A Silver Jubilee worth remembering

“And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan.” – Leviticus 25:10

I quote from the Bible. The Honourable President Hage Geingob also quoted from the Book of Psalms in his inaugural speech, saying ”this is the day the Lord has made. Let’s rejoice and be glad in it.”
What strikes me in these two scriptures is that indeed President Hage Geingob is the new one chosen to take us beyond the silver jubilee for the next 25 years, so that eventually, we can reach the biblical jubilee.
Celebrating 25 years of freedom brought new hope, unity and patriotism to us as Namibians. The inauguration further helped to kindle that fire. The celebration ceremony itself was huge and everyone involved brought only their best from the Military and Aviation to the Marines and the entertainment.
I think for the first time I was really proud of my country as I now saw the significance of celebrating 25 years of freedom and democracy and why it is such a big deal. I am not just proud of being a Namibian but I am also proud of my leaders that fought so hard to obtain this freedom that we take for granted at times. Often the younger generation do not realise what they had to go through to give us our freedom. And this is not just for us but for the future generation as well. The 25th celebrations made me realise that Namibians’ spirits have been revived by the “chosen one”, President Geingob, as he is now the torch and symbol of hope and of change that is to come in our land. The day was blessed indeed as it rained while he was being sworn in which in my opinion is a clear sign from God that he has blessed the leader but also the land of the brave. The independence celebration on its own after the inauguration was a spectacular affair that topped all other independence celebrations. The entertainment was spectacular and what made me gasp was that it was our own, nothing was borrowed or copied. It was an original master piece of Namibian entertainment provided by our own artists and I loved the fact that we embraced our diverse cultures, unashamed of it.
Namibia really went all out with this celebration to show to the world how much we cherish our life. The more I think of it, the more I realise we really are living in bliss as we are a peaceful nation even during elections. Despite all the skepticism surrounding the EVM’s, we had peaceful elections and what makes me even more proud is the fact that we were the first African country to try it out without any problems.
What moves me is the realisation that Namibians have such potential. We as a nation have become a force to be reckoned with. As a nation we are getting recognition on an international and global scale. What makes me sad sometimes is that it takes certain events to make us realize our potential given that we are prone to underestimate our own achievements. There is a lot that has been achieved over these 25 years, foremost of which is our democracy that has grown in depth and has stood the test of time. And it is still working.
Of course I am not saying that it is perfect. There is still a lot to be done until all Namibians have access to proper homes, education, health, sanitation and mobility. Then we still have to continue spending our energies on unemployment and the itchy land issue, both of which in my mind entrench the perpetuation of inequality. I would want us to strive to have more riches than poverty.
“All of us must play our part in the success of this beautiful house we call Namibia. We need to renew it from time to time by undergoing renovations and extensions. Let us stand together in building this new Namibian house in which no Namibian will feel left out. Forward ever, backward never,” the incumbent President said in the last part of his speech. Talk about hitting the nail on the head. What a statement coming from a Head of State. Mind you, that was just the beginning.