02 Jul 2015

On Wednesday (July 1) Botswana celebrated the birth of founding president, the late Sir Seretse Khama. 

This week the Social Barometer decided to revisit one of the often misquoted speeches of Sir Seretse Khama to challenge Batswana to gauge where they stand on the social barometer.

In one of our editions, we raised the question of whether modern society can learn from the past. We further asked whether the past can constitute a key part of modern society and how can it be infused in a post-modern society without upsetting the jigsaw that is today’s generations?

In a speech delivered at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland on May 15, 1970 and quoted in the May 19, 1970 DailyNews issue, Sir Seretse Khama said:

“It should now be our intention to try to retrieve what we can of our past. We should write our own history books to prove that we did have a past, and that it was a past that was just as worth writing and learning about as any other. We must do this for the simple reason that a nation without a past is a lost nation, and a people without a past is a people without a soul.”

Consequently, the Social Barometer takes it further and asks what past is there for us to retrieve? Have we as a nation taken time to reflect on the Seretse speech and what is there to prove that we have at both individual and collective levels?

Are we as a nation appreciative of our past and what aspects of our past do we appreciate? 

What did Seretse really mean by retrieving our past and how should that be done?

For Kgosi Kebinatshwene Mosielele of Manyana, part of the past we can retrieve is polygamy. 

His conviction on retrieving this past but still alive practice in some societies is that it can give Batswana a sense of direction in resolving social ills such as divorce, abortion, drug abuse and HIV/AIDS. 

Batswana, he posits, can thus have a soul for they are now a lost nation and without a soul.

One of the social values of our past that dikgosi the Social Barometer spoke to are craving for and do not hesitate advocating for, is the spirit of self-reliance. 

The spirit of self-reliance has disappointingly waned in that money talks in today’s society.

“When I was growing up, I was always taught that being self-reliant was an ideal way to making ends meet, as such I have always clung to the spirit and I never allowed anything to stop in my way,” argues 33-year old Kgosi Oateng Setlhodi of Chanoga in Ngamiland District.

Thirty-three years is a very young age which means that in an era characterised by less voluntary work as more people demand payment for even of the simplest jobs, Kgosi Setlhodi comes across as a rare breed.

He says people should refrain from labelling themselves destitute but reclaim that lost spirit of Ipelegeng which built Botswana in the past.

The past that dikgosi are also yearning for is the institution of Bogosi. 

Four dikgosi, Mosadi Seboko of Balete, Michael Gaborone of Batlokwa, Lotlaamoreng of Barolong and Oscar Mosielele, although readily admit globalisation has put immense pressure on Batswana’s social values, they still believe Batswana retracing their steps back to the era when bogosi reigned can help shape the national character. 

The consensus among the four traditional leaders is that in all this global mayhem, bogosi still remains a tool that can help redirect Batswana back to their roots. 

They agree that dikgosi are torch bearers on matters of culture that are integral to reshaping Batswana’s social values. ENDS