DEATH OF COMRADE POWER: CALL FOR ACTION.

The events leading to a student leader’s election is one that leaves a lot to be desired and leaves one with so many questions than answers. Corruption, hatred, tribalism, malicious accusations, negative propaganda and back stabbing politics all finds their course here, in the actions of the future leaders of a nation and a thorough analysis gives the true albeit negative picture of the state of our Kenyan society.

Political alliances akin to that of the national politics are very evident. The KKK (kikuyu, Kamba, Kalenjin) is one such alliance that is both in the national and campus politics wherein genuine Collective bargaining that seeks to advocate for and advance the interests of the students body while embracing the diversity of the student fraternity, representing every ethnic group equally and having only the interests and wellbeing of the student’s body as the primary reason for coming together is replaced by “collective tribal bargaining” where the overriding ideology as Asudi puts it is “our own, our son, our tribes turn”. Shouting the age-old varsity slogan “comrade’s power” smells of another era and a different context and is not a reflection of the reality our struggle but of the misplaced and misguided political rhetoric’s of our time that has bound most in the shell of their ethnic cocoons!

Competence, credibility and personal choice is thrown out through the window of democracy in the face of negative ethnicity within the institutions of higher learning in Kenya today.  Individuals with naïve consciousness have often been corrupted by power hungry, egocentric wannabes in the name of student tribal leaders who totally distort the capacity of these naïve individuals to stand by their ethical, personal values and beliefs to embrace a culture of retrogressive ethnicity and competition against other tribes instead of focusing on issues affecting them as students.

Achebe in the persona of Ikem Osodi in his “ANTI HILLS OF THE SAVANAH” more than two decades ago also spoke of the same problem that we are facing today and presents a challenge to the African varsity students. I just had to quote the entire page, with a prayer that we might rise to this call and rise above our ethnic groups, that we might liberate our minds and take this up at personal level and as our moral duty to purge negative ethnicity from our midst. Only then can we reclaim “comrade power” that we often invoke at all campus political meetings, till then many are mourning the death of “comrade power”.

‘Now what about students? I should really be careful here as I am quite anxious to get home safely tonight. However, truth will out! I regret to say that students are in my humble opinion the cream of parasites. The other day, did not students on national service raze to the ground a new maternity block built by peasants? Why? They were protesting against their posting to a remote rural station without electricity and running water. Did you not read about it?

Perhaps someone can show me one single issue in this country in which students as a class have risen above the low, very low, national level. Tribalism? Religious extremism? Even electoral merchandising. Do you not buy and sell votes. Intimidate and kidnap your opponents just as the politicians used to do?’

Are you as you should be, more competent than those of our countrymen and women not nearly as lucky as yourselves on whom we have squandered our meager educational resources?

So what are we talking about?

Do you not form tribal pressure groups to secure lower admission requirements instead of striving to equal or excel any student from anywhere? Yes, you prefer academic tariff walls behind which you can potter around in mediocrity? No way!!

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I have no desire to belittle your role in putting this nation finally on the road to self-redemption. But you cannot do that unless you first set about to purge yourselves, to clean up your act. You must learn for a start to hold your own student leaders to responsible performance; only after you have done that can you have the moral authority to lecture the national leadership. You must develop the habit of skepticism, not swallow every piece of superstition you are told by witch doctors and professors. I see too much parroting, too much regurgitating of half digested radical rhetoric….when you have rid yourselves of these things your potentiality for assisting and directing this nation will be quadrupled.

In an early post I had this to say “negative ethnicity in Kenyanvarsities” a fellow student and friend had this to say about the recent student organization election in Maseno University ( read it here)

Social Media Potential in Third World Countries

The use of the social media in most third world governments has not been effectively and efficiently been put to use, at least not in the aspect of communication between the state machinery and the citizens-no structures are in place despite the availability of cheap, effective and reliable technology. Just what the developing nation’s governments can benefit from the use of the social media and border less technology is quite inestimable in ensuring accountability and seeking the opinion of its people. Just to mention a little of these potential capacity of the social media with particular reference to Kenya the following areas shows just how this dynamic and technological craze of the 21st century is yet to be put fully to use.

