Why tribalism will be the death of Kenya

In Europe, nationalism is a dirty, pejorative word connoting xenophobic and ultra-conservative ideas that are incompatible with an increasingly interconnected, interdependent world. In Kenya, it is the primary socio-political goal of the state, a goal that is as historically elusive as it is seemingly unattainable.

Yet Kenya’s future does not lie in nationalism, but regionalism - in deep, regional economic, social and political integration codified within such organisations as the East African Community, Inter-Governmental Auhtority on Development (Igad) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa). Indeed, our prosperity as a country and as a continent demands that we transcend our national identity in favour of a regional one.