FOR THE PEOPLE OF SOUTHERN SUDAN.

I so much wish I could attend the celebration marking your independence people of southern Sudan, I so wish I could be given five minutes to talk to you about some issues that have over the past few days been gnawing at my heart- any true politically conscious son of Africa would wish for the same. Since I won’t be with you as you mark this great day for the life of your state, I am sending you this letter to the true sons of Sudan and say what is on my mind, I hope this finds you in time.  

Your state, beloved people of southern Sudan is a fragile state, I need not mention the fact that yours is a state only coming out of a civil war spanning five decades, a nation that for many years has been viewed as the sore thumb of Africa or only dismissed as another of the many Africa’s tragedies, a state that now has earned a new title overnight “the resource rich southern Sudan”.

People of Sudan  you are happy because finally you get to enjoy the independence that many have lost their lives fighting for, happy because you can finally be the deciders of your future, happy that you can now work on reconstructing and rehabilitating what was destroyed in the many years of war. Ironical as I may sound, there are others happier than you or the people of Africa for your newly earned status; these others are hidden in the recesses of international economic and political uncertainty and the intricate web of the international system. Happier are many multinational corporations and international cartels ready to pounce on your newly born state to siphon your resources, ready to replace the sale of weapons with very lucrative “development agendas”, they will act so much as the sons of Sudan, they will make you believe that they were in the battle fields with you, but beloved sons of Sudan these others don’t care so much about this new state that needs to be nurtured and nursed to stand on its own. Amid these celebrations you need to be wary of these others.

The people of southern Sudan while you were busy fighting the war of your liberation, long before oil was discovered in your god-blessed land, most nations of the world did not want anything to do with you, you were a pariah state in the international system. Others saw your fighting as an opportunity to make money, those are the industrial-military states, they were selling arms and weapons to you, they did not care whether your died or not, they were least concerned with the plight of your refugees, I tell you they changed the television channel when the grim picture of your sufferings came on the screens of their television without an iota of humane concern.

They do not know the efforts you have put in your dreams to see this special day, they do not know the sacrifices of a man like John Garang de Mabior, they do not know why you were fighting, No they don’t!!!,they were of the opinion that SPLM was a terrorist organization or something akin to that, what they know now is your oil and your resources.

I am telling you, there are others still amidst you, in the name of politicians who still bear the same sentiments as those that want to exploit and let your resources flow into plunder, and they are your sons, but friends, history has shown that power corrupts and turns people into lesser beings, the humanity in your politicians and leaders will be replaced by greed and selfishness, they will be indifferent to your cries if you let them be corrupted by power and greed. If you don’t put in place checks to limit their powers, people of southern Sudan, they soon will start fighting amongst themselves; coup de tats won’t be a thing of the past if your leaders don’t see the big picture and learn from the history of the many of your sister states in Africa.

Soon and very soon my friends many states will be coming up to you to finance this or that project, welcome them, but please be wary of their sudden generosity, be wary I say to you, they will come in the name of charity and aid, but these aid will not be free, no, it will come with so many conditions.

They might be driven to finance another war, promise yourselves on this day that you won’t carry arms and go down the same path that you came, brothers.

Know your true friends; for many will come, so cunningly dressed in sheep clothes when at heart they are savage foxes ready to devour the lamb that is your state.

A new nation like yours has better chances of avoiding corruption and shunning it, do not condone corruption, not even at the price of your slives, look at your neighbor, Kenya, and learn from its mistakes. Inculcate good morals and integrity in your children and leaders; help them learn to be tolerant and respectful of other’s opinions, teach them to embrace diversity in culture.

In establishing your infrastructure and institutions, study those of others and draw your own lessons, for most nations in Africa today are still struggling to remedy the mistakes that were made at their teething stages, you have a better chance to sidestep all the mistakes that were made by such states and once you do this, yours is the kingdom of success and development.

I wish I would continue sharing with you on more of this, I still will in the future and for all those of you on the frontline of establishing this nation I wish you Godspeed, I pray that the coming years will be blessed with peace and prosperity for you all. On behalf of many others like me I say, thank very much and bon chance.

    

DEVELOPMENT AND KENYAN PARLIAMENTARIANS.

