Uhuru is not Kenya's problem and neither is Raila the answer

 

In past articles , I have painstakingly tried to paint a picture of what the real problem is with the Kenyan nation. I have shown the problems of us believing in our tribal stereotypes and our butchering of truth at the altar of political expediency. We have sacrificed our minds for propaganda and often, we have been willing to sacrifice each other at the suggestion of our politician of choice.

The truth of the matter is Kenya is ill and the symptoms are plain for all to see. However, we are running around like radar-less chicken trying to give Panadol for cholera. As such we experience brief instances of “painlessness” yet we are hemorrhaging ourselves to near death sans pain.

The painlessness is caused when we all get back to our “normal” lives. Problem is the Kenyan normal is everyone else’s insanity. We practice our hate for each other on a daily, we are angry on our roads, we judge and laugh at each other based on our last name and we prevent marriages based on tribe: 100 years after we accepted Jesus through His missionaries.

Peace-preneurs

Our painkiller soon fades in effectiveness every so often then our symptoms come back: tribal clashes, political crisis, heated debates and calls for inclusivity. We then call for dialogue, cry and beat our chests for peace and call for solemn prayers to a God of love when we hate our neighbours.

We become peace-preneurs and we hold caravans for peace, run advertisements for peace and beg foreign donors to help facilitate peace. Which peace, pray tell, when we never change our hearts, oh what sheep’s clothes we wear! The wolf in every Kenyan is our national disease and this wolf is who we need to address.

As such the problem in Kenya is very simple: we are selfish, that selfishness culminates in tribalism, same selfishness, in leadership, leads to grand corruption. Further we are also short sighted, as a bi-product of the selfish, we only see what our stomach needs, and any scientist will tell you stomachs expand and as such greed never says enough.

Therefore, the problem with our nation is not who is president. It is what manner of character is present in our minds. The fact that up until two years ago parents would pay for their children to pass exams, shows you that our selfishness and blindness caused us to forget that you cannot buy a smart child. No matter what grade is on the paper it can never make up for the empty desert that passes for a mind between their ears.

Same short-sightedness is what leads to grand corruption. We forget that if we build for everyone then even our personal businesses have more people who can afford to access our goods and services.

However, it takes a forward-thinking leader to figure out that policy is more powerful than a quick deal and quick kickback.  The same myopia makes us vote in leaders who have obvious tainted pasts. We have no problem voting them in, because in our eyes if my tribe profits, I profit and if I am ok then Kenya is ok because it is ok for me.

Worse than the ostrich

We are much worse than the ostrich that buries its head in the sand; we are a bunch of drunkards who believe our drunken ideas. We have tasted the opium of mass propaganda turned it to truth and then apply solutions to a problem that we imagined and now believe in. Let me be bold enough to say, Raila is not the solution because the problems he purports to solve do not really exist.

Instead Raila has taken advantage of a very real problem and given us himself as a placebo prescription. Somehow, we are convinced that our very corrupt selves, our very tribal hearts and minds will be healed by Raila. That is the lie and joke of the century. If we look at his inner circle we can obviously tell there has been no history of doing right by the people, whenever they have been in power.

The truth of the matter, if the narrative is followed carefully; is that this is not about IEBC and neither is it about votes cast. It is about maximising on the real issues in Kenya and giving a fake solution. This fake solution must be sustained by a fake problem and a fake venting point. That vent is now the IEBC and the electoral cycle.

Yet we are all aware that what we really want is our tribe to have resources and our kin to occupy high office, because it is about me. This reality is what makes us bitter at the other tribe, making their leader the problem.

Kenya, the problem is us not Uhuru. The solution is not Raila.

So let us stop with all this calls for boycott and IEBC jobs and let us just sit down and talk, not about positions, but about forgiving each other and after that about how a Luo can benefit even if a Kikuyu is in office.

Mr Bichachi is a Communication Consultant ([email protected])