I hope HH left us his autobiography

I have felt great sadness of losing my father – my best friend once – when I was about only 10 years of age, no need to imagine the depression, devastation and anguish that once consumed me. Subsequent to that, I learned how to deal with death, to make sense of it and welcome it, with an understanding that death is an integral part of life for it has meaning; with an understanding that death is inevitable, for it is something I am not really emotional about anymore, because death is a phenomenon that will always be part of our sophisticated life cycle, of our ups and downs, of our rights and wrongs.

However, what’s more disheartening is when old people die, African history because most of it is oral suffers a great loss with the death of each elder, “When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground”; they die with such depth of wisdom and wealth of knowledge, which is seldom transferred to the young, through relevant communication and information platforms. For it can’t be correct that the only historical information we collect and hold dear are paintings in caves and those stories told from one to another. How our ancestors and elders communicate and transfer knowledge and preserve is a major challenge and part of our culture rather, to a greater extent this mode of operation has denied us of information that will do great justice, information that will explain our identity better, explain our history, and will thus help us understand our present and help make better informed choices for our future.

Without having to dwell much into the character and personality of Mr. Hidipo Hamutenya, who was buried on saturday. I couldn’t help but think whether the next generation will ever be charged with the responsibility to remember comrade Hamutenya’s contributions to Namibia? More than that, will the next generation ever be inspired and motivated to help make this country a better place, as Hamutenya and others envisoned? Moreover, will we ever find answers to unanswered questions, will we ever know the philosophy, ideology, ideas and principles Hamutenya lived by? Will we ever get to read, or listen his own story, will we ever get his version of his convictions, contributions, dreams and ambitions? For instance, in a society where everyone has something to say about politics and history, evidence and details of first hand information and accounts are missing, consequences are that much important national and regional history is lost by the day, resulting in a history distorted.

Often what we lack is a culture and tradition of knowledge production and transfer, there’s a gap of literary contribution that needs to be filled. There’s a need for extensive literature from politicians, activist, philosophers, philantropist and entertainers in the form of autobiographies, purporting self-justification of their actions, confessions, critical moments in their lifetimes and volumes containing public records of their public life and times, these written or documented accounts of their life’s would greatly emphasize their nature, role and era. For enthusiast that are intellectually challenged, they can use other sources of communication such as visual or audio recordings to preserve political and social contributions that will in the long run serve as primary sources of history and critical information, that will eventually be absorbed by upcoming generations and serve as inspirational sources. 

We do need to create a society that inspires young people, especially leaders that need to emulate intellectual reasoning. Leaders, and not figureheads, are indeed needed to inspire communities through writing opinions that motivates them in their daily lives. (I am not equating autobiographies to intellectual literacy), but autobiographies and memoirs are important and provides a balanced discussion with lucid ideas, thoughts and conveys a well considered message with elements of truth that will be passed on generations to come.

Let’s recreate history with information and knowledge transfer, by making time and developing the desire to explain to history why we find ourselves where we are, why decisions came to be as such, we have to keep diaries recording events and important conversations. We must encourage autobiographies explaining and reflecting the detail and experience of politicians in government and political life’s, for it helps make everything easier for incoming politicians and for those who seek to understand regional and national dynamics. This is the only way to reject our history being detailed and recorded by foreign media, diplomats and NGO’s.

Listen to one of the first great autobiographers, Benvenuto Cellini of Italy, (1500–1571), as he declares that, "No matter what sort he is, everyone who has to his credit what are or really seem to be great achievements, if he cares for truth and goodness, ought to write the story of his own life in his own hand; but no one should venture on such a splendid undertaking before he is over forty."

* Matheus Pendapala Taapopi is a 3rd year student, studying towards a Bachelor of Public Management (Hons), at the University of Namibia.