Scotland independence dream deferred after referendum defeat

Nairobi, Kenya: The recent Scottish independence referendum was defeated by a narrow margin and had a record-breaking 85% turn-out rate.

What is truly remarkable about the referendum is how close the United Kingdom came to disintegrating. This frightening prospect has shaken to the core the British governing elite in London. For they are aware that, had Scotland voted for independence, the political and socio-economic repercussions would have been of a seismic proportions.

They are equally conscious of the danger that the Scottish question is not adequately resolved, a more virulent form of separatism would emerge not just in Scotland but in other ethno-regions such as Wales. The relevance of Scottish devolution to our own nascent devolution process is clear, yet we have read precious little about it in our Kenyan newspapers in spite of having a number of prominent columnists who are British academics.

To digress a little: With more than 50 years of independence, these foreign-based “Kenya Specialists” regularly analysing our politics, economy and culture from a far-away continent when Kenya has one of the best-educated citizenry is in itself a worthy topic for analysis. Perhaps we need to reflect more on Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s thesis on decolonizing our minds?

Back to Scottish independence: Many Kenyans may be unaware that ethnic politics and a 300-year historical grievance about exclusion and marginalization of the Scots by the English ruling elite are at the heart of the near-cataclysmic referendum. You mean such “tabia mbaya” also exists in Britain, some will be asking? Yes, they do have their own very British brand of tribalism. We Kenyans have certainly learned from the very best! A very brief historical overview of ethnic relations in Britain is in order. After many battles to maintain its independence from England, as dramatized in the 1995 historical Hollywood movie Braveheart, Scotland was incorporated into United Kingdom in 1707. The country’s other ethno-regions are England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The latter’s own attempts to break away in order to join their fellow Irish in the neighbouring Republic of Ireland led to a bitter and protracted civil war between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the loyalist Ulster Unionists. But in a nutshell, the reality of ethnic relations in Britain has for centuries been characterized by the sheer economic and cultural dominance of the Scots, Irish and Welsh by the English.

In order to maintain their sense of ethnic superiority, the English constructed ethnic stereotypes to depict the other communities as lacking in the kind of character and cultural refinement befitting those born to rule. Thus, the Scots were portrayed as morally austere and tightfisted (think Uncle Scrooge), the Irish as beer-swigging simpletons (think Murphy’s Law), and the Welsh as poverty-stricken coalminers. The latter’s saving grace, their hauntingly beautiful choir music counted for little in the stiff upper-lipped English society where showing little emotion was and still is considered a virtue. This strategy of ethnic stereotyping was later to be used with devastating effect in the British empire to divide and rule its subjects in colonies such as Kenya. It is then that the seeds of our deeply entrenched tribalism were sown and over 100 years later, it is clear we learned well from our colonizers.

The Westminster spin-doctors have similarly used another colonial-era campaign strategy to defeat their Scottish pro-independence opponents. This is the very effective use of the media as a propaganda tool for scaremongering. In a nutshell, the clear doom and gloom message targeting pro-independence advocates recently in Scotland and in Kenya over 50 years ago has been: “You can’t make it on your own!” The fact that Scotland produces more than 90% of the country’s oil has been distorted and turned into another scary message: “The oil is running out!” The equally important question of how a small crowded island would survive without Scotland’s North Sea oil has been rarely debated in the unabashedly partisan British media. Happily, Kenyans paid no heed to these voices of doom and instead continued agitating for their independence. But what is little known is that much of the credit for the decolonization process goes to two politicians of Scottish descent: former British Prime Minister Macmillan and Secretary of State for the Colonies Macleod. It has been argued that their willingness to free the colonies of British rule was in part motivated by their empathy as Scots for the underdogs.

But alas, the spin-doctors appear to have won in the Scottish referendum particularly after panic-stricken British political leaders literally scrambled to Scotland in recent days following an alarming opinion poll placing the Yes campaign in the lead. Prime Minister Cameron pleaded emotionally (well, with as much emotion as an Englishman can muster!), “I will be heartbroken if you leave! Listening to his speech, I was reminded (on a lighter note) of the touching lyrics in the song “Stay With Me” by fellow Englishman Sam Smith: “Oh, won’t you stay with me? Cause you’re all I need. This ain’t love, it’s clear to see [okay, we all know it’s about oil and gas!] but darling, stay with me.” Experts had warned that investors had pulled out over 17 billion Pounds from the British economy and that a Scottish independence vote could result in a new Great Depression. In an attempt to appease the simmering separatism espoused by nearly half of Scotland’s electorate, the Prime Minister has in his post-referendum victory speech, promised to devolve more powers to the Scottish parliament.

But what are the similarities between the politics of British and Kenyan devolution processes and what can we learn from the near-miss disintegration of Britain as a country? Again, a lesson from history: In reaction to rising separatism in Scotland, Prime Minister Tony Blair started the process of devolution in 1997 with the establishment of a Scottish parliament and the granting of powers to control social policies such as health and education. But is seems that after 300 years of a simmering ethnic grievance about marginalization, these semi-autonomous powers came too little too late. And therefore, as an African country embarking on the brave new journey of devolution, let us make sure that it works and more importantly, the end result is a more just and fair society for all ethnic groups. For as our own very erudite Hollywood icon recently reminded the world, “No matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid!”