My Turn

Educated bootlickers

Fellow Malawians,

we have a big problem. Many Malawians claim to be educated and not few claim to be experts.

Some are decorated with doctorates and various degrees with experience to brag about, but the country does not have much to show for their weighty papers.

One might wonder, how that is a problem? Educated citizens are expected to speak and act right. They are expected to only advocate good public policies for all.

But what we see is the opposite.

When politicians and public officers roll out retrogressive policies, the educated are expected to challenge the process and offer better solutions.

The educated are expected to know better that corruption, fraud and plunder are derailing the nation’s march to Canaan.

But it gets difficult to end the vices if they take root even in State House.

Unpopular public policies are disastrous recipes for national socioeconomic development, particularly those that favour foreigners at the peril of locals.

But the stubborn truth is that Malawi has an overload of educated cowards and savages. All they know is to memorise theories and get brainwashed. They do not apply critical thinking before taking some political decisions.

Worryingly, few educated citizens actively and practically participate in serious political conversations and matters of national interest.

People go to work utterly afraid to tell the truth or rebuke leaders for taking unreasonable steps.

The fear of losing positions, money, status, friends and even life mutes the so-called educated Malawians into political disasters.

The most fearful and timid educated Malawians hold positions of power, but fail to act for the good of the nation.

Is their education helping them and the name?

On the social media, the majority find it interesting and safe discussing petty scandals, sports and memes just because they do not want to hurt their employers or government machinery.

This is not 1964. In democratic Malawi, freedom of speech and participation in matters of national interest must be an open cheque. We do not have to be afraid to engage in conversations on matters affecting our daily lives.

Politics affects our daily life. If we do not actively participate, we allow vicious opinion leaders, corrupt politicians and self-seeking social media influencers to keep fooling us.

Stop portraying politics as an absolute game of big boys alone. Together, we need to kick out bad politics.

Politics affects our daily welfare, so we must participate. Our involvement can make or break the wall, which protects the corrupt public officers who use flowery English to cheat the ‘uneducated’ majority.

We have witnessed how some social media influencers and activists have evolved from critics to proponents of mediocrity, impunity and corruption because only a few educated people actively participate in the struggle for a better Malawi.

After trusting them, they get entangled in political opportunism and go to bed with the corrupt they ought to oppose jealously.

That’s another problem. The educated have left the technical conversations to political bootlickers.

As the educated pose big, the nation keeps witnessing roads and buildings that collapse at will.

We need education that does not only inform the mind but also forms and reforms character.

Remember, the corruption we tolerate today will hurt and haunt us and our children and their children if we don’t talk about it for the fear of losing temporary benefits.

Unfortunately, the most corrupt and tongue-tied to speaking the truth to power are the educated in public offices. They know corruption is evil and poverty is a disease, but choose nothing good.

But change is inevitable.

For the truly educated, it is time to rise and shame the devils. Help the nation think, talk and act to solve its chronic challenges. 

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