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)
wat hurts me the most is that these are in every angle the next leaders of this country...poor kenyans
ReplyDeletethe situation is replicated in almost all Kenyan Universities, I study at Kabianga Uni College and here although there is no KKK, its the Kalenjin vs Others, its a sad fact really that tribalism is so entrenched in our institutions of higher learning
ReplyDelete@steve its time we started working on very workable long term solutions to this appalling situation, how can we prevent the continuity of this retrogressive culture?
ReplyDelete@Dan, kabianga, maseno, kisii university college, moi, masinde muliro are all victims of the same.. no wonder the role of the varsity students in the national politics is something of the past. tribalism has and continues to rob many of their power of initiative and collective bargaining.
what are some ways in which we can end this problem?
change will only come when students learn they're the losers, to me negative ethnicity and tribalism is like an addiction, it'll continue destroying us until we're ready to say no.
ReplyDeletethe situation is appalling and needs a concerted effort from both the educational policy makers on the side of the government, sound administrative measures to address the same from the varsity and a total change and commitment from the student body, its only then that a sustainable and long term solution can be arrived at.
ReplyDeleteElections where no better in Chep as cries of G7 alliance where utterd. Scores where being kept on which tribe took the most seats. Saddening that we have to play the tribal card yet we are learned. I say, away with the ethnic/tribal association in universities/colleges.
ReplyDeleteElections where no better in Chep as cries of G7 alliance where utterd. Scores where being kept on which tribe took the most seats. Saddening that we have to play the tribal card yet we are learned. I say, away with the ethnic/tribal association in universities/colleges.
ReplyDeleteElections where no better in Chep as cries of G7 alliance where utterd. Scores where being kept on which tribe took the most seats. Saddening that we have to play the tribal card yet we are learned. I say, away with the ethnic/tribal association in universities/colleges.
ReplyDeleteElections where no better in Chep as cries of G7 alliance where utterd. Scores where being kept on which tribe took the most seats. Saddening that we have to play the tribal card yet we are learned. I say, away with the ethnic/tribal association in universities/colleges.
ReplyDeleteElections where no better in Chep as cries of G7 alliance where utterd. Scores where being kept on which tribe took the most seats. Saddening that we have to play the tribal card yet we are learned. I say, away with the ethnic/tribal association in universities/colleges.
ReplyDelete