We must rededicate ourselves to the ideals of national cohesion

Isaac Kalua, Founder of Green Africa Foundation. 

Last week I travelled to Tanzania on a business trip. Although I have visited this country many times before, I am always amazed at the sheer strength of their national cohesion. It is very difficult to find a Tanzanian who is vehemently opposed to a given leader purely by virtue of that leader’s ethnic community.

I encountered similarly strong national cohesion in Switzerland more than a decade ago. At the time, I was serving on the Sustainable Development Commission of the World Athletics body, IAAF. When I travelled to Switzerland for one of the commission’s meetings, I noticed that it is divided into four regions that speak French, German, Italian and Romansh. Despite this tribal diversity, their social fabric has remained intact. Unfortunately, Switzerland and Tanzania are in the minority. Many countries in the world, including our own, Kenya, are struggling with social cohesion.

In the recent past, international market research company, IPSOS, conducted research that shed valuable insights on this matter. According to the company’s Social Cohesion Index (ISCI), social cohesion is under assault globally. After surveying over 20,000 adults in 27 countries, Ipsos found that the sense of social cohesion was only solid amongst 21 per cent of those surveyed. For the majority, social cohesion remained elusive. Countries with weak social cohesion included Japan, South Korea, Poland, France, Belgium and the United States.

As evidenced by this research, most people’s social outlook is determined by their tribal grouping. As such, if a tribal grouping takes a stand on a given social or political issue, it will be very difficult for the tribe’s members to take a different stand. This was witnessed recently in the US during the Senate confirmation hearings of Judge Ketanji Jackson, President Biden’s nominee to the Supreme Court. All Republican Senators apart from three, voted against the nominee. The reverse was true during Senate hearings for President Trump’s nominees to the Supreme Court. During those occasions, all Democrat Senators voted against Trump’s picks.

A few years ago, the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey conducted research that brought out an interesting perspective. According to this research, a civil conflict’s duration and ferocity are determined by the social cohesion and resistance at the time of the conflict. In other words, the stronger the social cohesion, the weaker the civil conflict will be. Against this backdrop, it’s unsurprising that Tanzania is the only East African country where there have never been deadly ethnic clashes.

Closer scrutiny of both Tanzania and Switzerland reveals that they are both very intentional about the entrenchment of social cohesion. In the case of Tanzania, a strong foundation in nationalism greatly enhanced cohesion over the years. Further to that, the rotational presidency between Muslims and Christians acted as a bulwark against politically instigated religious tensions.

Switzerland has also embraced the rotational presidency in an even more explicit fashion. It has a seven-member Swiss Federal Council that acts as Switzerland’s Executive and produces a president on a one-year rotational basis. This approach ensures inclusive leadership that strengthens national cohesion. In addition, this model has completely diluted the cult-hero presidency that is common in most of the world. Indeed, this approach is a concrete example of policy enhancing national cohesion.

Kenya may not have such leadership models but it has strong pro-cohesion laws that are rooted in the constitution and need to be fully implemented.

In its preamble, our constitution affirms our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. They should not tear apart our national fabric but should instead reinforce our national cohesion. The Constitution further sets a high bar for the Presidency as a symbol of national unity.

However, the buck ultimately stops with Kenyans. We are the ones who must make a conscious decision to live as brothers and sisters of one nation under God. Every Kenyan must water national cohesion every single day. To further these efforts, leaders to must commit to this national ideal.