Also-rans for life: Why Luo nation must put aside grievances and work with government

I travelled to the village last week to visit my kith and kin, pay homage to the land of my ancestors and most importantly, plant trees during this rainy season. This was after the swearing-in of William Ruto as Kenya's fifth president.

As you know Ruto's victory was bitterly contested, ending up at the Supreme Court after Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga rejected the results alleging electoral malpractices

The seven-judge bench consequently dismissed the 2022 presidential election petition in a unanimous decision reminiscent of the 2013 presidential election petition ruling. This came as a disappointment to many Raila supporters who had hoped that a repeat election would be ordered by the apex court.

The dismissal of Raila's petition hit his supporters hard. Luos in particular were devastated by that ruling. First, because their son missed a clear opportunity to become president. After all he had the system and deep state which, in the minds of his followers, was responsible for his previous losses. So by having the government machinery behind him, including the unflinching support of President Uhuru Kenyatta, it was presumed that Raila was home and dry. Secondly, because this was the fifth time he was contesting and supposedly his last chance considering his age.

Since the top court rendered its final decision and gave Ruto's victory a clean bill of health there have been blame games as to who was responsible for Raila's painful loss. Names of powerful individuals who were calling the shots in the Azimio secretariat have been floated as possible culprits. The usual suspects like the Independent Electoral and Boundaries commission (IEBC) and its chairman Wafula Chebukati have been on the receiving end. The supreme court judges haven't been lucky either. The enemies, real or imagined, have been put through the guillotine.

Whether someone was responsible for Raila's fifth loss or otherwise is now neither here nor there. The general election is now water under the bridge. We cannot continue to cry over spilt milk. Though a feeling of disappointment has engulfed the Luo nation who, feel isolated and dejected, it is time to take the loss with stride and soldier on with pride.

But all is not lost, because we all know every dark cloud presents with it a silver lining. The silver lining, in this case, is devolution.

Counties are where the Luo nation must put all its effort to grow its economy and accelerate development in addition to opening opportunities for young people. We cannot fixate ourselves with the national government and or presidency and claim marginalization yet we have tremendous opportunities and resources which we can deploy to shape our destiny.

I say this because for the last decade of devolution we have seen some semblance of growth though the cake is not worth the candle if you ask me. So we must ask ourselves the tough questions and give the simple answers. We can generate the answers to the tough questions by conducting an honest and unadulterated assessment on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the prevailing circumstances.

The Luo nation has monumental strengths that if well harnessed can produce long-lasting impactful change. We are an industrious people, we make the best doctors, teachers and engineers. We have highly acclaimed mechanics in town. We love fine things in life - that's why our musicians are top-notch. We are unmatched in management, no one beats us in professional football, we are a hardworking people and, I dare say, we have no rival in innovation.

Lake Victoria is one hell of a blessing that we haven't fully exploited, a scenario which is saddening to say the least. Despite this water body serving Migori, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Siaya and Busia, and ten years of devolved governance, no radically transformative project has been rolled out to ensure we reap from the presence of this resource. Why don't we have a fish processing plant in either of these counties?

We have fine arable land. A drive from the busy Busia border in Busia county to Sirare border in Migori county exposes you to fertile but unutilized agricultural land. This reminds me of the cotton farming that was abandoned and the dead and buried Kicomi in Kisumu and the dwindling sugarcane farming in the region.

Our major weaknesses have been putting all our hopes of economic progress on our son clinching presidency and failing to allow multiparty democracy flourish in Luo land by fighting anyone who forms a political party or joins a rival political party. This modus operandi designed to ensure Luos vote as a block for their son has proven to be counterproductive in the end. While other regions elect leaders based on a number of factors but party affiliation, in Luo land its party consideration first. We have stymied the same democracy we claim to fight for.

The Luo have also historically fought every government in power. Our kids grow up with the mentality that government is an enemy that must be fought unless our son is the president or our son is in talking terms with the ruling president. We have been raising generations of rebels who are ready to act at the slightest provocation. As a result we are a marked lot. Successive governments have paid us with the same coin in turn, viewing us as threats and enemies. We have been excluded from the share of the national cake. We end up getting peanuts from the same government we pay taxes to. This must end.

I can tell you that opportunities for achieving exponential growth are limitless and they exist in our devolved units. We must make our county governments work for us and deliver each and every promise they gave. We can't afford to condone corruption and pillage of the meagre funds we get from the national government. It must be eliminated at all cost for it is the main threat to our collective progress as a people.

As president John F Kennedy once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country".

So let's not ask what the national government can do for us - let's ask what our counties can do for us.

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