that of pure arrogance and conceitedness, that which is blatant and unapologetic, that of simply declaring war on a power notably less rich and stable than yourself, like the bullying tactics of primary kids, were the bigger grouchy usually air headed kid picks on the smaller, nerdish therefore brighter kid just because he can. This we see in the case of Iraq, Lebanon and others.

Social cohesion and human solidarity has become a money making scheme of much of non – governmental organisations and associations worldwide who falsify their abilities while chanting rhetoric as spectators to the real problems of the world, these unions stand as champions of a new World Order through soliciting large sums of money which pays for their own luxurious lifestyles. They are famous for attending world functions making enough noise to attract the media, some going as far as marching, picketing and or killing themselves on behalf of this New World Order, phenomenon. They have up to now done nothing or implored any victories. They just stand outside the real issues providing colourful decoration to the real decision makers.

The legacy of poverty will only be confronted and turned back by an end to it, through the provision of basic needs like food, shelter, water, education to name a few. No amount of preaching and praying will see to this, the practicality of the situation is the need that is to be met (full stop). An end to racism will have to see through the turn in tide, from the Caucasian to the African, the material resourcefulness of the latter, the willingness of the former to apologise as Pheko puts it, he being able to share in his illegally solicited millions or rather resources. Ubuntu is not only for and amongst black people it’s a humanitarian gesture for all human beings. Nor can a starving soul be interested in humanitarian gestures, to the rich the poor is a menace, an outcast, a dim-witted fellow with no use. It is a pity that more often than not a starving man is illiterate, has not allies and is thus stuck to poverty like a flower is stuck to a stem.

Naively as a nation we scorn at the few a million in the hands of our fellow brothers, we call them gold diggers and shun at them for driving mercs and living in peaked areas. How exactly is it that we seek to ensure the development of our own yet are jealous at this same development, are we not but our own enemies, our own lethal weapons, our own slaves to copulation.

The President’s speech like testimonies of the good will, has conjured in us a tone of warning, not of destructive diminutives but of the world as is and what is brewing amidst our lives. We do not have the masculinity or the mammon to stop it; so rather let he put to us a caution, as did many before him, in world wars before his time. His outlook is prophetical of what will be.

I respite my crate