THEMBA J NKOSI | ‘Puppet’, ‘stooge’: Buthelezi’s critics can spell these words thanks to his fight for education

“Whenever a black child passes matric, it is always a blow against apartheid” — Mangosuthu Buthelezi

During his life and political career, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi opposed every effort to mislead the black child not to prioritise education. He believed in its vital role in speeding up the hour of liberation. He kept emphasising that it is a vital instrument that could be used effectively in opening countless vistas for a black child. This is the stance he took until his last breath and was vilified for opposing every moment which misled the youth in neglecting education.

It is now history that those who called him a “government lackey”, “puppet” and “stooge of the Nationalist government” benefited from his “foolishness” in emphasising the role of education in shaping the society and grooming young people. When it was not fashionable and wise to value the education and qualifications of educational institutions, then derogatorily known as “bush universities” of the self-governing territories and so-called independent states, many heeded his advice about taking education seriously. The likes of ambassador Sibusiso Ndebele, minister Blake Nzimande and chief justice Raymond Zondo, to mention a few, graduated from the University of Zululand. Apart from them, countless droves of black students cut their academic teeth at the University of Zululand, popularly known as uNgoye.

Shenge did not only encourage young people to take education seriously, but it was King Cyprian Bhekuzulu kaSolomon and other traditional leaders in and around Empangeni who made it a point that uNgoye was built and turned into a modern university. In fact, it started from its humble beginnings with asbestos structures. Being persistent in advocating for black education inspired the likes of Percy Qoboza, then editor of World and Weekend newspapers, to approach Buthelezi for help in ensuring their children get registered at Dlangenzwa High School and many educational institutions of learning. During that time the leaders of the Soweto Committee of Ten swallowed their pride and brought their children to KwaZulu to further their studies. The piquancy of the irony is that Dr Nthato Motlana, Percy Qoboza and other academics were forced to ask for assistance from the leader they vilified and accused of “working within the system”.

During his time as the chief minister of the erstwhile KwaZulu government, Buthelezi’s administration was the most underfunded compared to other self-governing territories. This was largely attributed to the two political sins he committed in the eyes of the Nationalist Party. First, he embraced the ANC mission in exile as brothers and sisters in the liberation struggle. He stated publicly that it was the very white oppressors who forced the ANC into exile and imprisoned its leaders. Second, he was a thorn in the flesh of the white rulers. 

The KwaZulu-Natal government was underfunded. To counter this, Buthelezi introduced a rand-for-rand strategy, a campaign where black families, mostly rural communities, would donate money. In addition, his government donated to help these communities build schools. This led to hundreds of schools throughout KwaZulu.

Buthelezi throughout his life carried a political cross for fighting against those who were itching to mislead black children on educational matters. It always obfuscated him why leaders of the ANC, particularly Oliver Tambo as a former teacher, failed to oppose those in his movement when they were advocating for “Liberation now and Education Later”. Buthelezi instead waged a proactive campaign “Education for Liberation”. Through it, he encouraged young people to advance their future through education. He had noticed in many ways how education had shaped them and transmogrified the lives of black liberation fighters. He always reminded them of Robert Mugabe, Nelson Mandela, Robert Sobukwe, Ntsu Mokhetle, Sir Seretse Khama, Joshua Mqabuka Nkomo and Dr Quett Masire — a galaxy of young patriots who later became heads of government in their respective countries.

That is why he took an unpopular path when others misled the youth in ensuring that they became cannon fodders of ignorance, whereas their children pursued education outside the borders of South Africa. His political experience in travelling abroad showed him that the more a country develops, white-collar institutions will have to compete alongside blue-collar ones. This is how the Mangosuthu Technikon (now Mangosuthu University of Technology) came into being. It started from humble beginnings with 15 engineering students. It is a great tribute to the legacy of Buthelezi and a source of inspiration that this contingent of graduates is serving this country and leaving a positive impact in citizens’ lives.

Last year was the 41st anniversary since Mangosuthu University of Technology opened its doors. During his main address on April 3 1982 Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi said: “There is a great need for blacks to acquire technical and academic skills as there is for them to acquire any other ability. It is not going to help to acquire a political ability to destabilise the country to the extent that whites will begin to meet us halfway to avoid bloodshed, if we don’t balance that with a very real ability to walk with whites after they have met us halfway. There is a terrible backlog of expertise we blacks need to accumulate. There is a terrible backlog in the acquisition of technical and information quality.”

For generations to come history will prove that Buthelezi treasured dearly education in transforming the country and chiselling young people to build their country and make a meaningful contribution. Indeed, he was right when he said there can be no true liberation without education.