Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself.
—Philippians 2:3
A
few years ago I was in the southern section of Ethiopia and one evening while
flipping through the channels, bored by the Ethiopian Amharic broadcasting
television stations; I chanced on one broadcasting in English and was enjoying
some talk show about something African (I don’t remember what). I became so
engrossed and was aroused by the old man who having watched me asked
“Do
you understand what they are saying?”
I
understood speaking or even understanding good English in Ethiopia especially
the southern side is something that is not always seen. I nodded and added
‘Yes I do’
The
disbelief on the old man’s face was pardonable
‘…all
of it?’ he said with his hand making an expansive sweep.
‘All.
of. it’ I answered back
Then
the elderly man in a way that has ever since been a part of my thoughts
whenever I think of Kenya’s supremacy or lack thereof, or whenever comparisons
are made between Kenya and other African states, or whenever any inappropriate
comparison is made for the sake of malice or some covert agenda the old man
looms large in my mind.
‘You know the Kenyan education system
is good BUT their military is nothing’ he said, and the way it came out was more than disparaging,
it was both a mocking sarcasm of Kenya and a confirmation of the supremacy of
Ethiopian Military. Coming from a history of militarism and protracted civil
war I just shrugged the old man’s sentiments as just a rash conclusion without
any relevance whatsoever to how my understanding English was a representation
of Kenyan education system.
Other
instances have taken place since then, all adding in one way or the other to
the growth of an idea at the back of my mind. One such instance was that of my
Ugandan schooled Kenyan roommate whom we often in friendly verbal plays
disregarded as just another kid who schooled in ‘a very third world state-Uganda’ with Museveni’s militarism being
infused into him through the school curricula.
And
on another instance in a weekly evening poetry/spoken word session in one of
the varsity lecture halls one blogger stood up and going by the weekly theme of
“paying tribute to Kenyan Defense Force”, he made some positive remarks which
eventually shifted to the Kenyan regional supremacy.
“Kenya is a super power” he said and went on
to bash Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, the two Sudan-s, and Ethiopia. He
created such a negative picture that made Eastern Africa states such tiny names
that clung to the mighty Kenya-Dwarfs that need not our attention. I sat there thinking How naïve!
But
in mid last year, a young beautiful Belgium lady came to Kenya from Ethiopia through
Moyale and on a journey to Lake Turkana we had enough time for interaction.
Whenever she talked about Ethiopia and how good it was I subconsciously found
myself telling her of similar better things in Kenya. Had it not been her
pointing it to me, several days later, that I seemed to be selling Kenya as
better than Ethiopia, better than anything Ethiopia could offer, while I hadn’t
even seen the part of Ethiopia she was referring to. I wouldn’t have known the
shit that my patriotic zeal was painting about me-about Kenya and Kenyans. It
was such a blind groping that never thought that there could be other better
things, places than Kenya in such “backward” places as Ethiopia.
I have over the years
come to regard this with some seriousness; I am not, most of us are not any
different from the Ethiopian elder in the remote Oromo land. The blogger in our
spoken heart I have referred to because One’s state encompasses the very ideals
that constitute ones identity, the body of pride and all that is good in any
state elicits the same kind of response all across the world- the flush of
patriotic sentiments, both sadness and joy. And it is part of this patriotism
ingrained in citizenship through years of socialization that manifests when
‘others’ seem to invade, to supersede the complete body of beliefs and
attitudes one holds about their state.
I have made the
conclusion that patriotism is on a large extent negative... bear with me…I am
making my case.
But what is Patriotism?
The standard
dictionary definition of patriotism reads “love of one's country.” Patriotism can be defined as love of one's
country, identification with it, and special concern for its well-being and
that of compatriots.
(read more)
(read more)
Patriotism is negative
American
political theorist George Kateb, argues that patriotism is “a mistake twice over: it is typically a grave moral error and its
source is typically a state of mental confusion”. He further argues that
patriotism is “a readiness to die and to
kill for an abstraction … for what is largely a figment of the imagination”
(Kateb 2000, 901, 907). Kateb conceives a state as “it is also constructed out of transmitted memories true and false; a
history usually mostly falsely sanitized or falsely heroized; a sense of
kinship of a largely invented purity; and social ties that are largely
invisible or impersonal, indeed abstract …”
Patriotism is deceptive; it is a farcical self
flattery
Leo
Tolstoy found patriotism both stupid and immoral. Despite this, patriotic
deception is alluring; it is scurrying away from truth in matters dealing with
our realities – our identities. It often entails lying to yourself. Isn’t it baffling when eventually the
scurry from the truth, reality reaches a point when it can no longer hold
together- when the deception “self-consumes” and self abashment begins in
bitter earnest when like Morgan “you do not see nothing to smile about”- the
dawn of reality on the prison of lies. This reality becomes a guarded entity-
we can self condemn, poke fingers in our affairs and yodel all we can but one statement
made even in jest, or anything that seems to slight the spirit of our state
from the outside, from other people, from other states will break the self
bemoaning about our inadequacy to proclaim a mighty stance of self flattery; a
patriotic zeal in which we find ourselves in a narcissistic self adoration. The
state becomes a neo-liberal fetish, a glowing jewel that is to be guarded and
protected. This self adoration surrounding the state by its citizenry is
informed by thoughts like “we are good, they are bad”, “our bad are better than
their good” which is an extreme form of patriotism whose mantra is “Our country
right or wrong”.