Anti corruption reporting

Corruption in Kenya today seems to be abhorred by all; everyone seems to be fighting the same, at least in speech and words if not in action. The social media is awash with criticisms to this vice that is bleeding Kenya and sucking the blood of the poor by robbing them of their little earnings. The KACC institution as a body set up to fight corruption need to realize the importance of the social media to institute policies that will put in place a mechanism that will;

• Help the citizens to report corruption activities,

• Empower the masses on the effects of corruption,

• Seek people’s opinions and ideas on how to end corruption in Kenya.

If there was a mechanism to use the social media between the citizens and the police department how many crime activities can be reported through the social media? Uncountable, How many can be prevented from happening? Numerous. But why are the police and law enforcing institutions not using the social media? Is it because of institutional and technological capacity? The technological capacity is there in most third world countries. It is the lack of policy framework that is preventing this from happening. In the developed world numerous criminal activities has been solved through the use of the social media, this crime range from game hunting to theft cases.

The government ministries, policy making bodies and all government departments can use the social media immensely to involve the citizens directly in making decisions, formulating policies, policy orientation and its subsequent implementation process by asking for their opinions, ideas and corporation, and in this way the people will be integrated In the process of their governance and will be subjects of the decision’s made and not mere objects. The private sector and the corporate sector seem to have realized the unlimited capacity of the social media and are using the same positively to enhance the productivity of their companies thus ensuring consumer satisfaction.

Concepts such as E-democracy, E-governance and E-service delivery is still one that is yet to find its way in third world governments despite the availability of border less and cheap technology. Kenya has been able to achieve some level of e-service delivery where tax, revenue certificates, birth certificates can be assessed through the internet, where companies can be registered online but the same can be replicated to other areas of service provision such that everyone with a computer and access to internet can be served from the comfort of wherever they are and will not be compelled to travel to the cities and big towns.

UNESCO defines e-governance as

the public sector’s use of information and communication technologies with the aim of improving information and service delivery, encouraging citizen participation in the decision-making process and making government more accountable, transparent and effective.

The only institutions that seem to realize and exploit the social media potential is the media houses in third world countries, just to give an example; PM live on Nation television in Kenya seeks the opinions of the viewers entirely through Facebook and twitter, it generates a very intense and wide reaching debate and gets contributions from almost all the corners of the country within seconds, the same can be replicated to the government’s activities. Many print media houses in Kenya have their own pages on Facebook and their own twitter accounts where they post news as they happen.

Another area that most third world activists need to explore is the use of online petitions that has and is shaping the direction of policies and laws made in many developed countries, sites such as care2 and change.org attests to this.

Organizations and bodies involved in civic education and campaigns against HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and other social vices can all find a large audience in the social media world and achieve a tremendous outcome in impacting positively in the lives of many people cutting across boundaries, interest groups, race, religion and gender.

Social media in the Middle East and the Arab world has led to revolutions through the communication between people and coordination of actions against the oppressive regimes, this goes down the annals of history simply as an innovative use of the social media.

The social media has many invaluable potential in the third world countries and indeed the whole world but it can also have some very far reaching negative impacts on the well-being of the society especially when the users become addicts, or use the social media to spread malicious agendas, propaganda s and hate speech.

It can fuel ethnicity and can lead to the lose of values and erodes the morals if it is used to spread pornographic links and other socially unbecoming activities, terrorism and other such activities has often been executed through the use of the social media and ICT, con men have been on the rise and the Nigerian’s are famous for this in the African continent. It is not healthy when individuals use media such as Facebook or twitter to tell the whole world about every aspect of their social and private lives- many critics have come forth condemning the use of the such social media one of such being “the consumptive nature of Facebook.

The retrogressive cycle that can be accelerated by the social media