The City Names New Highway: “Kabelo Binns Avenue”

Besides death and paying taxes, there is one thing that is for sure: we only have one life; and in that life we have only so much time to leave our mark. Abraham Lincoln once said, “And in the end it’s not the years in your life that count; it’s the life in your years.” Simply put, life is meant for living and leaving that indelible mark on this place we call Earth. Sadly, too many go through life waiting for that next big thing, hoping and praying for great things to happen. Too many never get off the proverbial couch.

Where am I going with this line of thinking? Allow me to share a revelation I had this morning on my daily commute to work. My mind tends to wonder a lot during these morning drives. The rambling radio personalities talking about things that most are not qualified to comment on typically get me started. For instance, the health debate over the burning question of whether to vaccinate or not?... When the host of the show said they won’t vaccinate because they “don’t believe in vaccines,” it sent my mind somewhere else… “Idiot!!! How do you think polio has been eradicated across the world?” (that was my inside voice screaming!)

. Anyway, so there my mind started to wander and, during its sojourn, I noticed the street names in Tlokweng. I had not noticed them before on the route that I take every day. Strange how signage can become a blur even when it is right in front of us. For instance, how many of you know the name of the street you live on?... I digress, let us get back to my early morning drive. As I read the street names, I started to wonder: who comes up with these names? Who decides what each street will be called? And why are some streets named after minerals like Cobalt Street and others after animals like Zebra Way? What does seem pretty obvious is that naming a road after anything or anyone signifies a high reverence to the named object or individual. Khama Crescent, Nelson Mandela Drive, Haile Selassie Way, Martin Luther King and so forth; I am sure your mind is now racing to recall other names…

And then suddenly, BANG! There was a name I knew personally; someone I knew deserved to have his name on a street. Someone who many in Botswana will look at and agree entirely that this name should be found in many cities, towns and villages across Botswana for the impact he had. The name of the street I was reading was “Louis Nchindo Road”, in Tlokweng, his adopted home village. My only displeasure at seeing this sign was that it took over a decade after he died for this street to get his name.

. For those that may have forgotten, Louis Nchindo was Botswana’s very own fire brand entrepreneur, whose name was synonymous with the big topics of the day. He was fondly referred to as LGN, and his booming laughter was a common feature at any function worth attending. His dream of utilising Debswana’s Human Resource capacity to drive diversity in Botswana saw the creation of the now closed Masedi Farms - the largest Botswana-owned and run agricultural project at that time (possibly today still). The techniques of planting in the heavy clay soils of Pandamatenga is called “Zero Till” which was first introduced by Masedi nearly two decades ago. LGN sent Batswana all over the world to figure out how to make the Pandamatenga floodplains the commercial powerhouse they are today. Today, the grains produced in this area are as good as anywhere else in the world, and in fact are highly sought after across the region.

Before CEDA and LEA were conceived, LGN was instrumental in the establishment of an empowerment scheme called Peo. Here, young Batswana could receive entrepreneurial guidance, funding and continued support from the Peo Project. Organisations such as the Sunday Standard were birthed by this project, as were many others that continue to run today.

. LGN was a true believer in the possibility of Batswana rising beyond the dependency of our diamond economic stability. He dreamt of a Botswana that leveraged the success from diamonds towards Botswana’s economic diversity. To prove this point, one might recall a speech LGN made in 1998 at the BOCCIM Trade Fair … “If Botswana is to sustain its economic developments, then it must invest in its own citizens. A parent who neglects his own children and devotes his attention and love on those of his neighbours because they appear to be more gifted than his own is foolish.” The political rhetoric we hear today about diversity in Botswana is not new. It is, however, encouraging to see that finally a sense of urgency to achieve diversity is taking hold, we now see the LGN dream starting to unfold.

This is not, however, the place to write the story of this great man. That will be done another day. The quiet street of Louis Nchindo in Tlokweng helped remind me of the man and his deeds. It has now got me wondering what it is I do for society? Will I have a street named after me when I leave this world? Will I make such an impact on my community, that decades later, writers are quoting my words? This, I believe, is a question all people, particulary those in influential roles, should be asking themselves every day.

. I conclude that the objective is not to just live your life, but rather to live your life with the intention of making a difference to all those around you. That by doing this we will live in a world where the streets all have great names of great people. People that have made our world a little better for the next generation. To achieve this, we must all dream big, and aspire to bigger and better lives for ourselves and those around us. We must do big things that will lift the ocean and with the rising ocean will be the boats that rise too.

We should all live our lives with the single ambition of having a street named after us. Do the things that people will want to remember you for, well after you are gone. Following this line of thinking, maybe we should dream even bigger and aspire for our names to name majestic Avenues of the future, not just the side-streets! Thus, I suggest you look out for Kabelo Binns Avenue in years to come!

What are you doing to get your name on a street?

The City Names New Highway: “Kabelo Binns Avenue”

Kabelo Binns

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