Witnesses to our history should record it for this and future generations

From the book, ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ by James Baldwin, we read the poem “History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history”.

The message is so powerful it provokes one to reflect on what it truly means. Our personal history defines us, how we think, how we relate with others. It affects and defines our perceptions and prejudices and how we carry ourselves and often never outgrow our upbringing. As a nation, we too are defined and affected by our history.

Therefore, it is important that we write our own history in order to influence how our children define themselves in future and understand their country and the challenges it is facing. History is not a dry subject of dates and memorisation, it is life and shows how people dealt with the challenges of their times. As Winston Churchill once said, “those who forget the lessons of history are condemned to repeat their mistakes’’.

Last year, I visited the Apartheid museum in Johannesburg. It is a beautiful museum filled with historical pictures and artifacts. The museum is designed to take you through the different years of the country’s struggle, from the arrival of the Boers, to the early battles, to the 1900’s and then decade by decade to the triumphant return of Nelson Mandela. As you walk from room to room, a deepening sense of gloom and anger overwhelms you. That is living history brought back to life. I watched the reaction of children visiting the museum.

Mohamed Amin

They came in noisy as all children do and then halfway through the walk of history, you could see them retreat into total silence as the history of their struggle overwhelmed them. We too need our own living museums.

The late Mohamed Amin, Kenya’s most famous photojournalist, has over five million photos; a record of Kenya’s history, in his archives. What a shame to keep them in darkness. Amin’s photos need to be bought by the State for our children.

I see the modern history of Kenya in six phases. First, the imposition of colonial rule and all its repression’s and dispossessions. Second, the fight for independence. Third, Jomo Kenyatta and the challenges of independence, the rise of the big man in our political culture. Fourth, Daniel arap Moi, diversifying education and development and the unfortunate decline of institutions and the setting in of institutional corruption.

The fifth was the fight for the Second Liberation, a time when we revisited our vision for our country and led to the changes that we enjoy today. This is when, as a country, we declared it was not yet Uhuru. The rise of the new Constitution is a critical achievement that should not be underestimated.

Sixth was the Mwai Kibaki-era when we had the best economic record along with the worst political bickering known as ‘nusu mkate’ government. In retrospect, if we had the best economic record during nusu mkate, then perhaps it’s time we force our leaders to work together in coalitions.

Personal reactions

Kenya needs to preserve its history. History is made up of oral history, written records and monuments. History also has a way of disappearing. Oral history is the unwritten stories behind the big stories and names. They are the background events and people who made them happen. Unfortunately, time is taking its toll and many who were witnesses to our history are in the sunset of their lives.

We need to interview these people before they go. On Jomo, we need to speak to Mama Ngina, we need to know whether the old man caned Uhuru and Muhoho like the rest of us or whether they escaped the cane because Mzee was too busy running the affairs of the State? What sort of man was he? How did he react to some of the key issues of that time? How did his personal reactions and emotions affect this decisions?

We need to know what happens in government. Government needs to set up budgets to set up presidential libraries like they do in the United States.

We need to retain all Cabinet and State papers. How were deliberations and decisions made? While some of this may still be secret, there should be a limit on statutes of limitations. In most countries it is 30 years and then it is open to the public.

We must encourage prominent people to write their memoirs. All men and women who served this country in high positions still have one pending duty: Write your memoirs. You owe it to the rest of Kenyans to preserve our history. Harvard University offers a six-month fellowship to such people towrite their memoirs. Our universities should offer the same.

History will make us appreciate the sacrifices people have paid for the freedoms that we enjoy today. Let us celebrate our heroes and remember the villains from the past and let future generations avoid the mistakes of the past. We are our history.

Mr Shahbal is chairman of Gulf Group of Companies. [email protected].