02 Aug 2017

A human being’s deeds are never forgotten, but gain honour and tribute when they have touched the lives of many in a positive manner.
Mr Andrew Wright is that man.

It was the year 1942 when the renowned English trader and businessman built the twin storage towers which predominately stored maize in Nokaneng.

Mr Wright’s legacy still lives on even today. In an interview, village historian Mr Kilano Seriri, 81, who grew under the guidance of Mr Wright, vividly remembers that he was an idealist and a trendsetter who wanted to carry Nokaneng to civilisation like other parts of the country.

‘‘Mr Wright was the first white trader to reside in Nokaneng at the time.

He realised its fertile land and produced maize in abundance and he decided to be the number one supplier to those residing in Maun, Danega, Tubu and surrounding areas and came up with the idea of building twin storage towers,’’ Mr Seriri said.

That in Mr Seriri’s view was the beginning of a revolution because the towers came in handy.

Just like Joseph saved the children of Egypt from the pangs of hunger by storing grain for future use, Mr Wright sold stored maize during trying times. Mr Seriri remembers that Mr Wright introduced residents to the barter trading system, and that it was embraced by many.

“We had a name for a bag of maize in the ’40s. If I remember correctly, Mr Wright sold 50kg of maize for 1.10 pounds and half of that cost about 7 cents, an amount which seemed fair to everybody,’’ said Mr Seriri.

When one had only one pair of trousers, they would approach Mr Wright for what they called ‘good for,’ a saying that meant buying on credit, he recollected.

In-exchange for a bag of maize, one would get whatever they desired, either a blanket, clothing or a tub of sugar, he said.

The bags of maize, he said, Mr Wright would use to fill up the twin storage towers situated in the heart of the village and sold a quarter in his retail shop.

The preserved maize sustained folks from Maun to as far as Shakawe.

According to Mr Seriri, the reason Mr Wright chose to store and sell maize was because although sorghum was ploughed in profusion, it was not profitable and people preferred maize over sorghum. ‘

‘Mr Wright had it all planned out, he built a milling plant in the area where residents milled their maize and made it into a soft powder to make bogobe jwa mmidi which villagers marvelled.

That is one of the primary reasons residents opted for maize instead of sorghum,’’ he said. Among other businesses, Mr Wright had a butcher in Shakawe where he slaughtered and sold cattle. He also owned a retail shop called Kgaola mojamboro, where one could purchase supplies like tea, sugar and milk.

When new stock was available, Mr Wright hired ‘models’ who were village maidens to parade around the village, showing off clothes. Mr Wright’s sons continued the family businesses and made an empire of their own.

His son, Herry was a lover of game meat. A few kilometres from the village, he cut a tree into half and made a deep hole inside and used it to pound game meat.

The place was and is still called ‘Tika ya ga Herry.’

It is no doubt Mr Wright contributed to the history of Nokaneng and that lives on in the hearts of villagers. ENDS