There’s an epidemic of anxiety and despair upon our country

Kenya was once named among the most optimistic countries in the world. That was way back in 2003 – the year after Narc beat Kanu by a landslide to capture state power. That was then. Today Kenya brings up the rear in the World Happiness Index. We dwell in the cellar among some desolate places on the planet. If Kenya were the picture of a person, she would look miserable – an ugly scowl on her face, an emaciated body, and a cascade of unprintable expletives issuing from her filthy mouth. I know what you are thinking – it doesn’t matter whether she’d be Jubilee or NASA. There’s an epidemic of sadness, anxiety, and despair upon the land – utter despondency.

Let’s start with the good news. Kenyans are generally an entrepreneurial people. They are resilient and survive the worst predations. But many parts of the country look no better than they did in 1964 at independence. Many of our people still live without amenities of modernity. We are still ravaged by diseases of poverty, such as cholera. Nairobi, our most developed city, sometimes resembles an open sewer – often literally – in many a place. You can tell a developed country by whether it has pedestrian sidewalks. Kenyan cities and towns, including Nairobi, have virtually no sidewalks. Autos, many of them deadly weapons, emit the most nauseous fumes as they murderously careen on our roads.