Substance abuse: the elephant in the kraal

When Education Minister David Namwandi started off his speech in parliament this week by speaking about “the elephant in the kraal”, many MPs were caught off-guard. It forced them to listen attentively as Namwandi described how drugs and alcohol have become a scourge in the country’s schools. He cited the example of one particular classroom in the Khomas Region in which 24 out of the 30 pupils tested positive for drugs. Surely this is only the tip of the iceberg and points to an education system and a nation under attack. Namwandi also emphasised that Namibia is at risk of becoming “a nation of drunkards”. We have heard this before, but for an education minister to say this in the context of our schoolchildren is worrying indeed. What kind of example are we setting as adults - as grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts or older siblings and friends? We cannot divorce ourselves from the responsibility as a community to raise responsible children. Drug and alcohol abuse has the potential to rip our nation to shreds. We don’t have to wait for a politician to tell us that to a large degree this is already happening. We are living with the consequences of this every day. Substance abuse does not consider whether you are from a backwater village or a posh Windhoek suburb. The tears of a mother or father about their child abusing drugs and booze are the same in Katutura and in Ludwigsdorf. Herein lie the seeds of a concerted national approach to this scourge. If Namibians have showed one thing during our fight for freedom, it was that we can all stand together when our backs are against the wall and when we have a common enemy to defeat. Drugs and alcohol are exactly the kind of common enemy that we need to confront together as a nation, because they represent one of the biggest challenges to our collective futures. We need leaders of standing and – excuse the pun – substance to stand up and be counted in this battle. More than that, we need to begin to check our individual behaviour. It is no good that we want to raise sober children, while we ourselves are losing our heads to alcohol and other substances over weekends. In the end, we must become the change we want to see in this land.