Much Ado About Nothing

SHAKESPEARE’s famous play, ‘Much ado about nothing’ set in the period of 1600 AD, implies that we often have a tendency to make a great fuss (“much ado”) about things that are insignificant (“nothings”), such as the unfounded claims made at the time about the leading female character’s (Hero’s) infidelity.

Much of the action in the play revolves around the interest of some characters in Hero and criticism levelled against her in the form of anonymous written messages, spying, and eavesdropping to arouse suspicions in her entourage about her loyalty. You will agree with me that there is nothing wrong with any man taking interest in a beautiful woman! By the same token you will agree with me that some men do not take it kindly when their advances are either ignored or flatly rejected and express their obsession with the woman in other unpleasant ways, such as the orchestrated infidelity of the female character in Shakespeare’s play.There is a parallel between the unfounded claims of infidelity made by Hero’s critiques in Shakespeare’s play and the equally unfounded claims made recently by Phil ya Naholoh against the founding President of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, and other leaders of Swapo.We know on the one hand, that whatever the original spat that might have resulted in the animosity between Swapo and Phil ya Nangoloh, it has resulted in a lifelong obsession of the latter to propagate without apology by hook or by crook anything true or false that discredits the ruling party and its leadership.Just like the case of some men not accepting that a woman ignores or refuses their advances and then embarking on a senseless revenge campaign of poor taste, it is a fact that Phil ya Nangoloh was or is irked by the lack of attention Swapo or has or is giving him, hence his obsession to get that attention.We know that no nationalist liberation movement in the history of southern Africa was ever supported by the CIA, because of the bipolar cold war reality that the CIA and the US defended oppressive dictatorial colonial regimes and the Soviet Union, the non-aligned movement and democratic Europe defended anti-colonial independent movements; The apartheid regime leaders such as Malan, quoted as credible sources by Phil ya Nangoloh, waged a state funded disinformation campaign during the sixties, the seventies and the eighties to discredit leaders of South African and Namibian liberation movements.This is available through public records of the Desmond Tutu Peace and Reconciliation Commission, where former apartheid regime security operatives voluntarily confess that they were paid to deliberately plan and distribute such “nothings”.It should therefore not be a matter of surprise when Mr Phil ya Naholoh appears periodically with more and more spectacular hallucinations about Swapo and its leadership, especially when he naively accredits his hallucinations to “credible” information gleaned from the records of the rulers of apartheid South Africa.What is surprising is that men and women of good conscience are again and again caught off guard and fooled by skilful hallucinators of all types in our midst who master the art of discrediting democratic governments in the name of democracy.People who discredit churches in the name of religion.People who justify hatred against anyone they don’t like in the name of freedom of speech.The biggest tragedy is that men and women of good conscience fall prey to trapping their own and the nation’s thought energies and time efforts on nothings and thus make the many real things that are calling for our attention orphans of neglect.Andreas Guibeb Via e-mail Note: This letter has been shortened – EdYou will agree with me that there is nothing wrong with any man taking interest in a beautiful woman! By the same token you will agree with me that some men do not take it kindly when their advances are either ignored or flatly rejected and express their obsession with the woman in other unpleasant ways, such as the orchestrated infidelity of the female character in Shakespeare’s play.There is a parallel between the unfounded claims of infidelity made by Hero’s critiques in Shakespeare’s play and the equally unfounded claims made recently by Phil ya Naholoh against the founding President of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, and other leaders of Swapo.We know on the one hand, that whatever the original spat that might have resulted in the animosity between Swapo and Phil ya Nangoloh, it has resulted in a lifelong obsession of the latter to propagate without apology by hook or by crook anything true or false that discredits the ruling party and its leadership.Just like the case of some men not accepting that a woman ignores or refuses their advances and then embarking on a senseless revenge campaign of poor taste, it is a fact that Phil ya Nangoloh was or is irked by the lack of attention Swapo or has or is giving him, hence his obsession to get that attention.We know that no nationalist liberation movement in the history of southern Africa was ever supported by the CIA, because of the bipolar cold war reality that the CIA and the US defended oppressive dictatorial colonial regimes and the Soviet Union, the non-aligned movement and democratic Europe defended anti-colonial independent movements; The apartheid regime leaders such as Malan, quoted as credible sources by Phil ya Nangoloh, waged a state funded disinformation campaign during the sixties, the seventies and the eighties to discredit leaders of South African and Namibian liberation movements.This is available through public records of the Desmond Tutu Peace and Reconciliation Commission, where former apartheid regime security operatives voluntarily confess that they were paid to deliberately plan and distribute such “nothings”.It should therefore not be a matter of surprise when Mr Phil ya Naholoh appears periodically with more and more spectacular hallucinations about Swapo and its leadership, especially when he naively accredits his hallucinations to “credible” information gleaned from the records of the rulers of apartheid South Africa.What is surprising is that men and women of good conscience are again and again caught off guard and fooled by skilful hallucinators of all types in our midst who master the art of discrediting democratic governments in the name of democracy.People who discredit churches in the name of religion.People who justify hatred against anyone they don’t like in the name of freedom of speech.The biggest tragedy is that men and women of good conscience fall prey to trapping their own and the nation’s thought energies and time efforts on nothings and thus make the many real things that are calling for our attention orphans of neglect.Andreas Guibeb Via e-mail Note: This letter has been shortened – Ed