1. As Brexit negotiations near their climax, it is cold comfort in England to know that those in Brussels are probably facing a much greater challenge; for the lately concluded Italian general election is yet another reminder that the far-right in Europe is experiencing an unprecedented surge. This, along with the rise of populist politics in the Americas and elsewhere, is probably the clearest evidence we have to prove that this world is like the child’s butterfly game; it is a pretty sport to chase it, but bruise its wings by an over-earnest grasp, and it is nothing but a disappointment. One would therefore think that in these circumstances, the chief duty we owe children the world over is a well-grounded education; an education buttressed by a well-resourced and supported teaching profession, as a bare minimum foundation to build upon; for children on giants’ shoulders, are higher than the giants themselves. That’s why I was both shocked and dismayed when I heard about the belittling of teachers by a self-appointed freedom fighter, an African generalissimo, had allegedly retorted to complaining teachers, who incidentally had gone for almost a year without pay, that if they did not like teaching very much, they should perhaps consider returning to their villages and herd goats.
An African conquistador is a god; he is entitled to be served, and is a servant to none
2. I readily accept that the following observations regarding the said allegation must be treated with caution, as it may be a matter of conjecture whether or not he actually said what he is alleged to have said. I have no way of proving the substance of the allegation. However, the alleged retort takes on a wholly different character when seen in the light of the generalissimo’s remarks which were reported in the Daily Monitor, 27 January 2017: “I am not an employee. I hear some people saying that I am their servant; I am not a servant of anybody. I am a freedom fighter; that is why I do what I do…” Indeed, as well as he might serve himself; for the generalissimo’s long continuance in power, some 32 years and counting, is something of “Mad Hatters Tea Party”, and speaks eloquently about his general attitude towards public office; he is indeed an African conquistador. And, as an African conquistador, he has overseen the wholesale destruction of public institutions, plumbing new depths that as recently as 20 December 2017, strong-armed the speaker of parliament to preside over a despicable auction, in which his ruling party’s members of parliament voted to change the constitution for a bribe. A bad bargain indeed! The implications cannot be exaggerated; they are so troubling that the country is presently in great peril. The political future of Uganda has taken a turn for the worse; thus making it fit and proper to call upon all those who care about education, to stand in solidarity and speak up for the esteem of all teachers, wherever they may be.
3. No one would take umbrage at the notion of herding goats as a means of earning a living. I personally do not. It is well to let the poor to count their flocks of goats, and so they must, lest they be found negligent in their own cause. And, many a poor man the length and breadth of the continent of Africa makes his living by herding goats. Several years ago in Gloucestershire, England, during those evil days when I continued in a state of legal-limbo owing to my statelessness; a kindly Methodist minister, very nearly introduced me to his congregation as a son of an African goat herder. His innocent mistake, as I discovered afterwards, was founded on the premise that he had served as a missionary in a remote part of West Africa for many years, and nearly all his flock were goat herders of one description or other. He apologised profusely after I had corrected him; I took no offence whatsoever. The issue for me however, is the possibility that the generalissimo might be, in some way or other, attempting to shift the responsibility, to find an alibi, for his government’s continued poor educational outcomes (especially at both primary and secondary school level) despite considerable international support, at the door of teachers. This is what stuck in my craw. I had to do something; I had to put pen to paper, as it were.
Ugandan teachers are expected to make bricks without straw
4. Thoughts of my aunt, the late Ms Anne Ssajjalyabeene, suddenly flooded back; she had worked for many years as a deputy head mistress at Kitante primary school in Kampala. I recall so vividly those times of great anxiety during Uganda’s troubled years under Amin; she often spoke of how she took in children whose parents had mysteriously disappeared at her own cost, all this while earning a pittance, it made the so-called coveted government remuneration look strangely hollow. And that was not the half of it; as someone in full employment, she was alike with many others working in the public sector, expected to pay her taxes to the state, at the same time support her extended family including educating some of their children – all without getting paid the pittance she was owed for many months on end. Talk about making bricks without straw! It was a constant mystery to me how she ever managed. I imagine there must have come a time when something within her broke inside, and lost the will to carry on. I remember how several governments after Amin used to say to the teaching profession in particular, that they must continue teaching, but I rather suspect that teaching must have become such a burden to her that I would not have been surprised had she ultimately committed suicide. Thankfully, she did not. But she pressed on regardless, perhaps in part because she had a daughter, whom she loved very dearly; it would have been a wretch to her personally to leave my cousin sister, Margaret, an orphan. Ms Anne Ssajjalyabene was a single parent. And, from what I recall, teaching in those days was tinged with a deep and noble pessimism. That was more than 30 years ago! We are continually reminded that Uganda has left those bad old days behind her. But the reality on the ground suggests the opposite; for it is now apparent that the change spoken of by the freedom fighter is nothing but skin-deep.
