Augustinus Ngombe
“Each one, teach one” is an adage that has been there for quite some time and has been heard from Denzel Washington in his frequent speeches.
The statement above is loaded and amplifies the significance of information to man and success. Teaching, which is regarded to be a noble calling more than a profession is in the business of transferring relevant information, skills, and knowledge from one person to the other.
This systematic process aims to overtake the power of ignorance on the face of the earth. Teaching in this regard, is not limited to classroom structured learning but anywhere and anytime we allow the process of knowledge transfer. Media, interactions, events, and many communication media ensure that information is passed from one person to another. Information, especially the relevant one has the power to imprint identity in a person, organisation, or society.
From this, we can deduce that information is king in anyone’s growth and development. I am writing this concertedly for us to learn the importance of using information for the right purpose and not the other. History tells us that before we had modern pharmaceutical systems, we had our indigenous ones which served people well. Before we had modern classrooms, there was learning taking place around the fire and other gatherings.
Not that we must go back to the past and stay there but we are visiting it to draw lessons. There are sophisticated solutions that worked then and that could even work now.
However, the limited transferability and publicising of this information led to their extinction. One of the shocking revelations I have learned from this extinction is secrecy around every gift and robust skills people possessed.
This brings me to the main purpose of this article. Secrecies and concealment had been embraced over a very long time and had proven to be a deadly way of life. Our engineering patent, medicinal best practices, and agricultural methods had been lost because when the experts die, everything die with them.
Bringing back one of the memories from my late grandfather, he would say, blacksmiths who could melt rocks into metals were family-based. Besides, when they would finally go melt the rocks and make knives, axes, mikonda, etc, they would prepare food and take a journey into the jungle and spend a month away from the whole community. Though this might have been done for safety purposes, one of the challenges it posed was the seclusion of information from people. These important skills could have been a benefit to society if it was openly taught.
They would hardly lay out procedures and teach others but no, it was a person likened to a solution and solely him.
Today, we are left wondering as to why other civilisation have overtaken us. It is because of the red tape on relevant information which can easily change one’s life. Though times have changed, we have not completely evolved from that, making it a barrier to being competent globally.
Vusi Thembekwayo would say it better, to paraphrase him, we are caught up in the belief that I need to be the first black who accomplished this, the only black who owns this. In a way, we develop crab syndrome that makes our community less progressive.
It starts at home in the family, where an aunt or an uncle who had made it, would hardly share information for bursaries, scholarships, or job opportunities to their nieces or nephews.
We would withhold information so that, we look like it is genetic to be successful. This has killed many talents, businesses, careers, leaders and you name it in our community. The issue of unemployment and poverty have a common denominator, that is information concealment. Some people want to use their privileges as power to manipulate others instead of empowering others. Some individuals in the offices are corruptly selling information. These factors disempower education which was supposed to be the equaliser. It is all done, in the name of wanting to be powerful amongst others. The longer practice of it has led to insatiable and subtle greed that hoards our communities. There is information withheld in our offices because we view others as unworthy to get certain jobs, learn new skills, or get study offers.
These my friends are the cause of high poverty and unemployment rate. Bonang Mohale asks, how many cars can we drive simultaneously? With how many hands do we have to eat with at a time? When we keep the information from the deserving, we should know that we would not be multiple professionals at once and be effective. Information is a currency; it is meant to flow and keep moving. We do not become less in empowering others, but we appreciate when we lift others, inform others, and empower them in different areas.
Other communities that have made information sharing part of their culture are thriving. When everyone is empowered enough to meet their needs, there won’t be worries about who will break into my car, or house to steal my valuables.
In this digital era, we are urged to let go of bad traits and embrace on what would work. The kindest we can get is to empower others through relevant information they would need and let the choice act upon it to the receiver and not conclude. There is a myriad of information there, but intentional information sharing is the greatest intelligence we must pursue now. Because when you do not have the right information, you can suffer lack and manipulation as a double sword.
*Augustinus Ngombe “Mr Mind” is an author, educator, public speaker, and columnist. He can be contacted at Augustino.ngombe@gmail.com.