Mau saga cost Ruto opportunity to prove mettle for national leadership

By Otuma Ongalo

As the heavens opened and drenched Mau forest evictees huddled together under porous shelters, I was torn between sympathy and sigh of relief.

The sight of individuals roasting helplessly under the blazing sun and families cooking in the wind was pathetic but a worth sacrifice for the preservation of Mau water tower and humanity.

My heart is neither hollow nor made of stone. I, too, felt for hundreds of individuals who seemed to make an exodus to nowhere and innocent young souls who could not comprehended the genesis of their woes.

I, too, empathised with those who were duped to acquire a piece of Mau legally and those used as pawns in politicians’ selfish battles for supremacy. I understand the pains of deserting a home and leaving crops to choke with weeds or rot in the field.

I saw it all but I cannot let emotions stand stubbornly in the path of bitter reality when it comes to supporting a worthy cause. I do not know of any nation that relies on emotions to overcome pressing issues. That the Mau must be saved at all costs needs no more belabouring.

Sympathy is a virtue but sometimes it can be a folly. When a sickly and weak hyena strays in your homestead, you nurse and nourish it at your own peril. Those against evictions of illegal Mau settlers are courting disaster under the guise of sympathy.

It is in times of crises that heroes and villains emerge. It was during America’s civil war that Abraham Lincoln was catapulted to fame. Winston Churchill would not have ridden on the crest of history without the Second World War. Back in Africa, Nelson Mandela remains foremost global icon because of his tribulations in South Africa’s apartheid regime.

During the post-election violence, our leaders lost an opportunity to display their mettle and it took foreigners to stem anarchy and restore order.

Forget about the recently released draft constitution and the euphoric clamour for the new constitution. The greatest crisis facing our country, our region and the world is the wrath of Mother Nature due to wanton destruction of the environment.

It doesn’t matter whether it is the Prime Minister or the President who will wield Executive powers in future but when Mother Nature rages, the magnitude of the catastrophe is insurmountable.

Mau crisis offers an opportunity to separate the political wheat from chaff. Politicians, it is said, think about the next elections while statesmen and women think about the future generation. And I hasten to add: Politicians think about their ethnic group while statesmen and women think about humanity.

Agriculture Minister William Ruto and his brigade from the Rift Valley emerge as typical politicians in the battle for Mau preservation. In the noble initiative for the common good of the region and posterity, Ruto and company see the persecution of their people and preservation of votes. The people, in their perception, are some Rift Valley residents or members of the Kalenjin community – to be more precise.

Ruto has expressed presidential ambitions. He, therefore, has to extend the horizon of "his people" beyond the Rift Valley. For a man with such high ambitions, the land of his people stretches from Mandera to Malaba and even beyond. He should rise above the politics of rushing to "my people" to whine and flex muscles whenever he cannot withstand the political heat.

In the altercation with Prime Minister Raila Odinga over Mau, Ruto appears more of a tribal chieftain than a man fit for national leadership. In politics there are many battles but on the score of this alone, he emerges as a leader whose vision doesn’t transcend community interests and one unwilling to sacrifice political fortunes at the altar of common good.

That the Government should help to settle Mau evictees is not contestable but never again should they wander towards the hallowed wilderness.

The writer is The Standard’s Senior Editor, Production and Quality

oongalo@standardmedia.co.ke

 

 

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