The two tall and talkative teenagers were debating: Mncubunguli and Melusi.
Mncubunguli sighed and said,” I’m not going to be a police detective, unlike what you wish
to become. I’ll be a special detective. Oceans constitute about 71% of the surface of the earth,
and human beings rely on them for the well-being of our atmosphere, our natural world as a source
of food, a fountain of fun, natural resources and as a mode of transportation and communication”.
Melusi chipped in with, “What do you mean you’re not going to be a police detective but a special one?
Your name means investigator, doesn’t it? So just get to the point, mole in the making!” Both chuckled.
Mncubunguli resumed, “I’m going to be a world-shattering and top-notch marine biologist, pouring
myself in and poring over natural systems. I hear the lives of some whales are cloaked in mystery,
and seek to unravel all that, I’ll find out what makes them tick, how they reproduce and give birth.”
Melusi discussed how he would seek to overhaul the education system and make it specific, relevant,
mentally freeing and community-based. “It pains me to hear of people pursuing mirages and titles
in the name of education. It isn’t lost on me that you’re a huge fan of biology, but if you’re going
to be absorbed in some unspecified whales in a landlocked country like ours, where are you going to
study them and how’s that going to help our communities that need specific support and leadership
for their specific natural systems to survive and thrive? Melusi means shepherd, and I’m saying to you:
decolonize your ideas about education and career paths first, before we can discuss and debate further!”
