By PETER WANYONYI
In 100 days, our brand-spanking new government has aged, and slowly, the difficulties of running a government are dawning on our digital, jubilated pair.
President Uhuru and his wing man, Deputy President Ruto, are running into serious brick walls as they try to implement their campaign promises, while at the same time keeping a modicum of financial prudence.
It is not working because, for some reason, the President and his deputy have not realised that campaign promises are made for campaigns. Savvy politicians promise the earth (and even throw in heaven as well) and pander to their respective bases — ethnic, religious, whatever — during their campaigns. This is normal, for getting votes is tough business.
As soon as a candidate wins the election, though, it is usually time to tack rapidly back to the centre. Some promises are simply untenable. Look, how are you going to spend billions buying laptops for primary school children, when the very children are at home because their teachers are on strike for low pay? The price of one decent laptop can pay the salaries of at least five primary school teachers!
It surely didn’t help matters that Mr Ruto then took to national TV to declare that taxing “middle class people”, such as teachers, even more would help subsidise the national food bill “for poor people” like the average Kenyan in the streets. For a man whose travels are claimed to be costing us Sh100 million a year in jet leases alone, that is a lot of let-them-eat-cake cheek.
In the business of government, humans try everything. One imagines this was the spirit in which President Uhuru tried to get all Nigerian drug-dealers deported from Kenya. Being a new president in a young government, however, he did it by fiat, issuing a directive and getting his immigration bureaucrats to bundle unsuspecting Nigerians onto a hurriedly-leased plane bound for Abuja, Lagos and Kano — in fact, anywhere in Nigeria. Clearly, we should know people.
If there is one country that is ruthless about hitting back when its people are mistreated abroad, it has to be Nigeria. A year ago, Jacob Zuma’s government deported 125 Nigerians — including a senator — for having forged yellow fever vaccination certificates. Shortly afterwards, the Nigerians deported 100 South Africans and began closing down South African business in Lagos and Abuja, including giant supermarkets. South Africa quickly backed down.
Hence, when we, as they called it, “unprocedurally” deported three Nigerians, it led to the detention of Kenya’s immigration personnel, and their leased plane, in Nigeria.
We should have learnt a lesson from Zimbabwe. Two years ago, Comrade Robert Mugabe got tired of hosting so many Nigerians in Zimbawe. He arrested nearly 500 of them and threatened them with jail if they did not leave the country immediately.
Harare’s jails are no picnic, and the brothers from West Africa chose to flee the comforts of Harare’s leafy suburbs for safer places around Africa. Some are said to have rushed for Nairobi’s comforting embrace.
If you need to do something silly and illegal, do it like Zimbabwe would!