Middle income status by 2020 – a very tall order indeed!
5. What makes the retort so shocking and disgraceful, is the fact that this comes against the back drop of the generalissimo’s much loved mantra, following the country’s National Development Plan II, to turn the low income Uganda into a middle income economy by 2020. I am reliably told that the inspiration to this very ambitious vision came about after the generalissimo’s visit to the Far East and was profoundly impressed by their astonishing achievements. Countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, and more specifically, China, are a wonder of our age; for they have successfully lifted themselves out of desperate poverty by the straps of their boots, to become leading global economic powerhouses in less than 50 years. Moreover, China is set to become an economic superpower in a matter of a few years hence. And, in case you wondered, these achievements were made possible largely by their own sweat, blood and tears; that is, they did not receive international help by way of foreign aid, in the same way the African continent has had in the last 60 years. It is observable that these countries were once colonised by great powers at some point in their history; blaming Africa’s poverty to her colonial past is no longer sustainable as an argument. It is this apparent miracle, according to some sources, that made the generalissimo desirous of imitating their example.
Ugandans are not South Koreans
6. Five years ago, while finalising my relocation plans to Taiwan in England, I met a young South Korean student, who at the time was still fresh from serving his country as one of South Korean diplomatic representatives in Kampala. I was naturally delighted to meet a foreign national with experience of working in Uganda. When I asked him what he made of Ugandans, he had two things to say: the first was, Ugandans were desperately corrupt, public servants are for sale, and one may be purchased for as little as a few US Dollars; and, secondly, Ugandans were most certainly not South Koreans. Indeed, no one would quibble at the desire to turn one’s country, especially an impoverished African country like Uganda, into a middle income economy – if only it were realistic. For a start, the projected time scale in which to realise the stated dream seems to me off the charts. It is the stuff of Alice in the Wonderland. If you take a country such as China by way of an example, you will find that it has taken China more than 40 years, after the death of Mao Tse-Tung in 1976, to become the world economic power she is today, and she still has a long way to go; for she has not yet arrived. China has a myriad of besetting challenges which may take her a further 30 or more years to resolve. It took both South Korea and Taiwan an equivalent time to become economic powerhouses in the East, in their own right. Those of my generation may recall as children more than 40 years ago, how one could earn pocket money by collecting tins and metal bottle tops which were; I am told, shipped to countries like Taiwan. These countries in turn exported finished products around the world, I remember how Taiwan’s products were pooh poohed, as they were considered cheap and of poor quality; but the world is not laughing anymore. And those of a much older generation than mine may recall doing something similar, that is, collected tins and metal bottle tops which were shipped to Japan soon after the end of the Second Great War. That was before South Korea and Taiwan began to industrialise on a massive scale. Truly, my young South Korean friend mentioned above, would most certainly laugh Uganda to scorn, were he to study the generalissimo’s plans for Uganda respecting Vision 2020.
But what is progress anyway?
7. It is accepted that progress is difficult to define at the best of times. And experience shows that any Tom, Dick, and Harry can come up with indicators of progress; these indicators may be increased education or better and accessible health care, but on what basis do they determine progress? Often enough, people think of progress in terms of moving from A to B; that is, moving on an upward trajectory, in the hopes that things keep getting better. But we all know that human progress, especially progress in an impoverished country such as Uganda, is a much more complicated affair. For what may seem excellent progress in the short run may end up proving a gigantic backward step in the long run. An instance specific to Uganda may now be mentioned. When the generalissimo captured state power in 1986, speaking as a messianic freedom fighter, he promised fundamental change, a clean break from the past; his government and vison were well received by many, both at home and abroad, some world leaders going so far as to call him a new breed of African leaders; his revolution was interpreted as the first fruits of things to come, and therefore considered to represent progress. But subsequent to the adoption of the 1995 Constitution, Uganda has been on a backward curve, tottering precipitously on the edge of civil conflict and much tragedy. The Uganda Parliament Constitution amendment of 2017, has now paved the way for the generalissimo to remain in power indefinitely, and is probably the best proof we have that not all progress is really good progress.