Kenyans on twitter
My thoughts on the
portrayal of “our supremacy”, or “patriotism” as a negative thing has often
been amplified by Kenyans on Twitter. Not in a positive way but a very negative
line of subtle #self deception.
The Kenyan rampage on
twitter on any African states that provokes, bursts their sentimental patriotic
bubble is a threat that should be eliminated with ridiculous hash tags
#someonetell………. and at best the mob psychology that lies dormant even in the
highest circles of our most respected i.e. the #culturecreators in the Kenyan
society including both its elites and politicians becomes alive, it possess
them in showing solidarity in attacking covert enemies from trying to mess with
us.
 |
| c'mon |
And just the other day I came across an article by Kingwa
Kamencu on Why Nigerians are miles ahead of our writers in the Daily nation
of Friday, October 25, 2013. In this article Kamencu tries to draw a comparison
on why West Africans are excelling in the literary world while East Africans
are trailing behind. She asks
So, why aren’t East
African writers hitting the jackpot of fame, analysis, money and acclaim like
their West-African contemporaries?
She
quotes Parselo Kantai who in self flattery says “The East African project is in a way more interesting than the Nigerian
one.”
The
article is apt, it is timely too but Kamencu spoils it when she subtly brings
out the comparison like it is a battle, a sort of competition, a war that
Kenyans ought to win
Even with the
understated war for supremacy between Nigeria and Kenya seen on internet spats,
Nigeria is in truth not the only country
our writers need to fight.
What Kamencu in her
article did was give a voice to ‘our’ belief. The belief that we are better
than Nigeria and we could outdo them by just putting in place a few things; a
vibrant publishing scene, Good PR for our writers, I searched the article to
try and see if she has recommended learning from Nigeria or west Africa. But
there is nothing like that, since she already has declared a war between our
literary scene and the Nigeria one, she thinks there is not a chance for a
collaboration between Kenyans and Nigerians working to improve each other. This
is further amplified when Tony Mochama nails it
Mochama suggests looking further afield for challenge
and inspiration. “We could look to the US where they have set the bar because
of their dominance. They have an exciting tradition of literary magazines - The
New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Dog And Pound and others.
But
couldn’t we look up at Nigeria and West Africa for this inspiration and
challenge you may want to ask!! And here Mochama says
….As a third world
country, India would be an example of how to write in an international language
but still break away from the West,”.
I am not trying to
belittle Kamencu or Mochama but they seem not aware of the negative connotation
that seems to lurk behind the comparisons being drawn and the recommendations
being put forth or if they are, there is a deliberate pitching of the East
against the West in the African literary scene. There is an underlying
patriotic tone that is tied to Kenya and East Africa in this piece. It is not
on the extreme end of patriotism since Kamencu has been careful to notice and acclaim
the superiority of Nigeria without lying.
How do we as Africans view each other in the face
of Patriotism?
Each state has a
single one sided story of the other, when it comes to self comparison. We can’t
detach Biafra, Boko Haram, the con men, political upheavals when we think about
Nigeria. Or fail to see hunger and starvation, press censorship in Ethiopia. Or
when we think about Somalia all one sees is the war, the famine and big
bellies. Problem steps in when we fail to transcend these “single story” about
others in our outlook. When we start sweep our own murk under the carpet.
This distracted and
divided image shapes our perceptions of the ‘African problem’. No one feels
like part of it, we thus end up conceiving the continental problems as
outsiders, as if we are not part of the murk. How do we deal with regional integration,
pan-Africanism or the unity of Africa? When we envision the African problem not
as a single bloc but fragments of the otherness informed by the convictions of one’s
own superiority?
And if you had not
noticed most people when thinking/talking of African problems rarely consider
their own state, this is always a thing that comes with human nature; wanting
and wishing to distance themselves from problems.
Can’t each one of us disavow
and just tone down the superiority of the other? Couldn’t we instead work with
each other, to learn from each other? Re-conceptualize our image and our
problems, Collaboration instead of Competition.
“The love for one's country is in many cases
no more than the love of an ass for its stall” J.B. Zimmermann
