Have you ever wondered why almost every Kenyan parent is quick to do all they can to ensure their children get a quality education and score the best grades, in KCPE, KCSE and even at tertiary level yet they take little time to educate their children essential aspects of self-management in adulthood?

 Are there young geniuses (read those who scored straight As at school) out there who have graduated from college but failed to settle down as adults? Are there working youths (guys with good jobs or rather well-earning jobs) out there who have fundamentally found it difficult to live as responsible citizens?

 These three questions point to what I would comment on today.I will pick the one on the mature, fair and responsible citizenry.

Kenya is a society of sharp contrasts. Everybody seems to be very busy at whatever they are doing or purport to be doing. Whether being busy makes one effective is a debate for another day.

Turning my attention to the way we raise our children presents a picture full of colors that are not easy to read. We stress, again and again, that our children must score the best grades and probably pursue the best courses (if such courses exist) on campus.

This pursuit has become an end in itself. But are we cognizant of the relationship between academic achievement and success in life generally? Do those students who prove cognitively very proficient end up as successful adults in other aspects of life?

This is not always the case. While scoring the best grades helps one realize their academic dream, this does not always transform into success in life, generally.

 Reality has indicated that most young men and women who are academically very proficient turn out to be adventurous, creative, and even nihilistic.

These young people most of the times lack the requisite knowledge that will help them become successful family men and women, successful businessmen and women, successful leaders at the level of their immediate communities, and responsible national leaders when such opportunities arise.

A quick glance at your neighborhood will tell you what I mean here: how many educated young people, behave maturely, fairly and responsibly? Transform it to the national level: how many elected leaders (especially the so-called educated ones) behave maturely, fairly and responsibly?

 I will cite honorable Aden Duale as an illustration here. Mr. Duale is supposed to be a national leader by virtue of the position he holds as the leader of the majority in the lower house of parliament (which is superior in numbers).

 Honorable Duale purportedly holds a university degree, but how many honest Kenyans would point to Mr. Duale and ask their children to look up to him as a role model? His recent reckless tribalistic utterances in Garissa against the Kamba community reek of arrogance, bigotry, and utter impunity.

 Could he have behaved differently if our education and judicial systems have been different? The reality is that our education system or rather administrators of the curriculum do not emphasize the essence of good citizenry.

All they concentrate on is scoring an A! And since the law in this country has several loopholes politicians such as Duale use to navigate their way around it. It has become virtually impossible to reign in rogue politicians.

The almost-one-week detention of Kuria, Bosire, Waititu, Junet, Ngujiri, Muthama, Mutua, and Jumwa in June last year did nothing to stop Mr. Duale from uttering those unfortunate statements in 2017!

 So what are we supposed to do as a people to ensure the mouths of hawks such as Duale are shut for the sake of national integration?

My suggestion is that we need to think seriously of introducing or reintroducing topics in social ethics that are mandatory (examinable) all the way to form four. This might positively influence our children to embrace coexistence as opposed to what Garissa Township MP is preaching.

Once such have been taught, the next step is to implement Chapter Six of the constitution and bar rogue and selfish politicians such as Mr. Duale from running for elective positions.

 In spite, the fact that he has a university degree, money, and power, the MP behaves like an ignoramus from space! Using political power to say anything that will inflame the population resulting in Dante’s “Inferno”.

All Kenyans, from parents to teachers to religious leaders to the judiciary have a huge role to play here. Allowing demented politicians to chart the way forward for the nation is suicidal!

Everybody needs to act maturely, fairly and responsibly in order for us to coexist as a nation.