Kenyans need real change not false promises

This year, the Game of Thrones folks from one of my favourite fantasy shows raised the bar with a “Hall of Faces” exhibit and a 30-second preview of the new season which gave me hope that Jon Snow lives.

This same hope is what I bet on for better days in future; but let’s cut the chase and if you may please allow me to ask, will this same hope and prayer really change our state of governments as Africans?

I believe as Africans we have so much potential in taking the whole world by storm in matters economy. But then that leads me to ask another question; will we ever?

As a youth living in Africa and being left in the middle of an ocean with no life jacket on, you are more or less synonymous. The life jacket here is a big cushion of dirty monies lying in “your” bank account or your parents’ accounts. We’re being milked dry by our old timer leaders but the best we can do is hope and pray.

Just the other day I read this on somebody’s timeline on twitter, “if voting brings change, do you think they’ll be willing to allow us to do that?” This question bore a lot of weight that it almost brought me to my knees.

But then again I say prayers WON’T help. The truth of the matter here is that we won’t be able to realize change in our governance through voting. Ooooh! But in rare cases it does. Look at Magufuli in Tanzania. That was the power of the ballot box.

Burundian’s tried but look where that has left them, our neighbours Uganda… let me not even get there. I don’t want to be Besigeyed in a black dungeon somewhere. And what about here in my country Kenya? The immense corruption is at its best, I can bet that even an astronaut aboard Apollo space shuttle can have a clear view of it from outer space.

I know by now you’re asking, “what’s my point in all this is?” You see these same leaders go around asking us to “pray” for our nation. But the naked truth is that we are mocking our nation.

Does our nation need prayers or is it in need of change? You don’t pray away bad leadership but rather you get rid of it through action. The youth as of now are a ticking time bomb; you’ve stolen their monies, you recycle old chaps at their expense and the only employer they can speak off is Sportpesa.

The change that is about to descend on our nation can or will maybe be measurable to the Arab Spring.

You don’t call yourself the head of the family if your children don’t respect your decisions. Forcing these decisions won’t make you a Jaime Lannister (the king slayer) but rather it will render you the "Mad King" Aerys Targaryen.

And when that time comes, change will be inevitable. I know I sound a little bit crazy but as Rob Siltanen once said “Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”