Editorial: Wisdom borrowed is wisdom earned

One of the greatest advantages a young democracy possesses is the opportunity to learn from the successes and failures of those who came before it. History is a manual on what to emulate from others and what to avoid.

Namibia, at just over three decades old as an independent nation, still enjoys the privilege of choice. We are not condemned to repeat the mistakes that have diminished the promise of many countries blessed with abundant natural and human resources. But that privilege will not last forever. Every generation makes decisions that either strengthen institutions or weaken them, entrench prosperity or perpetuate decline.

Across the continent, cautionary tales abound. Zimbabwe was once regarded as one of Africa's most prosperous economies, boasting an educated population and functioning institutions. Yet years of political intolerance, economic mismanagement and the concentration of power transformed what should have been a regional success story into a country in economic ruins. 

South Africa possesses one of Africa's most diversified economies and some of the continent's strongest constitutional safeguards. Yet organised crime, corruption and state capture have steadily eroded public confidence.

Nigeria, meanwhile, illustrates the tragedy of abundance without broad-based development. For decades, the country has generated immense wealth from oil exports. Yet millions of Nigerians continue to live in poverty.

These countries are vastly different in history, yet they share the common lesson of spiralling decline.

Namibia must sing from a different hymn book. The temptation to personalise power, politicise institutions or treat natural resources as spoils to be distributed among a connected few must be resisted. 

We must also guard against believing that exceptionalism alone will save us. Every nation that later found itself in crisis once believed, at some point, that "it cannot happen here". It can.