Let’s revive ubuntu to save our country

Once upon a time there was a philosophy called ubuntu.

This philosophy of ubuntu, a Nguni word meaning humanity in the Queen’s language, appeared in South Africa around the mid-19th century.

Although ubuntu has not always received the support and following it should have received from all sectors of South African society, it nevertheless espoused the promotion of humanness through goodness, kindness, sharing, loving and all the qualities encouraged by most faiths universally.

Somehow, by the attainment of democracy in South Africa in 1994, ubuntu, for whatever reason, became an afterthought.

The democratic government, although not opposed to it, at least publicly, did not go out of its way to promote the philosophy of ubuntu as the guiding principle of the post-apartheid dispensation.

Instead, ubuntu would be mostly mentioned in passing by various leaders when and where it suited them to talk about this noble humanistic programme.

The anarchy that has come to characterise the post-1994 dispensation can and must be linked to the demotion of the ubuntu philosophy.

The definitions of ubuntu range from “a person is a person through other people” to “I am because we are” or “humanity towards others”.

But more robustly it would mean “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”.

The toxic news on violence against women and children, including that on foreign African nationals living in South Africa, which is the talk of the town all over the world these days, is a sign that South Africa remains a traumatised society.

The blatant truth is that all people, including men, are victims of this violence and anarchy crippling the land.

And the sad part of all this, apart from the loss of lives and injuries inflicted on other human beings by supposedly other “human beings”, is a setback to investments that South Africa desperately needs.

From corruption to poor service delivery, South Africa is further slipping away from becoming a caring and people-centred nation.

The triple effects of unemployment, poverty and inequality surely do not make matters better, more so when they are not declining but increasing because of poor leadership.

Many of our societal ills are centuries-old challenges that have not been met with the same measure of leadership needed to overcome them.

The many commissions of inquiry that have unfolded since the dawn of democracy in 1994 are testament to this.

But I get the feeling that, just like the increasing number of South Africans from all walks of life, marching in solidarity with those directly affected by the madness that is crippling the nation right now, people are sincere and genuine in calling for an end to violence against others.

Had there been a more determined effort by the nation’s governors, there would have been a systematic institutionalisation of ubuntu in every facet of South African life – including schools and most civil society groups.

Today, South Africa is a shadow of itself. We are no longer the beacon of hope many in the world thought we were when we embarked on what seemed to be a “new beginning” in 1994.

Those who can possibly make a positive contribution in the nation-building project are ignored, and they lack capacity and resources to make themselves heard through the limited platforms and forums they can access.

A lack of a united and coherent voice on what it will take to make South Africa the best in all its endeavours does little to inspire a citizenry starved of meaningful participation and involvement in the development of their communities and country.

As a way forward, all South Africans and the country’s various sectors, industries, institutions and organisations, have to rise to the occasion by providing leadership in how the ubuntu philosophy can be renewed and made to heal the country’s centuries-old traumas.

• Mgudlwa is a journalist and writer of the bestselling children’s book Kiddies World

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