8. It is for this reason that I am persuaded the generalissimo probably does not understand what progress really means. And, without a clear understanding of the true meaning of progress, it is impossible to see how he hopes to realise his dream to turn Uganda into a middle income economy with only 2 years left on the clock. It is my considered opinion that it is too simplistic to equate progress, as I suspect the generalissimo most probably does, to the gleaming and shiny new skyscrapers which are now ubiquitous in cities all over China, South Korea or Taiwan; progress is certainly not the several motor-way lanes that are all too common a feature in modern China; neither is progress the impressive armed forces China is openly putting on display, as she seeks to assert her military dominance in East Asia. Most importantly, progress is not the undisciplined accumulation of shiny new things, trinkets and all. But rather, it is the cultivation of a certain kind of people. So what do I mean by a certain kind of people?
A certain kind of people
9. By a certain kind of people, I mean a people who care; that is, people who really take the trouble to care. Emphasis should be placed on a kind of people who care about the welfare of their country far more than they do for their stomachs; a kind of people who care enough that they will do everything in their power to protect the dignity of the weak and the infirm from being trampled underfoot by the mighty; a kind of people who will never, under any circumstance, entertain the giving or receiving of a bribe; a kind of people who will never buy or sell influence; a kind of people who are not ashamed to be public servants; a kind of people responsible enough to teach the next generation; a kind of people who care enough to appreciate the nuances and the complex relationship between freedom, democracy and the rule of law; and lastly but by no means the least, a kind of people who are capable of being guided by principle, and not fashion or personal advantage. These are the kind of people who will propel Uganda or any other impoverished African country, from a low income to a middle income economy; and that, to be achievable in the next 50 years.
10. Now I accept that this is probably a tall order to expect from any people anywhere, and as some would say, a people who live in the real world; the sort of world in which many Africans people call home. Alas, many African people are an emasculated people, that is, a people stripped bare of their humanity after living for long under the heel of one dictator or other. And yet, without setting the bar this high for Uganda or any other impoverished African country to aim at, we must ask how any progress may ever be achieved, especially as it is now widely reported in the Ugandan local press, that up to 80% of primary school teachers cannot read or write simple English; they can’t even do basic arithmetic. This is a scandal of unimaginable proportion because once upon a time, Uganda boasted one of the best education infrastructures in East Africa. Many African independence leaders were educated in Uganda. The generalissimo’s dream to turn Uganda from a low income economy into a middle income economy by 2020 is, perhaps what our friends in the United States of America might wittingly describe as, an alternative fact; but the English of it, if we be brutally honest, whistling in the wind.
Teachers are the true fighters for freedom – champions of a free society
11. But there is still one more reason why the focus should be on producing a certain kind of people. Africa is probably the only continent in the world in which a desperate need for the right kind of people is well documented; the continent needs a people who are serviceable to their countries in civil interests, in the protection of their countries in international fora, and in the administration of justice. Teachers are, for all intents and purposes, at the vanguard of progress. I would go so far as to say that teachers are the best fighters for freedom Africa has or will ever have. And while we are at it, the generalissimo has made great play of his credentials as a freedom fighter; he is often seen in public places with an AK47 slung on his shoulder, as if it were some badge of honour. I believe the time has come for us to re-assess that overused word, ‘freedom fighter’ – a term the generalissimo has made as his own. So what do we mean by a freedom fighter?
12. In answer, it might be worth our while to pray in aid of that old English saying; sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. So this is what I mean: if we accept the truth that a firefighter fights fire, it seems to me that it must follow as clear as the day is that a freedom-fighter fights freedom. Tongue in cheek you may suppose, but I am not merely playing with words here. I really do believe that there is a world of difference between a freedom fighter on the one hand, and a fighter for freedom on the other. A quick perusal in the pages of history, and you will find them replete with demonstrable proofs which speak eloquently, that freedom fighters are invariably restless and turbulent spirits; ambitious, aspiring, men of straw; they are false and bloody, interested only in their stomachs, from first to last. And, there is evidence in abundance which shows that when freedom fighters come to state power, they more often than not forget that they rule over real human beings and not over wild animals; to be enslaved and abused at their own pleasure. They moreover forget that their fellow men are reasonable human beings also – of the same status as they. A government by freedom fighters is a government founded on a rule by law – their law.
