(By Pius Vilakati, writing as Mr Pius Rinto)
Introduction
Introduction
This
short article is written for all comrades all over the world, but primarily for
comrades of Swaziland. All comrades have a wish to be like other popular
revolutionaries Like Chris Hani, Moses Kotane, Joe Slovo, Fidel Castro,
Vladimir Lenin, and many other “perfect” revolutionaries. Sadly, a good formula
towards that goal has never been tabled for all comrades to follow.
Consequently, they find themselves committing too many mistakes before they can
actually make a revolution in their country or continent. By that time they are
at an old age and consequently go to the grave still having that wish. But
comrades do not need to reach old age before they can be perfect
revolutionaries. Comrades must ensure that they are perfect revolutionaries
before they attain the age of thirty-five.
The
reference to “comrades” is used to refer generally to the different people
engaged in the struggle for freedom in Swaziland and beyond. Even people who
are not members of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), or the
Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC) or the Communist Party of Swaziland
(CPS) have constantly referred to themselves as comrades. We have, for
instance, many comrades who are priests, pastors, reverends, bishops, and so
on, and in NGOs.
Comrades
who do not know what they need to do in order to be on the route towards being
perfect revolutionaries should no longer despair because these easy-to-follow
steps will, within one year, transform an ordinary comrade or member of an
organisation into a revolutionary, and from there be on the progressive route
towards being the perfect revolutionary. For the first time in the history of
the Swaziland struggle, you are presented with the most important ten steps
towards being the perfect revolutionary that you have always wished to be,
right here.
1.
Read and Write
All
revolutionaries must read and write. Reading and writing must always complement
each other. Since you also wish to be a revolutionary you must practice these.
Reading and writing is a practical exercise. In order to get better you must do
it on a daily basis.
Read everything; from news, to opinion
pieces, to mere notices on walls and chart boards. The reading of revolutionary material, such as the
works of Karl Marx, is encouraged. But you may be surprised that even Karl Marx
had to read a lot of capitalist
and oppressive writings in order to critique them. That is why you
should also read everything. Do not be put off by your comrades when they
accuse you of reading capitalist material or of sometimes mingling with
capitalists. It is an important step.
Whilst
you must read the news every day, you must also learn the skill of collecting
news yourself and putting them in writing. This goes a long way in sharpening
your writing skills. When you see the bulky writings of great revolutionaries
like Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Lenin and Mao Zedong, amongst others, it is
easy to be discouraged and see the feat as impossible. But they also started
somewhere.
All
great writers must start by writing a small paragraph in expressing their
opinions. If they do this more regularly, they keep getting better at it and in
no time they find themselves writing thick and classic books. Thus, you should
do the same. Aim to write a short paragraph on any issue on a daily basis, even
if you are not going to publish it. If you do this, you will find that within a
year you have attained the skill of writing a whole book.
2.
Upgrade yourself academically
Many
comrades make the mistake of believing that a perfect revolutionary is one who
has attained qualifications in the field of the Social Sciences in general, and
Political Science in particular. Any field of study will open your mind. So do
not be misled. For instance, a comrade who has studied Agriculture and
practiced in its field will make an invaluable contribution when the agrarian
revolution is being implemented. Even a study in engineering is vital. You do
not necessarily have to attain a Degree or Master’s Degree in any field for you
to be said to have studied. The most important thing is to constantly improve yourself
academically from whatever academic level you are in at that particular period.
Even those with high qualifications such as PHD must seek to improve themselves
academically, and thus open new worlds for themselves (their minds) to explore.
Again
here, as in point 1 above, allow yourself to start small; a three-month
certificate course, a six-month certificate course, and before you know it you
will be attaining your diploma. Keep growing!
3.
Take up leadership positions
Basically,
all comrades, one way or the other, find themselves in organisations. It can be
churches, NGOs, community police, deep tank stations, schools, companies, and
so on. In all these organisations there always comes a time when people must be
elected or appointed into committees. When members have shown confidence in
you, simply take up that position. It shall be easy for members to show
confidence in you, and for you to be able to position yourself well for key
positions, if you have been consistently doing 1 and 2 above. Taking up
leadership positions will enable you to earn priceless leadership experience.
This is something you will not even have to go to college for. You will get it
in the concrete conditions on the ground as you lead.
4.
Contest
power
Revolutionaries
are always engaged in revolutions. Revolutions are not about carefully picking
roses and applying make-up on yourself trying to look good to everyone. At a
certain point you must contest power in the organisations or community you are
part of.
It
does not matter if you lose. Contest power even if you know that you will lose.
What is important is that you should not be alone in such contests. Work with
others with whom you have a common goal.
In the
future democratic Swaziland we will be engaged in election campaigns and other
testing campaigns. Contesting power today will hone your skills in so far as
future campaigns are concerned. Experience the pain of losing, the joy of
winning and the immense challenges that come with winning. When you lose, for
instance, you will learn how to handle a loss, likewise when you win you will
learn how to handle victory.
People
who will tell you that you must never contest power are misleading you. In any
event, political parties are always engaged in contesting state power, and
workers of the world, as the Communist Manifesto famously says, have a world to
win.
5.
