Africa-Press – Botswana. When Botswana acquired independence in 1966, the country, through the stewardship of first president Sir Seretse Khama, was founded on the principles of democracy, development, self-reliance, unity and Botho, all of which can be summed up as patriotism, which by definition, is often associated with a sense of loyalty, love, and devotion towards one’s country.
Based on President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi’s cause for mindset change, a patriotic mindset can drive changes in beliefs, attitudes, behaviours, and actions, ultimately affecting individuals and their interactions with the society.
Fifty-five years down the line, one wonders if Batswana are still patriotic enough to jump no the mindset change bandwagon that the President is so vigorously and passionately driving.
In an interview with BOPA, Media Institution of Southern Africa – Botswana chapter president, Mr Thomas Nkhoma said Batswana were generally patriotic.
“But the problem is how we define patriotism as Batswana and what we should do to express patriotism.”
He said in principle, most Batswana understood patriotism as a love for their country.
“At the same time because of their various political affiliations, this is where we lose the plot and start having a go at each other’s throat by spreading fake news, disinformation and misinformation about our country. This has the potential to damage the image of our country,” he added.
He further stated that Batswana stood their ground to defend their country. “We have seen this happen when the country was under attack from our detractors who were advancing a wrong narrative about our elephant population because such had the potential to hurt our tourism sector and eventually our economy,” he stated.
Kgosi Merapelo Tshweneyagae of Hukuntsi commended Dr Masisi’s drive for mindset change, saying it would further inspire patriotism.
He said a concerted effort by the nation at grassroots level was needed to drive a successful campaign. “We need to move from a passive to an active mindset, when people accept responsibility for their nation’s problems and work to solve them,” he noted.
He explained that being patriotic often imparted a sense of responsibility towards the country and its future, as such Batswana must consider the greater good and work towards the common goals of their nation.
For her part, Ms Emang Mutapati, editor in chief at The Voice newspaper was of the view that many, if not most, Batswana were patriotic.
She said Batswana were generally proud of themselves and their languages.
“This is evidenced by the growing interest in local cultural tourism products on the national events calendar such as Dithubaruba, Letlhafula, dikgafela and many others,” she noted. Ms Mutapati said her fellow countrymen also had strong democratic values.
“Batswana vigorously and actively engage in political discourse in their effort to understand and arrive at an informed decision on whom to elect into government every five years and in my opinion it is a good sign of patriotism,” she said.
She further stated that even those who chose to criticise the country’s shortcomings, did so out of a sense of patriotism.
“They do so because they love their country and therefore want to protect it from any possible harm,” she said.
A youth entrepreneur, Ms Tefo Ntshwane said she was proud to be born in a peaceful and stable country that Botswana was. “I have demonstrated patriotism in the course of my life by voting at general elections and celebrating our national heroes at any opportune time,” she said.
She stated that like any other country, the nation had faced its fair share of challenges such as high youth unemployment rate and healthcare anxieties. “However, government has availed various initiatives that promote entrepreneurship and it is up to us to tap into these opportunities and stop the blame game,” she noted.
Pastor Mary Kagiso of Methodist Church of Southern Africa said, “This is my country and I am very patriotic.” She said she never missed information on government programmes. “I often share the programme announcements with my colleagues and young people at church so that they can also benefit from them. That’s how I show my patriotism for this great nation,” she indicated.
She said government needed public support to achieve the desired goal of the Reset Agenda. “We all need to be open-minded about what government puts before us. If all of us can be patriotic, then we will be able to have a new mindset and steer the country to greater heights,” she said.
She encouraged Batswana to be more patriotic and give the mindset change initiative a chance. “This is our only Botswana, let’s all be proud about our nation and put our minds in one accord for the next generation to be proud of us years to come,” she said.
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