13. By contrast, those who fight for freedom are in a sense like teachers; for a teacher must be big by virtue of his education and experience, and yet, at the same time, little enough to be small, that is, to come down on the level with those whom he seeks to teach, his students. Few people are in my opinion qualified to teach; because teaching alike with fighting for freedom is an instance which requires great sacrifice. A teacher is by his qualifications a public servant, that is, a servant willing to be of service for the benefit of others; the commonwealth of the whole of his entire country, warts and all. And, more importantly, those who fight for freedom, when they come to state power, remember that they rule over human beings that share their follies and weaknesses, and therefore must be borne with patiently. They are just – both to those over whom they rule, allowing them their rights and properties, and between those over whom they rule, using their power to right the injured against the injurious. Their government is a government founded on the rule of law.
14. Great men will never be the less respected for their willingness to be servants in humility, but more. Thank God Africa has a great man to look up to. He is a role model extraordinaire and went by the name of Nelson Mandela. He answered the high call to lead South Africa to democracy in the 1950s, and took pleasure in the liberty for all his people that he ran the greatest hardship in their service, even spending 27 years in prison. His sacrifice did not end there however; for he continued to sacrifice long after his release from Robben Island, and the cherry on the cake of his remarkable public service was when he stepped down in 1996, from the office of president of a free and democratic South Africa. This remarkable feat is exceeded only by the fact that he had served as president for only one term (it has become something of a trend in Africa today, for those in power to employ diverse arts to prolong their stay in public office for as long as possible. As lately as December 2016, the Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of Uganda, as an instance of illustration, went so far as to swear an affidavit to amend his date of birth, in order to avoid retiring at the mandatory retirement age of a Supreme Court Judge, which is, 70. What a poor role model he makes to the young!). Mandela was in this respect a great teacher and, a true fighter for freedom.
Great teachers are indispensable to progress
15. But why should you or I care? We should care because the belittling of teachers is no small matter. It sets the next generation a terrible example; for the next generation good examples to follow are essential, especially in spheres of personal responsibility. One of the great tragedies in low income African countries such as Uganda is the lack of ability to exercise responsibility, which translates into self-discipline upon the next generation. But in the early stages of life it is the experience of authority, when exercised fairly and consistently by those in authority (such as teachers in their role as in loco parentis), which teaches the next generation how to exercise responsibility themselves. For example: we all of us have to learn to take orders before we learn how to give them; it is a two-way process, that is, a two-way relationship between obedience and responsibility. This is what makes for a free, fair, and self-governing society. If this relationship breaks down, it sets in motions events whose impact on society is difficult to quantify; thus belittling teachers has the unintended consequence of giving a nod to, for example, corruption or changing one’s birthday in order to continue in public office. It may even explain why so many young black Africans vote with their feet, in search of green pastures abroad as refugees or economic migrants – the impact of this unhappy phenomenon is felt most acutely in Western Europe where black Africans account for a considerable percentage of unwanted immigrants.
16. I am not for a moment, suggesting that the vision to turn a low income African country into a middle income economy is beyond the wit of Africans. On the contrary, what I am drawing attention to is the reality that education provided by teachers is the foundation stone upon which other things may be accomplished. The discovery of oil or any other valuable mineral is of very little value to a people that are not equipped to make the best of their good fortune. The exploitation of these rich natural resources without the accompanying education is the equivalent of casting pearls after swine; because the poor people will in this instance be reduced to the role of mere spectators, while strangers come in from abroad and hoover-up all the riches; only to see them carted off to foreign countries as booty belonging to the so-called investors. I am reliably told that in sophisticated circles, this is what globalization looks like. And, judging by recent globalisation trends in the Americas, Europe and Asia; it seems to me that Africa is by far and away the biggest loser.
