THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS AFRICA WILL HARDLY HAVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Many grandchildren in Africa have never seen or interacted with their grandparents. They probably died before they were born.

I cannot recall meeting my paternal grandparents. I learned from my mother and ‘uncle’ that my grandfather was a wise man, a good speaker, adviser and he loved kids. Unfortunately, he couldn’t write to conserve his story and values. That means we cannot access his wisdom adequately.

My father was also a wise man, speaker, adviser and mentor to many. My line of work is strongly related to my grandfather’s and father’s talents. I can only wonder how far I may go if they had adequately conserved their legacies. My father did his part in pieces but did not combine and harmonize. I found the story of his conversion on a piece of paper after he died.

Do you also have an example of a lost legacy in your lineage? If, yes, then it is a huge loss. The proverb that “when an old man dies in Africa, it is like a library burned down” is very true. I read an important piece of information some time ago (I can’t recall the author’s name) that there are three areas we need to consider: “conservation, criticism and creativity.” The person explains that a generation needs to conserve, and the next generation will look at the conservation, criticise and create.

We in Africa are often starting from isolated creativity without a strong conservation base. We have to change and conserve our journeys in books.

I am confident that Africa will not have sustainable development if our elders, who are also custodians of knowledge continue to die undocumented. How far can we go if they go away with the wisdom we need to grow?