Stop the hashtag#, come up with an African theme that will be able to address African issues, writes Luvuyo Mtshamba.
Chris Messina, a social technology expert, is credited to have come up with the very first hashtag on Twitter. He first posted the hashtag #barcamp in August 2007. The whole tweet appeared like this.
It all started as a way to voice out opinions on social media (Twitter) and everywhere it was adopted. Here in our lovely country South Africa we had our own hashtags too:
#MustFall
Everything that we seem not to like as South African we will hashtag about it and it gets to the media and everyone seem to listen to it. Here are some examples:
#RhodesMustFall
#ZumaMustFall
#FeesMustFall
#PayBackTheMoney
South Africans I would like to say to all, if we pretend as if these hashtags do not affect us, because some of us live in big houses with spy cameras and we drive nice cars and having good jobs, we will be fooling ourselves. We need to come up now with the positive way to express and voice our own opinion.Stop the hashtag#, come up with an African theme that will be able to address African issues - for Africans How about we say :#HashtagMustFall in Africa?
It’s not African anyway, we can start our own wave as Africans (meaning all colours of the Rainbow, Coloureds, Blacks, Indians, Chinese and Whites) as long as you live in Africa, the lives of poor Africans and their cries affect you, now it’s time for us all to start our own African solutions that are able to address our grievances and I call it: @UBUNTU…….@ub
#FeesMustFall changes to @ubFeesMustFALL
The word is African and it encompasses everything, if you want to address the FeesMustFall, you will not burn institutions (universities/clinics/schools) but you will approach this with ubuntu, as if you are talking to your parent (you do not throw food at your mother because you do not like broccoli) Students are being shot at and buildings vandalised, Ma-Africa this is not the way to approach it now.
#RhodesMustFall changes to @ubRhodesMustFall
#ZumaMustFall changes to @ubZumaMustFall
Mr President Jacob Zuma is probably my father’s age. Young people demand respect - in Africa you address an adult as Tata, Mama, Sisi, Bhuti (the list is endless)- those words are very important in Africa - especially when you are about to engage in a conversation with an elder, you show respect and they will listen to you. I do not like Mr President’s way of ruling the country, yet I must still address him as an elder.
What I am trying to show you Africans is if we keep going to the West for our solutions we will lose our Africanism, the next hashtag I see coming now is #SouthAfricaMustFall.
We need to build this country for our kids and future generations that will live side by side in harmony.I like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, I learn from their philosophy on a daily basis. I think our leaders need to go back to the drawing board and address issues with their hearts not with their minds now.
I thank you and I am a Proud African.
Luvuyo Mtshamba
@ubSONOFSOIL