By Joy Ndwandwe | 2022-12-04
On the article titled “This is Our Country” my closing remarks were “this fear of losing power is not what this country needs towards peace consciousness and not peaceful nation.”
Hence today, this column expands reflections on peace consciousness vs peaceful nation, the Swaziland to Eswatini international brand.
The ongoing political tensions and conflicts have created a moment of deep reflection on this peaceful international brand, thus, engaging thoughts on transforming this political impasse into peace consciousness.
These political tensions and conflicts can be catalysts for transformation, not change, when prevailing political impasse is embraced as blessing evoking peace consciousness.
When this kingdom was a peaceful nation, an international brand emanating from peaceful attainment of independence and acceptance of colonial institutions defining the kingdom, particularly educational, religious and governance.
This peaceful nation attracted international donors and development partners supporting the country into prosperity until the moment of defining its governance systems through Tinkhundla.
Marking advent of eroding this peaceful nation image which has subsequently escalated and erupted into violent political tensions and conflicts. Now requiring deep reflections towards peace consciousness, a learning process that has nothing to do with how smart you are, how right you are, how many people agree with you, and how much power you wield.
Moreover, this peace consciousness learning process must systemically transform educational, religious and governance institutions.
Educational Institutions
Colonial education continues as dominate paradigm within this kingdom, previously glorified as an outstanding achievement during peaceful nation brand.
Now requiring deep reflections on its contribution towards peace consciousness considering how inherited colonial education was premised on systemic negation of African history and indigenous knowledge. Thus, taking African scholars out of indigenous context, exemplifying how when entering the educational institution gate, learners and scholars leave this context outside.
Leaving indigenous context behind while inside the learning space it is systemically negated manifesting in many African scholars rejecting their African history and indigenous knowledge when exiting these institutional gates.
Evident in the emergence of African scholars rooted on inherited educational institution, understanding that they are smart, right, many people agree with them and they have power.
Accordingly, systemically negating peace consciousness through this worldview that negates the African history and indigenous knowledge.
Consequently for peace consciousness to prevail, educational institutions are being provided this moment of deep reflection on whether it’s sustainable to generate African scholars who believe they are the only smart ones.
This reflection enables emotionally intelligent discourse on how the African history and indigenous knowledge that was systemically negated is critical as futuristic imperatives.
The realisation how the political tensions and conflicts reveal how lack of rootedness of educational institutions within the African history and indigenous knowledge is at the core and major contributing factor, including within religious institutions.
Religious Institutions
Missionaries’ successful mission of systemically negating African history and indigenous knowledge is haunting this kingdom as it emerges in the negative narratives manifesting political tensions and conflicts.
The systemic negation separated African religion and culture through distorting African history and indigenous knowledge labelling it demonic, heathen, barbaric and uncultured. While creating African dependency syndrome on colonial religions as a source of physiological healing, rejecting indigenous healing paradigms.
Religion became a source of identity, this has manifested in fragmentation and brokenness emerging within negative narratives continuing in systemically negating African history and indigenous knowledge.
Thus, African Christians worldview is that they are smart, right, many people agree with them and they wield power over congregants manifesting in fragmented families, societies and the nation.
Consequently, how can the kingdom speak of peace consciousness when religious institutions systemically negate the African history and indigenous knowledge in their pulpits? The pulpits that have changed from the missionary conversion into commercial institutions that possess souls through teaching poverty consciousness.
That is, greed, materialism and corruption in their prosperity Gospel when they are serving smart, right-thinking, morally justified and powerful members of society who tap into Jesus Christ for riches, marriages and powerful positions. The colonial religious institutions have been overtaken by the emergence of commercial religious institutions that are systemically negating African history and indigenous knowledge for personal prosperity.
These commercial religious institutions attract the smart and right-thinking, who believe they are morally justifies to be powerful and dominate the citizens of this country, within public and private sector.
Governance Systems
When reflecting on the core of political tensions and conflicts the colonial governance systems embodied within the 1968 Constitutions emerges. Evidently, colonial educational and religious institutions achieved the systemic negation of African history and indigenous knowledge. Such that any discourse engaging indigenous governance systems is negated, evident in how Tinkhundla governance system has been systemically negated by both pro-monarchy and pro-democracy proponent.
Tinkhundla governance system was sabotaged by poverty consciousness within public and private sector-led by African scholars trained to believe in colonial governance systems.
Therefore, how can the nation experience peace consciousness when Tinkhundla an indigenous governance system is systemically negated because it replaced the 1968 colonial constitution?
Evidently, this political impasse provides an excellent moment of reflection on whether the nation wishes to return to being a tiny peaceful kingdom with multi-party democracy. Led by the only smart, right-thinking, morally justifies and powerful members of the nation that have rights to dominate in public and private sector. Hence the axiom,
“There is no way to peace. Peace is the way” evoking deep reflection on how being smart, right-thinking, morally justified and powerful is no way to peace consciousness.
The way to finding peace consciousness requires deep reflections on the educational, religious and governance systems that have systemically negated the African history and indigenous knowledge. When multi-party democracy is not rooted within African history and indigenous knowledge it may create a peaceful nation but not evoke peace consciousness.
Therefore, the kingdom’s political tensions and conflicts require leaders who understand that it’s not about being smart, right-thinking, morally justified and powerful dominating citizens. When planning national dialogue providing space enabling the integrating indigenous knowledge within educational, religious and governance systems towards peace consciousness.
Conclusion
Indeed, this quest for peace consciousness within the kingdom requires decolonisation, Africanising and indigenisation of educational, religious and governance institutions.
However, these institutions are led by colonised African scholars who fear losing power and dominance over the nation. Intriguingly, this decolonisation, Africanising and indigenisation of educational, religious and governance institutions is currently resisted by both pro-monarchy and pro-democracy proponents.
As the systemic negations and infiltration by colonialism have created hypnotic power that would not be easy to let go by both parties in this political impasse.
A classic case are the land rights embedded within indigenous knowledge provides ancestral land possession and not ownership within the citizens that continues being manipulated. Moreover, land rights provide right-thinking, morally justification and dignity to citizens that both pro-monarchy and pro-democracy proponents wishes to dominate.
Thus, providing the appropriate historic moment for integrating indigenous knowledge within the governance system towards peace consciousness anchored through an uncomfortable national dialogue.
Transforming prevailing comfort zones by advocating for indigenous knowledge to deepen the property, natural and land rights of citizens within this kingdom. This would be a successful way to peace consciousness, thus, honouring the African history and indigenous knowledge while dismantling the colonial legacy tools: exclusive and undemocratic policies, divide and rule strategy, poverty consciousness and patriarchy.
These colonial tools continue holding this kingdom at ransom through smart, right-thinking, morally justified and powerful leading educational, religious and governance institutions.
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