Invest in quality teachers to buttress progress
17. In view of the fact that in general, most people, young and old, prefer their own interest; that is, people prefer their own wealth, credit, pleasure, ease, and safety, before the public good; and, in light of the fact that the educational infrastructure in Uganda is presently in a poor posture, it seems to me the best way to repair the damage is to start by esteeming teachers in a manner that is commensurate with their standing in society. Esteeming teachers is, in my opinion, a necessary stepping stone on the long road to rebuilding the teacher-pupil relationship. If that were to happen, there might be the beginnings of the restoration of respect for the rule of law, general law and order, respect for property – both public and private, and respect for teachers and parents; and, above all, respect for authority as a whole. But the rebuilding the said relationship has to be a two-way affair. On the one hand, there is a need to restore effective authority to teachers, and this cannot be achieved by continued belittling, both in deed and word. On the other hand, there is a need to create opportunities to offer the next generation a taste of responsibility and a useful role in society.
18. Indeed, Mrs Glasse’s recipe for Jugged Hare is: ‘First catch your hare.’ If the generalissimo wishes to turn his impoverished low income country into a middle income economy [Jugged Hare], it is critical for him to first catch his hare. His only hope of catching his hare as it were is to start by changing his attitude towards teachers, and the best way to give proofs to this change in attitude, in addition to esteeming them is to invest in quality education infrastructure. His life may actually depend upon the quality of his subjects: recollect that turba Romae sequitur fortunam, et semper et odit damnatos – the Roman populace change as the aspects of fortune do, and always oppress the fallen – what happened to Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011 is a cautionary tale, ignored at one’s peril. A well-educated people may be more inclined to treat him and his family with civility and dignity, even dignity to his dead body should that dreadful day come upon him suddenly; whereas a poorly educated people may be more inclined to visit vengeance upon his head, that is, spare no effort to lynch him on sight, and hound his children for generations to come. Those know not what true education is whose only concern is to make it as cheap as possible, and who are well pleased with that which costs them the least pains or money. The so-called universal free primary and secondary education where teachers are rarely seen; whose only achievement, if achievement it is, is the lowering of expectations, and, to standardise and mass produce mediocrity. No, that is not good enough; the generalissimo should instead invest in quality teachers, thus equipping them to deliver an excellent education his country desperately needs. A well educated people are like live fish; it does not matter to the live fish which way the tide is running – whether it is the ebb or at the flood – live fish swim upstream. If his impoverished country is to stand any chance of making any progress, it is essential that teachers are treated with dignity and compensated for the work they do. This is what countries like China, South Korea and Taiwan have done over the last 50 years.
The influence of a great teacher can never be erased
19. Let me show you how difficult it is to teach. Please allow me to put myself forward as, shall we say, an exhibit – exhibit A. If you were to conduct a search into my short history among those who know me well, they will probably speak as one man that, this exhibit A is one of the most unremarkable specimens of human beings they ever saw. They might add that not much was ever expected of exhibit A; that they are as surprised as the next man, at how this wretched, useless, dull, slow witted, average, rough sleeping and a good for nothing exhibit A, could possibly have become the man I am. This exhibit A is not known for scholarship by any means. But thank God for his providence, that he worked a miracle in this exhibit A – thanks in no small degree to the quality of teachers. God’s providence has followed me from childhood all the way to my adult years. All my teachers, whether at primary school or at university, worked their socks off to help me along the way. They taught me many remarkable things, but the two I most treasure are discipline and perseverance.
20. But there is something extra my teachers instilled in me, confidence. I here write with feeling, because were it not for my teachers’ sacrifice, I would not be working on the endeavour I am pursuing, least of all writing this blogpost. They gave me the confidence to dare to stand tall, especially in light of a major set-back in my personal life, a set-back that saw me become a refugee in England. One particular incident may be mentioned here. A company law tutor at Buckingham law school, one Mr Alistair Alcock, now Emeritus Professor Alistair Alcock, the former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, took cognisance of the fact that I was spending too much time in the Denning law library; I risked burning out. In those days, in the early 1990s, I was immensely grateful to have been given a chance of a life time to read law, and I was therefore most anxious to make the best of the opportunity. Mr Alcock kindly took me to one side and encouraged me to take up an extra-curricular activity such as mooting. The long and short of the story is that I went on to lead the mooting society as its president. I even took part in the national mooting competition. But my team fell at the second hurdle, that is, the second round, following a mishap for which I took full responsibility.
