NAIROBI: In the Islamic discourse, the Prophet Mohamed used a parable to explain the decay in the society during his era in the advent towards his prophethood.
At the time, the Arabian Peninsula was bedevilled by superstition, idol worship, female infanticide, plundering and general lawlessness.
The Prophet used the parable of a sinking ship. The passengers wanted to fetch water from the sea and the people on the lower deck of the ship decided to drill a hole under the deck to fetch the water. What would happen to the ship, he asked?
Those on the upper deck were the least worried.
This parable has great relevance to life today especially in our society.
The lack of concern by the upper class in the society can be equated to the attitude of the people on the upper deck of the ship in the parable.
In contemporary Kenya, what bedevils our country is almost similar to the times in the Arabian Peninsula when people were corrupt and lacked concern for the less fortunate. In Kenya today, a wealthy person is least likely to go to jail for any crime.
A rich person can and might easily get away with any crime.
The poor in the society do not access quality healthcare or credit facilities.
The rich, on the other hand, have access to employment, good hospitals and can secure any contract since they have the connections.
In essence, this is similar to what Karl Marx, the author of “The Communist Manifesto”, has written about the haves and the have-nots.
The danger of having such a society in the long run is similar to the consequences in the parable of the sinking ship. This dichotomy is also applicable to the relationship between our leaders and their subjects. It is as if the leaders are overseeing a moral, social and political collapse.
Are the symptoms of social ills we are witnessing in the contemporary Kenya as a result of the “failed leadership” in the words of Mrs Hilary Clinton referring to failure by Nigerian leaders to resolve the ills facing the oil-rich West African nation.
It is easy to throw up one’s hands in resignation.
This general state of apathy can be witnessed in almost every sphere of our lives. We are witnessing lawlessness in the mainly Northern half of Kenya, be it as a result of attacks from Al-Shabaab militants or innocent people being killed by cattle rustlers in places like Kapedo in the North Rift.
Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter
The problems of insecurity can largely be attributed to the inequalities within society.
When a small part of the society enjoys unlimited resources to the exclusion of the poor majority, the imbalance within the society will no doubt lead the process of anti-thesis wherein unseen forces will bring about a levelling mechanism.
This process of anti-thesis is a natural mechanism that happens whenever the relative calm of the accepted norm is interrupted by forces from within to bring about social change.
The promulgation of the 2010 Constitution was supposed to correct the social economic challenges we experience.
Unfortunately, even though the process of the formulation of that Constitution was partly participatory, the framework and the ideals in it were seemingly based on the mindset of an elite hell-bent on looking after its interests.
Where the Constitution fails to satisfy the interest of the upper class, a change is instigated or if that fails, a total disregard of such a clause has become the rule rather than the exception.
Even the devolution of power and resources has not really solved the main issues that cause the imbalance.
Of course, investment in infrastructure has helped in reversing many years of neglect in a number of counties but still, the poverty index appears not to have changed much.
A recent survey by a polling agency indicated that many Kenyans feel worse off, not better off, in spite of the new way of governance.
The ills within our society can mainly be addressed by proper and wise leadership.
Good leaders plan for the future. It is that lack of a masterplan and fidelity to one that is to blame for the chaotic leadership.
Most leaders (I am one of them) in our country are not organised even in how they plan their work. Hardly do they arrive on time for meetings, some don’t show up altogether, neither do they apologise when they are wrong.
They don’t keep promises.
It is this inability to structure and organise oneself that is to blame for failure in our society.
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join