Is the Uhuru, Raila deal doomed to fail like others before it?

When the much- acclaimed Building Bridges Initiative was unveiled on March 9 on the steps of Harambee House, I was having lunch with the Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Laureate Yunnus Muhammed of the Gramin Bank in a hotel in Nairobi. In the room, were close to 20 local successful entrepreneurs.

Together, we were reflecting on the possibility of introducing social entrepreneurship, a business model pioneered by Prof Muhammed. Most of those in attendance cheered heartily as the former sworn enemies Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga closed ranks and shooks hands. I wondered whether the ecstatic mood had infected our distinguished guest. I noticed he paid little attention if any to the palpable excitement in the room.

His detachment looked somewhat eerily to me. Wasn’t he happy for us? I asked myself. “Poverty and inequality can be a thing of the past, if there is political will and determination” he continued as we settled back on our seats the least bothered by what had happened moments earlier on live TV. “All the successes on improving people’s lives has a lot to do with leadership,” he concluded matter-of-factly.

Poor leadership

Then it occurred to me why our guest was not really ecstatic. He blamed Africa’s problems (and what was happening across most of the developing world on poor leadership and poor governance. To him, shaking hands meant nothing if it won’t translate to better living standards for the people.

Put it another way; the way he saw it, unless Raila and Uhuru sat down to address ethnic antagonism, ensure inclusivity, strengthen devolution and divisive elections, cure corruption and guarantee shared prosperity, the handshake would be in vain.

I left the room with so many questions hanging in my mind. And perhaps he was right, anyway. The euphoria of the handshake is dying off. People are once again getting concerned that a relapse might have recurred, especially after Uhuru poured cold water on the push for a referendum- which Raila sees as the magic bullet to fixing all our problems. In truth, we are hurtling back where we were before the handshake. A place punctuated by politically-fuelled acrimony. I hear the drumbeats of political supremacy growing loud as succession politics takes centre stage. Leadership, as Yunnus Muhammed mentioned, implies that we get a clear direction about how to steer a people forward.

So it is up to Uhuru and Raila to get us back on track again. Because besides the smiles for the cameras and the constitution of a 14-member handshake team, there is seemingly little moving.

Tom Bower, a former astute journalist and author of Broken Vows: Tony Blair-The Tragedy of Power, summarised how leaders fail their people because of what he describes as “a pursuit of self-aggrandisement”. The jury is still out on whether Mr Blair deserves the corrosive treatment the book gives him, but it is what leaders can do to change the fortunes of their people that should interest any student of history with their heads up in the clouds.

The motivation

Everywhere, people are looking for someone, something that can inspire them. But the inspiration that we are seeking can only come when personal riches is no longer the motivation for assuming leadership, rather, the call to serve and to make a difference. More than any other time in Kenya, a good leader and not just a good one, but an inspirational leader is needed.

Any man who wants to be the leader of the future must put the country on a pathway to political, economic and social take-off. John Garner in his book on Leadership wrote: “The light we sought is shining still. That we have failed and fumbled in some of our attempts to achieve our ideals is obvious. But the great ideas still beckon—freedom, equality, justice, the release of human possibilities.” The same can be said about the challenges coming our way as a nation.

The quest for a new Constitution was touted that as our saviour. Nearly 10 years after we got a new Constitution, I hear rumblings from agitation to change sections of it. How did we miss it again? Are we destined to have a sad ending?

After the Uhuru-Raila handshake, there was generally a sigh of relief.

Finally, I thought to myself, we are seeing the end of the squabbles and political infighting. I hope my growing fears that it was another false beginning dissipates. And when the nuts and bolts of the handshake are unveiled, we will have no doubt that Kenya has arrived.

Mr Guleid is a governance consultant and the chairman, FCDC Secretariat; [email protected]