Good prices woo farmers

I read with interest the news item titled ‘Chibambo Chirwa schools Marymount students’ which appeared in The Nation recently. Mr Songiso Mvalo must be congratulated for taking interest in the recent history of Malawi and encouraging others to do so.

No matter what vocation people are following they must as a matter of patriotism know some major events in the history of their country. We cannot love our country sufficiently and respect people who lived before us unless we have a fair knowledge of our country’s history.

A West African in Francophone has been quoted as saying in Africa when an old man dies it is as if half the library has been burnt. He was paying homage to elderly people as repositories of oral history. But the elders often do not remember everything of the past such as dates and places. There is then need for written history soon after the events have taken place and for the inquisitive to read those books.

There is no excuse for educated young Malawians to be grossly ignorant of Malawi history because in bookshops and libraries nowadays there are several books on the history of Malawi.

The type of history book you read will reflect the era in which it was written. Those which were written during the one-party era avoided giving credit to people like Mrs Rose Chibambo, Masauko Chipembere and Kanyama Chiume who were blacklisted as rebels.

Books written during the current era have been more objective. I am referring to monographs on the Cabinet crisis by Professor Colin Baker, Father Matthews Schoffelears and the comprehensive history of Malawi in two volumes titled History of Malawi Volume I from earliest, to the years 1915 and History of Malawi Volume 2 from the year 1915 to the year 2009. The latter two volumes are available in shops such as Maneno, Dzuka, Nyabufu bookshops in Lilongwe; Central, Claim, Central Africana and Fegs bookshops in Blantyre.

There are two reasons why young Malawians are less acquainted with the history of this country than they should. The teaching of history in Malawian schools still follows the colonial and Kamuzu Banda approach. During colonial days, emphasis was on the history of ancient civilisation and the Greek and Roman eras. African history was taught as African encounters with empire builders and missionaries. Either because of ignorance or prejudice, African history was hardly taught from the African point of views.

Dr Banda advocated teaching of ancient history in schools, including at the Kamuzu Academy. What is required now is that before students in Malawi delve into foreign histories, they should master Malawian history so that they know how to react when events take place.

When ministers of Foreign Affairs of Malawi and Tanzania were meeting on the Lake Malawi dispute, a number of well-educated people asked me to explain what was the problem. One of them on telephone from the electronic media said why do we bother about the lake? What benefit has it brought to us? At other occasions I have met people who have been chased away from South Africa saying they were told that Malawi had done nothing to help South Africans in their struggle for freedom. When I asked what did you answer, these people just shrugged their shoulders. Yet there are books even biographies that testify to the exceptional role Malawians played in the liberation of some southern African countries.

The onus is on the Ministry of Education to modify the curriculum with regard to the teaching of Malawians history. Now, there are adequate books on the history of Malawi.

The second problem is the reading culture. In March this year, a female journalist representing a newspaper called me on the telephone for information on the Martyr’s Day. I told her that she could find the details in the History of Malawi Volume II. Did she know of its existence? Yes, but now wanted to hear from me direct, she said.

In May also this year, a young man from the electronic media visited me to find out the importance of May 14, the Kamuzu Day. What good had Kamuzu done? And I told him to read History of Malawi Vol II. Had he ever read it? No, he did not know of its existence. I showed him a copy. “Oh, so big. But tell me for now what you have written there?”

Songiso Mvalo and his colleagues should form a library and equip it with books on the history of Malawi, among others. These days, written history takes precedence over other forms.

The principal pillars of Malawian history are Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda and John Chilembwe. But they were not acting alone. Other men and women played magnificent roles. To make sure these are not forgotten, I suggest someone or the government should sponsor the writing of a biographical dictionary or who is who in Malawian history. This should record in brief stories of those who should be remembered. It takes a lot of time and expenditure to write biographies while the rewards are meagre.