Madam,
I’ve been writing articles (including posts on social media) for as long as I can recall (2017, if I remember correctly). Le field le – I must be candid and forthright – ayibhadali what writers deserve in this country. I’ve continued writing in spite of the urge to call it a day, partly because of my loyalty to the readership base I’ve accumulated over the years. Kuyabita, kubhala, especially without being adequately remunerated.
I’ve called the love of writing a passion. It is a calling. For me, it was a childhood passion. A divinely ordained purpose on this Earth. Whenever I want to quit, I always think about letigebengu kule live leticabanga kutsi corruption is what develops a country; people who also erroneously think that they own even the air we breathe. If there aren’t people like writers who will write about and condemn their shenanigans, what would be the situation in the country if we quit?
I feel bad that the younger generation is very lazy to read, and read in order to improve their spoken and written English. To be a writer, one needs to read and practice writing. Read and read, practice continuously. Read and read until reading becomes part of your DNA. We write for a diverse audience – local and international and whatever you write must evoke, trigger interest, human interest; it must be thoroughly researched and the grammar, context and content flow must be near-flawless. There’s no room for bo grammatical errors such as bo ‘Mananger’, ‘Mananging’ Director; bo ‘he did it why can’t I did it’; and bo ‘expecially’.
We took over from legends like the late Times of Swaziland journalist James Dlamini, the late Times of Swaziland Editor Vusi Ginindza, the late Swazi Observer Editor Thulani Thwala, etc. Who can forget currently living legends like the former Swazi Observer Editor Vusi Sibisi (wherever he is, u Sibisi my role model, I wish him well); who can forget my nephew, the legendary Nation Magazine Editor Bheki Makhubu, who is still writing and telling it like it is without fear or favour?; bo Martin Dlamini, the veteran Times of Eswatini Managing Director; the Nation Magazine’s Nimrod Mabuza, Mongi Zulu, Joseph Zulu, Times of Eswatini Managing Editor Thobeka Manyathela, journalist Mfanukhona Nkambule and many, many others.
These legendary scribes inspired some of us and even though they were (and are) cut from a very different cloth – the best – we tried and continue to try our best to keep alive and maintain their legacies.
Sekaya ncipha ema authentic writers. Some of the young are too lazy to read. It’s worse now with the advent of new technology such as artificial intelligence. There’s also too much propaganda, slander, etc., these days from some of the present-day writers and publications. The passion is no longer or is rarely there.
I encourage whoever wants to emulate the above-mentioned legends to – READ, WRITE READ, WRITE, READ AND READ, WRITE AND WRITE. During my formative years, I read (and continue to read) novels written by great novelists like bo James Hadley Chase, Robert Ludlum, etc. Such impeccable writers improve one’s vocabulary, grammar, content flow, acumen, etc. You also need to research and read international publications in order to widen or expand your knowledge of international news.
My plea? Please, let writing not die a forced death.
To the young generation: Do not surrender your creativity entirely to artificial intelligence. Use AI as a tool, not as a substitute for your own mind, imagination and voice. You possess something no machine can truly replace – your natural human ability to think, feel, question and tell your story in your own words.
Let technology assist your writing, but never let it silence your voice. Angitsetsi, but this is the brutal truth.
Alex Nxumalo
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