Education is undoubtedly the first force that transforms a people. It shapes perspectives, sharpens judgment, and allows societies to step back from tension. Alongside it stands history, which must be taught with care, because a people that forgets where it comes from often ends up fighting the wrong battles. When an educational system is weak or insufficient, it should not be surprising to see irrational or violent behavior emerge, whether here or elsewhere. What is happening today in South Africa is a troubling illustration of this reality. Part of the population, along with some of its leaders, seems to act without the necessary depth of reflection. Instead of questioning the deeper mechanisms that enabled the looting of wealth and the persistence of inequality, anger is redirected toward the most vulnerable. Africans from other countries, often surviving through small jobs, become easy targets. This reversal of responsibility raises serious concerns and reveals a deeper malaise. I recently spoke with my sister Edwige, on vacation in this country right now. Her account was striking. She described an almost unreal contrast between wealth and poverty. On one side, modern neighborhoods that resemble major Western cities. On the other, visible and persistent hardship. She also spoke of an extremely wealthy minority, often white, contrasted with a largely struggling Black majority. This imbalance feeds understandable frustration, but that frustration seems to be misdirected.Black South Africans and their leaders show a great deal of ignorance in the way they act. Instead of turning toward those who have come to plunder their country or appropriate its wealth for years, they turn against poorer Black people, often confined to small jobs.
What stands out most is the sense of a lack of direction, as if thoughtful analysis has given way to instinctive reactions. This is not a matter of intelligence, but rather of structure and guidance. When education fails to fulfill its role, social tensions find more brutal outlets. And we then witness scenes that might have been avoided with greater collective awareness. In this context, the dream of Pan-Africanism also appears fragile. Figures such as Kwame Nkrumah and Thomas Sankara carried the hope of a united Africa, aware of its strength and bound by solidarity. Yet today’s reality shows how difficult that vision is to achieve. When Africans begin to see one another with suspicion or hostility, when internal divisions take precedence, that dream drifts further away. Not because it is impossible, but because it requires strong foundations, and those foundations begin with education, historical awareness, and genuine political will. Traveling and observing other societies often brings clarity. One begins to understand that every people evolves at its own pace, with its strengths and weaknesses. Yet one constant remains. Where education is strong, crises may still exist but are better managed. Where it is weak, those crises become harsher, often unjust. What is unfolding today is therefore not just a local issue. It is a reminder for the entire continent. A call to invest in collective intelligence, in knowledge, in the ability to think before reacting. Without this, the same mistakes will continue to repeat themselves, again and again.
