Mogomotsi Moloi
2 April 2008
Three famous Kwaito musicians from Petla's Tavern stable and popular Gabs' FM sports presenter Comfort 'Exotic' Ramatebele have encouraged students to take their education seriously and avoid life-threatening drugs.
Thabo 'Mapetla' Ntirang, Tlhotlhomiso 'Skazo' Maruping, Pule 'P-Mag' Magashula and Ramatebele advised students to stay focused on their primary objective of learning and desist from mischief.
They were speaking during a motivational presentation at Sir Seretse Khama Memorial Community Junior Secondary School organised for Form Three students. The programme, dubbed "Big Fish Smart Student Campaign", is a new initiative by Ramatebele to sensitise students about the relationship between psychosocial and academic development.
P-Mag, who took the floor first, amid ululations from the packed hall, discussed at length the importance of education and the dangers of drug abuse. He related how education has played a big role in his success as a musician. A former Botswana Accountancy College (BAC) student, P-Mag said if he had not been serious about his education, he could have failed in his music career. "As a child you have dreams, but for those dreams to turn into a reality, you must be educated," said the artiste of the Phusha Sama hit fame.
He stated that illiterate musicians do not usually succeed because they lack the necessary technical know-how to sign and understand contracts or do anything that requires intellectual activity. He asserted that it is good to be thoroughly educated in order to make wise decisions in life. He also urged students not to vandalise school property. "The same property that you are vandalising is the same property that your little brother or sister will come and use in future. So, imagine if there were no windows in the classroom and it is winter," said P-Mag, who was not ashamed to narrate his previous ordeal after being accused of assaulting teenagers last year. He said that nearly jeopardised his career.
The dreadlocked Mapetla reiterated that education is the key to success. Like his fellow music stable mate, Mapetla dismissed the misconception that musicians were dull individuals. "You need education to support your career.
"Music is good but you must have something that you can always fall back on should your musical career collapse," he advised students. Mapetla told female students to avoid "sugar daddies" as they are out to destroy young girls' lives. Skazo lamented that he only ended at Form Two because of peer pressure and advised Sir Seretse Khama Memorial School students to study hard and achieve greater things academically.
The musician revealed that the music industry is so challenging and stressful (that) one has to be well educated to survive. He told students to wisely use the chance while they still have it. Students seemed to like what the celebrities told them and promised to heed the advice.
The man himself, Ramatebele, said children have a tendency of ignoring their teachers' wise counsel. But every successful person in the world is a product of a teacher, he said. "Life has two sides. It's either you pass or fail. You should strategically position yourself in such a way that you would be favoured by the results," said Ramatebele, who is a born poet. In an interview, he indicated that he decided to embark on this ambitious campaign after realising that academic schedules do not give children a chance to know about the realities of life. He believes students are at the prime stage of life and should be taught about practical issues that will affect them later in life. He intends to use various celebrities in this exercise because "they wield much influence" in society.
Ramatebele, who is also known as the Big Fish, plans to mobilise sponsors for the campaign so that it covers the whole country. Though they would not comment, two First National Bank Botswana (FNBB) officials observed the presentation and were visibly impressed.
Lilly Mokhupuki, a teacher at Sir Seretse Khama, hailed Ramatebele for launching such an informative campaign. "I am really impressed by this initiative. Children get motivated and hopefully his campaign will yield the desired results," she said.
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