Innuendos and comments laced with strong tribal undertones have been flooding social media and the public discourse for some time. The arrest of former minister of agriculture, fisheries and land reform, Mac Albert Hengari appears to have attracted divided public opinion on the merits of the case.

This divided opinion has degenerated into an exchange of disparaging words along tribal lines between users of social media platforms. We have seen similar comments whenever cases of gender-based violence arise, as remarks border on which tribe appears to commit more of such a heinous crime than others.

Sadly, the clampdown on corrupt individuals for looting state resources has also drawn divergent views with strong tribal undertones on the same platforms.

This is a sad and sordid affair as tribalism has never benefitted anyone and never will in the long run. While participating in public debate is every Namibian’s prerogative, when such views are used as an opportunity to twist the facts and advance a tribal agenda, it becomes a dangerous affair.

We can ill-afford to remain divided as a nation. As Samora Machel, the late former president of Mozambique put it: “For the nation to survive, the tribe must die”. We must draw inspiration from this and also learn great lessons from senseless xenophobic attacks in neighbouring South Africa, which have haunted that country for decades mostly setting black brother against another and mainly targeting migrant workers including Zimbabweans, Ethiopians, Somalis and Mozambicans eking out a living there. 

Tribal strife has led to an 11-year civil war in Sierra Leone, where millions of people have suffered from brutal hostilities, and lost loved ones and property. 

The unfortunate “ethnic cleansing” in Rwanda, which claimed about 800 000 innocent lives, mostly from the Tutsi minority tribe, is another stark reminder that tribalism can have grave consequences. 

With the escalation of tribalism, a nation comes under threat from itself and ultimately, there would be no nationhood to talk about. It can even be argued, perhaps conservatively, that tribalism has become stronger than racism, which between 1884 and 1990 dominated the socio-economic reality in our country.

This means that unfortunately after defeating the colonial powers, Namibians turned against each other along tribal lines as they scrambled for the podium places for power and dominance and watering the tribalism seed sewn by the brutal apartheid colonialists. The nation, meanwhile, is in danger of coming apart.

We acknowledge the fact that we do not live in Utopia at the moment. Thousands of Namibians are wallowing in poverty, with unemployment the order of the day, especially for the majority youth. Clearly, there are frustrations all over the place.

The people are struggling but the Government is doing its best to keep the ship steady in these rough seas of economic turmoil and rising costs of living. The situation, therefore, calls for cooler heads to prevail while authorities step up efforts to positively influence efforts at conflict resolution. 

Social and political divisions are normal in any country.  However, we will not achieve much as a nation if we continuously beat the tribalism drum. We must shun tribalism with the contempt it deserves and ultimately avoid this toxic legacy of self-hate. 

Once tribalism grips the psyche of society, every action – including the State’s developmental projects – is seen through the toxic tribal lens.

In that tribal mindset, as with other forms of prejudice, truth and facts matter little. Logic is often suppressed and so is rationality. The dangers of tribalism thus also include the likelihood of physical confrontation.

Tribalism in many African countries is a problem, a political epidemic that squanders efforts for nation-building, social development, democracy, human rights, and peaceful coexistence of all citizens.

What is particularly worrying is when tribalism is used – not for the love of one’s own clan – but also as a tool to gain political and economic power, this means elbowing away other Namibians from what is supposed to be the national cake.

Tribalism is the most glaring obstacle to the development of the country. It is symbolic of our nation’s divided soul and the unity of our country is sacrificed for expediency in the unnecessary tribal dogfights that are fast becoming a cancer to our nation’s survival.

Tribalism’s only record of achievement is destruction and bloodshed. Let’s shun and condemn this scourge with all the contempt it deserves.