21. My team lost to our opponents on a technicality, after I, as the leading counsel, committed a faux pas on a small matter concerning court room etiquette. A real no-nonsense Lady Justice of the Court of Appeal, The Rt. Hon. Lady Justice Butler-Sloss, before whom we appeared, asked me an unexpected question, and I blew it. I have no idea whether it were the nerves which got the better of me, all I remember is that I put my foot in my mouth. In answer to the question, and to my shame, the only words which came out of my mouth were, “My Lord”- leaving me totally embarrassed. The Rt. Hon. Lady Justice Butler-Sloss took particular exception to being addressed as, “My Lord,” and it was all over for my team. We lost. Those were the days when the judiciary was under immerse pressure to open up space for more lady judges and it was necessary to adjust advocate etiquette in the court room. It was a sensitive issue. We were accordingly taught to start addressing lady justices as, “My Lady,” and therefore an unforgivable act of carelessness on the part of a future advocate. I was remiss. We deserved to lose.
Imitation is the best complement
22. I possess a deep gratitude to God for the dispensation of the modicum of education; which was given to me to profit withal, and therefore, just as I have received this precious gift, so I am duty bound to minister the same to others. I too am a teacher. Until recently, I taught at my residential community, where I ran an informal small school with no name (Alas, the school with no name formally closed its doors in February 2018; my wife and I moved out of the community to a different part of New Taipei City). The school was voluntary; a giving back to the community in which I lived. My students and I used to meet every Saturday morning between 10 am and 12 pm. One sunny morning in 2016, as it happened, one of my little charges, Bo, asked me a surprising question. It is an experience I should like to share with you – to show you how painstaking I was when it came to donning the mantel of a teacher.
23. Now, I readily accept that this simple tale is perhaps too simplistic to apply in a formal setting. We may, however, at least agree that the principle of diligence which is required to teach is the same. I am persuaded that the chief object of teaching is not only to train up a pupil to attain the highest possible examination result, but also to equip a pupil with the critical skills necessary to climb the steep of life’s challenges. It is essential we teach our children critical problem solving skills, compassion or emotional intelligence, and interpersonal communication skills. Global events, especially in places such as Syria, in the Middle East, show that we live in dangerous times; it is all the more reason why we should do all we can to equip the next generation, with all possible skills necessary to navigate their way if they are to have any hope of surviving, both at home and abroad.
Put on the spot with a curious question on refugees
24. The question came out of the blue. Bo asked me, “Is it worth it?” Not knowing what on earth she was going on about, I replied with a question of my own. I asked Bo, “What do you mean: is it worth it?” To which she answered: “…I mean just helping…so many thousands of people…” Still puzzled – not knowing the direction of her questioning, as I needed some clarification; I asked again, “What thousands?” “In Europe,” she replied, “there are all these people…I don’t know what they are called…re-fu-geees! I think, and, they are so many of them.” She continued, “I have never seen so many people on the move… they look so very poor because they are bombed out of their houses… and the little children look like me!” At last the penny dropped. Gosh! One way or other, Bo had picked up on what was and still is probably the gravest crisis in Europe and the Arab world since 1945.
25. As a refugee myself, I am ashamed to say that I was stumped for words; I had no idea what to say to a 10 year old child – who was a million miles – a world away from a continent about which she knows so little. Can a child possibly understand the notion of, say, “those that live among their own people must not think themselves secure, lest they be driven out of their securities, only to find themselves sojourning among strangers who resent them?” What possible words can anyone use to help make sense of the continuing tragedy in Europe and the Middle East (Syria in particular) to a young head such as Bo? The United Nations published a report in 2016 which suggested that, the number of refugees in the world had reached the highest level ever recorded – some 65.3 million people displaced by conflict by the end of 2015; a truly staggering number, challenging to the best of us, never mind a simple minded man such as I.
