The Kenyan Constitution may be our only hope

‘The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else’. These were the words of Chinua Achebe, the Guru of Africa’s written literature.

Similar sentiments can be made of Kenya too. I would prefer to look at these failures through the eyes of our Constitution. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 is probably the most visionary document published in Kenya since independence. One needs to study it in its totality to understand how useful it is. But I can bet most Kenyans have never read, let alone understand the supreme law of the land.

There is a parallel semblance between our constitution and how affairs of spirituality are conducted. In churches and mosques and I believe the Hindu religion is not any different, their constitution is either the Bible, the Quran or the Bhagavada Geeta. These world religions are guided by these holy books that basically dictate how people conduct their social and sometime their political affairs. Adherents of these faiths make personal sacrifices to fulfill their obligations by consulting these books for spiritual guidance before making important decisions.

This probably explains why these religions are so resilient even in the face of adversity. In the Islamic religion, people are taught at an early age to memorise and study the Quran till they understand the content.

In the olden African tradition elders used to consult their oracles to predict the future or when to make important decisions. This was a way of avoiding to burden one individual, be it the chief or the spiritual leader to make important decisions on their own.

Indecisiveness

Not one single leader in olden Africa wanted to take a decision and take the blame later if the decision taken didn’t work. In ‘Things Fall Apart’ Chinua Achebe makes numerous references to how the Igbo in Nigeria resorted to consulting the soothsayers or the oracles on what decision needed to made.

Before going to war with their neighbouring tribes or clan’s, elders resorted to the advice of the oracles. According to Achebe, if a community disobeys an oracle that has forbidden going to war and the community gets defeated in such a battle, it is referred to as fight of blame. Let me explain why I am narrating this story. After all, in Africa we are a continent of story tellers, we are not really designed to read. But since we lack the oracles that can interpret for us, let me put this narrative in context.

The lack of understanding of the Constitution for most Kenyans is the very reason why governance is a challenge. Those who drafted the Constitution are people of knowledge and have thought through what is best for our country.

All the chapters in our ‘holy book’ cover important issues such as fundamental human rights, issues of integrity, literally all the 18 chapters discuss important issues that every Kenyan needs to understand. The preamble, Kenya’s equivalent of the Quran or the Bible is very spiritual, starting with praising the supremacy of God. Therefore, the parallel with the African traditional religion and other religions for that matter is clear.

Disintegration

But things are falling apart in Kenya. Particularly, the recent development in Nairobi City County is a clear example of a mismatch between how we Africans used to conduct our affairs by consulting the oracles. In this case we lack a soothsayer who can interpret the constitution since it is an alien language.

The challenges of Nairobi city such as lack of water, garbage piles, potholes or dead street lights, indicates the leadership lacks acumen to consult the supreme document of the land on how to solve these problems. The solutions are there in plenty. Open governance as dictated by the constitution is panacea for most of these ills. But just like for Chinua Achebe's main character, Okonkwo, things are falling apart.

There is a hidden issue our leaders don’t want to discuss on matters of governance. Okonkwo secretly abhorred the oracles and thought he was very strong and wise and never liked to be defeated. This pride led to his defeat and shame.

Eventually things fell apart in the whole society simply because some individuals failed to uphold the traditional mechanism of consultation and collective decisions making. In Kenya greed plays an important part in our failures. The Okonkwos of Nairobi seem to be heading in the same direction. They need someone to interpret for them the ‘oracles’-our constitution-otherwise I foresee doom.

The resignation of Deputy Governor Polycarp Igathe indicates the collective decision-making process has failed. In many other counties the same could be happening.