My modest proposal for attributes of next president

To borrow from writer Alex la Guma's masterpiece, Kenyans are living in the fog of the season's end. The Fog of The Season’s End is a novel written by the famous South African author and portrays his nation in one of its momentous times.

La Guma’s (1925-1985) circumstances that he lived in have changed dramatically with the advent of the Rainbow Nation. However, his is a story of individuals who daily risked their lives in the underground movement against apartheid and only at moments of crisis were their bodies flashed up on television screens. Well, the fog may be no more in Azania but memories still remain.

We are in the fog of the season’s end as President Kibaki’s final term nears end. The jury is still out on his performance, but I leave that to the judgement of history. The season’s end has brought weighty queries, such as who will finally take over the mantle from Emilio as Kenya’s fourth president? And his successor will not be just any other president. It will be a president under the new constitutional dispensation and with the new responsibilities and hope for a new Kenya.

Many politicians, serious ones and absolute pretenders, have expressed interest for the coveted post, but the big question is: Who is the fairest among them?

A day in politics, it’s often said, is a very long day. A look in crystal balls only reveals a grainy unrecognisable individual and all I can gather are the ideal attributes of my next leader.

The next president should be physically and mentally energetic. He should not wobble up the stairways of the presidential jet. I’m reminded of President Barack Obama’s famous dash to Air Force One and his basketball exploits.

A president who makes long painful moves to his or plane in local and international trips betrays hopes of the vitality of his nation. Athleticism is a symbol of national vitality and it does not have to come with young age, as former President Moi demonstrated.

The new president should inspire Kenyans with powerful speeches, not old copies pulled from archives by lazy speechwriters. He or she needs not be a Dr Martin Luther King Junior, but his or her speeches must reflect a dream for a new Kenya, socially and economically, told with conviction and reinforced with action. Napoleon Bonaparte, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, Obama, and even Jomo Kenyatta moved the world with their gift of the gab. Great speeches inspire the nation and can jolt the world into action. They should go beyond the "My fellow Kenyans" and "my government" mumbling and monotony. A leader who religiously sticks to the prepared speech is hardly convincing and gets detached from his or her subjects. Some of the greatest speeches that inspired the world and have withstood the test of time were delivered impromptu.

However, the next president should not waste the nation’s precious time with meaningless public rallies, but should be technologically savvy and embrace modern modes of communication.

The leader to steer our beloved nation into the new era should not be a tribal kingpin. He or she should view Kenyans as one big community. Those already eyeing the big prize on the platform of "we should unite our community" are on wrong footing. You cannot rise to national leadership by whipping tribal emotions and isolating the rest of Kenya’s communities.

Like the revered Nelson Mandela, the leader of the new Kenya should let memories of bitter bygone days be bygones. We cannot afford to drag the grudges of the past into the future.

The big dreamer should not reek of any muck of the major scandals that have rocked the nation and his or her hands should not drip any blood. A truly humble servant should be crowned.

These attributes seem a tall order in a nation with acute dearth of dedicated leadership. There is no saint among our leaders but the big question remains: Who among the aspirants most fits the bill?

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