Swazi Observer

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KING SOBHUZA II MY HERO 2018

By Joy Ndwandwe | 2018-07-22

Today it is hero’s day; in honour of King Sobhuza II’s birthday, my spiritual and academic hero.

A spiritual and academic journey rooted within my old LaZidze soul and transformed lens, my mission and calling. It began with the King Sobhuza II legacy book now evolving into the legacy of two kings, after presenting His Majesty King Mswati III with the gift of being patron in the upcoming academy.

As the only King, Head of State and leader of indigenous knowledge, and most significantly His Majesty continued with his commitment towards integrating indigenous knowledge and modernity. He is the Bishop of Bishops when preaching, leading Incwala and all cultural rituals and ceremonies, whilst Head of State leading the development of this country towards first world.

This leadership is critical for the integration of indigenous knowledge and modernity towards restoring indigenous dignity for innovation. Moreover, His Majesty is about to be chairperson of the African Union, thus will lead AU towards the Africa we want. Evidently, the integration of indigenous knowledge and modernity, articulated in Africa Capacity Building Reports can contribute toward the Africa we want.

As patron, supportive to the vision of the academy, which will contribute towards the Africa we want, Agenda 2063. The academy initiated by the integration vision of King Sobhuza II, who led this country in 1963 during the establishment of Organisation of African Union (OAU), now African Union (AU). Now his son, King Mswati III is tasked with the responsibility of leaving a legacy from 50 years to 100 years of the African Union.

Spiritual Hero

Evidently, King Sobhuza II is my spiritual hero, when revealed as such, was so engrossed in modernity such that I almost missed my mission and calling. King Sobhuza II’s spiritual role brought the transformative intervention on my lens enabling me to appreciate that I was a colonised mind. When refusing to acknowledge that my ancestors are a reservoir of indigenous knowledge, because my colonised educated mind was captivated by how ancestors are demonic and evil.

How could I believe in something that I have not experienced, and in fact, I feared ancestors because of the education and religion that had colonised my mind? This transformative intervention was the lived experience, liberating my colonised mind an integral part for evoking the old soul of LaZidze within me.

My spiritual hero enabled the opening of my soul, accessing knowledge towards healing this continent still colonised through knowledge in post-independence.

This process considered demonic and evil by the colonised mind, I had to allow, as this was my mission and calling. Tapping into the soul of King Sobhuza II with my old soul, accessing sacredness of indigenous knowledge at a soul level. An amazing achievement that transformed my lens, as I can never see the world through the colonial lens, which was previously dominated by my colonised mind. My lens enables me to interrogate modernity from an empowered position, as I understand how Africa had its own modernity. Therefore, I do not hero worship western modernity as my source of sophistication, as I appreciate how it missed an opportunity to integrate the African modernity it found within the continent.

This lens transformed by my spiritual connectivity with King Sobhuza II, who throughout the 1900 epoch cautioned Africa not to lose its modernity. That is, the indigenous knowledge structurally brutalised during the 1900 epoch by colonialisation and western knowledge. Which was colonising minds to believe that the only modernity is embedded within western knowledge, education and religion.

Am I am a product of the 1900 epoch, hence, King Sobhuza II evoked my old soul that experienced the 1800 epoch as LaZidze in incarnate. A steady process that has been occurring over the past 22 years, when it was revealed how there is a man in heaven wishing to bless me. This blessing of my spiritual hero manifested in the transformative intervention of my lens evoking an old soul of LaZidze, now transcending into academic space as indigenous knowledge expert.

Academic Hero

King Sobhuza II transformed my lens and evoked my old soul LaZidze to see clearly, why Africa is failing within the context of innovation. Hence, he is my academic hero as I would not have been able to reimagine how my transformative intervention must translate into the upcoming academy. Such that the personal transformation of my lens and soul should benefit many citizens of this continent that has been so preoccupied with consumption and corruption.

This is where Africa has amassed skills and techniques instead of innovation, and this must first occur within academic spaces. We already have technology and innovation that we use daily, and this is not the academic knowledge that will restore the indigenous dignity towards innovation.

My academic hero continuously stated ‘iAfrica ayente kwayo’ Africa must innovate its own, and this message has been the fundamental base for conceptualising the integration of indigenous knowledge and modernity.

This requires restoring indigenous dignity such that Africa can innovate its own, and this is no way suggesting reinventing the wheel. My international academic hero, supported me with a basic statement Professor Sangren ‘Europe was given the equation of what is this, how can I manipulate it, create profit, power and control. Yet Africa was given the equation what is the best way to life.’

These two statements have enabled me to evolve to the space of clarity, such that I am a proponent of restoring indigenous dignity towards innovation.

This is where the transformative intervention of my lens and the evoking of my old soul as LaZidze incarnate has led me to. Thoughts that are the significant foundation of the upcoming academy for integrating indigenous knowledge and modernity towards restoring indigenous dignity for innovation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I recall dancing uMhlanga as a young university student, with my friend and sister in law Ntfombiyenkosi, her father Prince Masitsela has decorated me with emagwalagwala as an Ndwandwe. Watching from the VIP podium was the late Babe Sishayi, who later told me this was the most frustrating reed dance, fearing my being spotted and pursued by King Sobhuza II. Little did uMnguni Sishayi know that King Sobhuza II would posthumously spot and pursue my soul, through his departed soul? Indeed King Sobhuza II is my hero, transformed my lens that was clouded by modernity, by evoking my indigenous soul.

The old soul of LaZidze, which is now championing the integration of indigenous knowledge towards restoring indigenous dignity for innovation.

Today I am able to articulate my mission and calling as my lens can research indigenous knowledge, through my old soul connected to the 1800 epoch. The epoch when Africa was indigenous, and the soul of King Sobhuza II was the transformative intervention I required to evoke this soulful mission and calling. I always state how I do not wish to think how my life would have turned out, had I refused this mission and calling. Yes, this spiritual and academic journey was predominately dealing with uncertainty, which I am recovering from as I write.

However, this I consider low risk as compared to the possibility of living with insanity. Many mental patients whowere blessed with missions and calling, but did not listen or feared the uncertainty required to manoeuvre throughout the spiritual and academic journey. Most significantly, many people blessed with mission and calling take the easy way out of being employed or sleeping their way to the top.

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