26. To put the number into perspective at the time of writing in 2017: it was the equivalent of 24 people displaced from their homes every minute of every day for the whole of 2015, or to put it differently, that is about 34,000 people every day! As I have mentioned above, I am a refugee myself. I was personally helped by many kind hearted men and women in England. I happen to know that there are no easy answers, as one refugee case differs considerably from the next. The issues each case raises are seemingly intractable. The mind boggles at the thought of 65.3 million displaced individuals. The refugee crisis is one of those subjects that lend itself easily to sentimentality; but, the scale of the problem is such that we must all of us transcend from sentimentality to seriously think rationally about it, else we all lose. I was at a loss to know what to say to young Bo. But, I also knew that this was one of those questions I could not duck from easily. Besides, it was my duty as her teacher and friend to explain complex things in a language a child of her age would most readily understand.
Story telling is a powerful teaching pedagogical tool
27. As I struggled to answer Bo satisfactorily, a little charming story, the starfish story, came to my rescue; I think it answered well the problem in hand, that is, is it worth it? I first came across it many years ago, I can’t remember when precisely. It was about the star fish thrower, written by Loren Eiseley (1907 – 1977). It came very handy. With a little artistic licence, here is how I adapted it for the benefit of Bo and the other little friends in my school that has no name:
28. Once upon a time, in a far, far away Island of Formosa (now Taiwan) during the Qing dynasty; there lived a wise old master, who was accustomed to taking his annual retreat at a seaside cottage in the Taibei County (now New Taipei City), along the Tamsui river and where it empties itself into the Taiwan Straits – to put final touches to his scholarly manuscript. At the retreat, he would go for a walk every morning, along the beach to take in the morning sea air which was supposed to be good for him, before settling down at his desk for a day’s work. One remarkable and glorious morning, as he walked along the shore, he noticed at a distance what appeared to him as a silhouette of a little man – seemingly moving gracefully as if dancing against the backdrop of the rising sun. From where he was standing, the little man appeared as though he was dancing and miming as if in a ballet. Intrigued by the sight, the old master decided to walk a little faster in order to get a clearer view.
29. As he drew closer, the silhouette took the shape of a boy of say, about 10 or 12 years old, but to his astonishment the boy was not dancing at all. The boy was instead reaching down to the sand, picking up small objects, and throwing them back into the sea. He got even closer and as he did, called out “Good morning young man! What are you doing?” The boy rather startled at the unexpected intrusion, paused for a moment, looked up in the direction of the old scholar and replied “Throwing starfish into the sea.” “Why are you throwing starfish into the sea?” asked the somewhat puzzled old master. To this, the boy answered, “You see the sun is rising and the tide will soon go out. If I don’t throw the starfish back in, they’ll all die.” Apprehending the apparent futility of the boy’s enterprise, the old master remarked, “But surely, you do realize there are miles upon miles of beach and there is a countless number of starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!” At this, the boy deliberately bent down ever so slowly, with great care picked up yet another starfish using both hands, and threw it into the sea. As that lonely starfish fell upon the sea-water, he said to the old master, “It surely made a difference for that one.”
30. Looking straight into the eyes of each of my little friends, I asked what they thought! Was it worth it for that lonely starfish? Bright as a button, Bo answered in broken English, “it sure is worth it!” Well done, I said. The same is true for a single refugee that is helped – even if it is only one refugee out of thousands upon thousands of refugees. The lesson here is that we should not be intimidated by the sheer size of the challenge. But rather, in so far as it is in our power, we should do all we can to help, even if it means we can only help just one refugee. It is really worth it!
I see a small cloud of hope, as small as a man’s hand rising on the African horizon
31. Keeping to the run of ‘Please sir, do not belittle teachers; esteem them,’ I would conclude this blogpost thus: Nothing can so breakdown a Ugandan teacher’s spirit as to be subject continually to contempt – especially the visible and manifest contempt of his government and head of state; in fact I would go further and say that, shame is so frightful to many Ugandan teachers given their continued belittling by those in power that it is one of the ingredients of hell itself; it is the bitterest drops of that awful cup of African misery, an all pervasive despondency now walking abroad in the country. But there is hope. I spy a small cloud of hope, as small as a man’s hand rising on the African horizon; for there is emerging a band of African individuals bucking the trend, refusing to pay homage to corruption and choosing instead to take the road which is less travelled; they are probably the first fruits of things to come on the African continent. Let me tell you of two remarkable Africans, and I don’t say this lightly, I have recently discovered: they certainly warm the cockles of my heart. I will write more fully about these two remarkable Africans in the future, but for now, here is:
Mr. Strive Masiyiwa
32. The first remarkable African I have discovered is, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa. One day at the beginning of 2018, I chanced upon a You Tube video posted by Stanford Graduate School of Business. It was an interview of Strive Masiyiwa, the founder and executive chairman of Econet. Econet is a “privately held diversified telecommunications group with operations and investments in Africa, Europe, South America, North America and the East Asia Pacific Rim, offering products and services in the core areas of mobile and fixed telephony services, broadband, internet, satellite and fibre optic networks.” Mr. Strive Masiyiwa was a guest of Stanford University’s Africa Business Club and the Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies, where he discussed entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and regaled the audience how he came to found Econet. Listening to him speak, I could not help but call to mind an old Chinese proverb I heard years ago, namely, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” I was bowled over by his humility, determination, and above all, by his vision both for his business and Africa. I am ashamed that I had never heard of him until 2018. I have since reached out to him, and follow his blog.
