by Francis Xoagub  ~          

  ONGWEDIVA – Leading African scholar and Pan-Africanist, Shadrack Gutto, praised Namibia for being the only African country singing the African Union (AU) national anthem alongside its national anthem at key events and urged other countries to follow suit.

Gutto, who is a director for the Centre for African Renaissance Studies at the University of South Africa, was speaking at the 4th Sam Nujoma Public Lecture series organised by the Pan-African Centre (Pacon) in Ongwediva.

The lecture, titled "Africa and the Diaspora: Galvanizing Africa’s Intellectual Capital for Africa’s Development," took place at the Hifikepunye Pohamba Campus in Ongwediva.

He said he was impressed when he visited the Heroes’ Acre in Windhoek and saw that the Namibian and AU flags are flown alongside each other.  

“That is very unusual in any African country. But more unusual was the two anthems that you sang this evening, that is the Namibian and AU national athems.  I do not know of any African country where they sing the AU anthem along with the national anthem,” he said.

Ironically, looking at the calendars of the 14 members of SADC, only four countries - Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe – recognise Africa Day as a public holiday.
However, in the SADC region, it is only Namibia which has made the singing of the AU anthem a permanent feature at public gatherings and in schools.

“Most of these African countries talk a lot about unity but they do not demonstrate and build the culture of being African and being proud the way Namibians are. I therefore would like to see these African countries also embracing African unity through proudly singing the AU anthem,” he stressed.

He hailed Namibia as being a leader in that regard and said it is the responsibility of African scholars and intellectuals to ask other countries why they do not embrace Africa unity by singing the national anthem alongside their national anthems.

“Looking back, it seems like the unity demonstrated by Africans as they fought against colonialism and imperialistic dominance is no longer there. In some parts of the continent, leaders are so self-centred that continental issues have been relegated to the very bottom,” he noted.

Gutto also described the Founding Father of the Namibian Nation, Dr Sam Nujoma, as one of the few celebrated leaders not only in Namibia but also in Africa and beyond.

“This is a visionary politician-leader. The person whom we are honouring today through this lecture series is somebody who represents a rich tradition of people who are patriotic Namibians, heroes who fought against the conquering colonialists.”

Gutto also challenged Africans to place more value on local knowledge and to develop a more positive view of their ability to find solutions to the numerous challenges facing the continent, including harnessing the Diaspora.