Opinion: Why a Raila Odinga presidency is welcome

Donald J Trump, the man who lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by almost 3 million ballots, is not only the freshly minted Leader of the Free World but also the King of Petty.

He had a prime opportunity to be conciliatory – humility would be asking too much of the petulant billionaire – when he gave his inaugural address but instead he chose to turn the stately event into a glorified campaign rally.

In typical Trump style, he rubbished the achievements of well, every President before him, saying that all their efforts had resulted in an “American carnage” that only he and his team were qualified to tackle.

The new President promised to give power back to the people, saying that the era of empty talk was over and the hour of action had come. He wasn’t kidding. On the day of his inauguration, he signed an executive order that activated plans to dismantle Obamacare.

Before that, he had issued other orders to recall all American diplomats appointed by President Obama, and insisted that they would have to leave their posts by Inauguration Day.

By the time he was leaving the inauguration ceremony, all references to Obamacare and civil rights had been deleted from the official White House website.

This, by a government whose leader had just promised to take the power from Washington D.C and give it back to the American people! How he intends to do that without a clear focus on universal healthcare, and the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality remains to be seen.

His underlying message, on Inauguration Day and for the duration of his divisive campaign, was that President Obama had failed and failed ‘bigly’. Never mind that when Obama took office he inherited a mess of George W Bush proportions. The fact that he managed to keep his head above water for eight years is a testament in itself.

He must also be commended for going high every time his opponents went low, because taking the high ground is a concept the new resident of the White House seems woefully unfamiliar with.

But his failures and successes notwithstanding, history will remember Obama for one central achievement: he was the first self-identifying African-American to ascend to the highest office in the land and he gave the United States its first African-American first lady.

Together, they have set the bar for every President and First Lady to come and they have set that bar high. With his historic election, which he followed up with eight years devoid of personal scandal, Barrack Hussein Obama has broken the mould.

Now every American, regardless of race, colour or creed can follow his lead to the highest echelons of leadership. His rise to the presidency opened a door that will not be easily shut.

That a foul-mouthed, deeply divisive Washington outsider, and his immigrant wife, now find themselves running the affairs of the “greatest nation on earth” is only testament to the fact that every American’s dreams are valid. And lest he forgets it, Trump has Obama to thank for that.

In the same vein, the Jubilee administration owes a debt of gratitude to the Grand Coalition Government, of which former premier Raila Odinga was a part.

Many of the projects that this administration sings about have their roots in the Kibaki/Raila government, including the infamous Standard Gauge Railway and the upgrading of the national road network. Unlike Obama, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto inherited a country that was generally in good condition. The foundation they found themselves on was above average – even if we were to use a Matiang’i mark sheet – and they had every opportunity to build on that. Depending on who you ask, they have either passed with flying colours or failed flat. But that is beside the point.

Their failures and successes notwithstanding, history will remember Kenyatta the Second and William the First for one central fact: that they came from the two communities that have ruled Kenya since our independence 53 years ago.

And this is why a Raila presidency is necessary: It will break the mould. Every Kenyan, regardless of tribe, will have the opportunity to follow his lead to the highest echelons of leadership. His rise to the presidency will open a door that will not be easily shut.

I say this knowing that it doesn’t have to be Raila. It can be anyone with the courage, conviction and qualifications to go for the top spot.

All we need to do as a country is to tick the box labelled ‘other’ and with that, many of the ghosts that have haunted us since our national flag was hoisted atop Mt Kenya will rest.

Every Kenyan born since then has only ever known two shades of leadership – even taking into account the Kibaki and Raila years – and the time is nigh to validate the dreams of a nation, to show the people that power can be shared by every man and every woman.

That Kenyans from every walk of life, from every tribe and community, can espouse the values of a united nation, and do so within the hallowed precincts of the Presidency.