33. In his recent blog published on 19 March 2018, entitled: “Our vision to connect Africa from Cape to Cairo,” he writes as follows: “This week Liquid Telecom, one of our companies, has announced a joint venture with Sudatel, a company from Sudan, to build a fibre optic network (meaning high-speed broadband connectivity) and also to operate cloud computing data centers in that vast country…. I’m so excited by this development because for more than 10 years we have been building this network which runs through the following countries: Botswana, Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This year we plan to connect Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan… The Liquid Telecom network has been recognized by African leadership in all these countries as a pivotal contribution to the development of the continent… Our network provides B2B (business-to-business) services to telecoms companies, banks, and large corporations, as well as big global companies like Microsoft and Google. We have been overwhelmed by global companies who want to invest in Africa because this infrastructure is now in place. The network is also the largest provider of wholesale infrastructure to internet service providers (ISPs) in all these countries.” What’s there not to like about a man who, for all intents and purposes, is infectious with his unbounded enthusiasm.
34. But Mr. Masiyiwa is not just any odd business man. It appears that he too has been marked by exile. Originally from Zimbabwe, he cherishes education above all else, and is a committed African educationalist. In another blogpost published on the same day, which is entitled, “Challenge: Africa’s youth are 75% of the continent’s population.” Again, in his own words, he writes thus: “Over the past 22 years, my wife and I through our Higherlife Foundation have supported the education of about 250,000 learners and have helped another 4,897 to attend university in Africa, the US and UK (1,704 have graduated, 3,193 currently enrolled). In the process, we have partnered with academic institutions, tech innovators, international organisation’s and education experts across the world. I’ll be writing more about this in coming weeks… Now for our second town hall in 2018, I’m excited to announce the topic is “The Power of Partnership: Strengthening Education.” It will be held on 13 March at the University of Ghana in Accra, and co-hosted by Yale University, the Higherlife Foundation and Kwese Inc.”
Mr. Fred Swaniker
35. The second remarkable African I have discovered is, Mr Fred Swaniker. I first heard of him when Mr. Strive Mayisiwa mentioned his name during the said interview. Mr Swaniker’s profile reads thus: “Fred is deeply passionate about Africa and believes that the missing ingredient on the continent is good leadership. In line with this, he has founded two organizations that aim to catalyse a new generation of ethical, entrepreneurial African leaders: African Leadership Academy and the African Leadership Network… In recognition of his work in developing Africa’s future leaders, Fred was selected as one of 115 young leaders to meet US President Obama at the first-ever President’s Forum for Young African Leaders held at the White House in 2010.” An excerpt taken from the vision and mission page of African Leadership Academy reads as follows: “Africa’s greatest need is ethical and entrepreneurial leadership. Too often, we only invest in addressing the symptoms of poor leadership in Africa: we give blankets, food, and medicine to those impacted by war, poverty, and famine. But these efforts will never stop unless we develop leaders who prevent wars, entrepreneurs who create jobs, and innovators that develop lasting solutions to the root causes of Africa’s problems. We aim to develop the future Nelson Mandela, the next Wangari Maathai, and the African Bill Gates.” To which I say: Amen. This is, and I hope you will agree with me, a good place to end this revised blogpost.
For more details, please visit: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/
Editor’s Note: This blogpost was originally published on 13 March 2017, and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.