Learn to work with others
Individuals
may inspire populations towards a certain direction, but it is populations that
will make revolutions possible. No matter how intelligent an individual can be,
they will in many instances find that they must engage with others and plan
programmes together. Terminators and Rambos can
never wage revolutions. Revolutions
are the festivals of the oppressed, as Lenin stated. No matter how
intelligent the great revolutionaries of the past were, they always found
greater strength in the group. They shared ideas, debated them, agreed and
disagreed on other issues, and so on. A lone-ranger is nowhere close to being a
revolutionary. The so-called “communists” who do not want to affiliate with
Communist Parties are nowhere close to being communists!
Come
to think of it, even people who believe in the existence of a God do not hold
the view that only one “super” being was involved in the creation of the world
or universe. Those who regard ancestors highly also believe that deceased
ancestors work together in order to bring down blessings “from above.”
[ALSO READ: Umntfwana
Longakhali Ufela eSwatini]
6.
Learn about other issues beyond general
politics
If you
immense yourself exclusively on political material you will find that the
society you seek to conscientise has changed drastically and you are still
caught up in 1917. The society you seek to change is constantly engaged in
sports and entertainment, weddings, funerals and so on. If you are not aware of
such issues that happen around you then you may as well forget about being the
perfect revolutionary. Thus, you must always seek to know who the top rugby
player is in a particular era, for instance, or which song is enjoyed widely in
parties and other ceremonies.
If you
do this, you will learn that all of life is connected to politics, all life is
politics and that human beings are political beings by nature. Thus you cannot
separate humanity from all of this. This is why those who continuously proclaim
that “the struggle cannot be Face-booked” are continuously finding themselves
on the wrong side of history.
7.
Open your ears – shut your mouth
When
you have been able to do all the things mentioned above it is easy to fall into
the temptation of thinking that you are a super-revolutionary, that you, and
only you, have answers to all questions raised, and that everyone else is
wrong. This is incorrect and it will lead you to your own destruction. No
matter how much you view other people’s opinons, you must nevertheless learn to
listen to them. How will you correct them if you have not listened thoroughly
to what they say? Through other people’s views you will be able to grow yours
and sharped them. You will also learn that you are not alone in this world. It
will teach you the art of making a revolutionary compromise when debates seem
to be approaching a dead end. Thus, stop talking and start listening.
8.
Question everything
If you
have read all the points made above and yet you have not questioned anything
that has been said, then something is terribly wrong with you. Something is
awfully wrong with you if you also have not questioned the fact that only “ten
steps” are being provided in order to be the perfect revolutionary or the fact
that there are steps in the first place.
Further,
you need to be killed if you have not questioned the above paragraph under this
sub-heading. The point that is being made here is that you must always question
everything. Nothing is always as it seems. We are living in a capitalist world
today, but it has not always been a capitalist world and it will not always be
a capitalist world. Capitalism will fall just like feudalism, slavery and other
past systems also fell. Karl Marx’s favourite motto was doubt
everything, his idea of happiness was to fight, and
his idea of misery was to submit. Follow
this step and in 100 revolutions you wage you shall be victorious.
9.
Get some rest
There
is a popular saying that revolutionaries only rest when they are dead.
Revolutionaries, indeed, must be daily engaged in the struggle. This helps them
to be pro-active in whatever they do. Notwithstanding this, all revolutionaries
must at some point rest. Your mind and body can only function well only up to a
certain limit. Many revolutionaries have no choice but to keep stretching their
minds far beyond the normal or average limits. Try as best as you can to find
some resting time nonetheless. Create a 25th hour for yourself
so that you can use it to rest. When you have reached the stage of being able
to create this 25th hour for yourself, then you will know that
you are closer to being the definition of the perfect revolutionary.
In
this era of smartphones and many other digital gadgets, you should find that it
is well-nigh impossible to get some time to rest and not be disturbed. Switch
off all your gadgets, including your cell-phones, and then take a guilt-free
rest. Taking a rest is as important as working hard.
10. Be imperfect
The
point here is that you should learn that you are an imperfect being. You will
make mistakes in the process, mistakes which you never have to necessarily
apologise for. If you do not think that Karl Marx ever made mistakes then you
need to re-read point number 8 above.
A
revolution is a continuously ongoing process. Friedrich Engels once said, nothing
is stable except instability, nothing is immovable except movement. Thus,
what was true 500 years ago may not necessarily be true today. Society is
constantly developing. Thus, you must acknowledge the fact that you do make
mistakes and are imperfect. You must embrace change, allow yourself to make
mistakes. People who never make mistakes are those who have never done anything
at all. Such people are the greatest mistake of the world.
This
article has “ten steps” towards being a “perfect” revolutionary. “Perfect”
revolutionaries will always find, after a long careful analysis, that they are imperfect.
They will then seek assistance from other people. Even doctors must every now
and then consult other doctors and in many instances will consult nurses and
social workers. They do this because they understand that they are imperfect.
You must also understand this fact.
Lastly,
under this very sub-heading, you must understand that there need not
necessarily be “ten steps” towards being the perfect revolutionary or towards
being anything at all. The author of this article has also demonstrated that he
is also full of imperfections, so much that he even forgot to end this article
with a proper conclusion as he was taught in high school and university. Oh how
imperfect he is! [ALSO READ: International
Criminal Court and al-Bashir: Imagine King Mswati were charged by ICC]
[1] An
Article In Memory of Comrade Alex Langwenya who passed away on
7 October 2014. He was the 1st Secretary General of PUDEMO,
elected in February 2014 PUDEMO Congress.
Great piece of work cde Pius.
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