Development can only be established in its true sense and sustainably in Kenya, if and only if, some fundamental changes can be effected in its leadership culture and structure. The retrogressive practice of political self preservation by the members of parliament derails the development agenda, as this shifts the focus from the priority of service provision on the side of leaders to that of focusing all their energy and resources to fighting off political opposition and competition within their respective constituencies, this makes the end goal of effecting a sustainable progress in the country an illusion and only an agenda of political campaigns which is to be discarded once the parliamentary campaigns are over.

The Kenyan members of parliament and high profile office bearers fail to see the bigger picture of their role in development and nation building but instead focus on some immediate and personal interests. This has been the practice for a long time now; it has taken root and got to their minds till they have forgotten their original roles and duties as the agents and drivers of change.

The practice In the Kenyan parliament has been that the member of parliament of a given constituency has no concern for the people of another constituency, however much they require his/her services as a leader; the same practice is often carried to the cabinet where services and resources are channeled in ways that are discriminatory and in underhand processes. These notion and practice has to be changed to achieve the elusive development that Kenyans so much desire. Only when the member of parliament of Kisumu is driven by the plight of the people of Saku constituency in northern Kenya, only when the member of Magarini in coastal Kenya feels the hunger pangs borne by the people of Samburu and Turkana, and only when the member of parliament of Moyale feels the cries of the internally displaced people in Nakuru will we have a unified agenda in Kenya about development and the formulation of policies informed by the needs of the larger Kenyan populace and not those of a small ethnic based, interest driven, selfish and ill motivated drive for self preservation on the side of members of parliament.

The perceptions and feelings of despondency, hopelessness and disbelief in their leaders held by Kenyans is not an unwarranted pejorative informed by ignorance and arrogance and the sheer drive to oppose but rather a practice that is the result of many years of deceptive leadership and trickery substantiated by historical facts of failure. It has been shaped by the lies from those who were supposed to lead them in shunning the very lies they were propagating. The deception of the unfulfilled promise of 500,000 new jobs each year, the lie of a new constitution within 100 days, the misappropriation and embezzlement of their money, the billion shillings typing error, the denial of justice and the fallacy of a thousand political speeches .

My deductions about the members of parliament in Kenya is as follows, as much as I don’t want to be a prophet of doom, the grim reality is that most of our dear members of parliament are nothing less than unproductive, uniformed and mediocre souls and we are better off without them, these are my categorization, they fall into five classes according to what drives and motivates them.

The first category comprises of about 60% of the MP's in parliament, and are those driven by their interests and they don’t think about their constituencies, these are the sort that will only visit their constituencies once a month or twice a year, and they normally claim to dispense their much needed service from their palatial abodes in fancy estates in the city. They are normally very silent when it comes to very important parliamentary debates but they are known to fan party rivalry and they stamp their feet with unmatched vigor to politically sarcastic speeches made in parliament directed to a section of the opposition party or the other. They are the reason we are lagging behind in achieving development, because they have not conceptualized the ideals of development and only think of the same as a campaign strategy.

The second category is those that think about Kenyans but only in the sense of how they can cunningly manipulate them to buy their support in the forthcoming elections, these are the type that canvasses the whole country in holding regular political rallies, those that use every opportunity to address any gathering of potential votes, they won’t shy from turning funeral services into political crusade, they are found in different churches every Sunday and they normally talk about what Kenyans want to be told, they have become masters of these trade, they are easily distinguishable by a critical observer and when it comes to parliamentary debates they are mum. They constitute about 15% of the members of parliament and securing their ticket to parliament is not such a big deal for them, they have money and the ability to hoodwink many Kenyans. Most have served as parliamentarians for more than two parliamentary terms.

The third category is that of about 10% of MP's concerned about their constituencies, they normally have an office in their constituency and are in their constituencies every two weeks to officiate some function or spearhead some Harambee fundraiser for these or that development project, those in these category will go to any length to safeguard the interests of their constituency. They are not many and often face opposition from the parliamentary joy riders.

The fourth category is those driven by nationwide concerns and motivated by the needs of people of Kenya, they are the true nationalists that has seen Kenya move through major political and developmental milestones; helped Kenya make the transition to a multiparty democracy, saw the productive  constitution making process, they head many parliamentary committees and commissions. This category comprises of technocrats, well educated and young individuals, they have not been corrupted by power and you will seldom hear them politicking, they back up all their arguments and actions by very concrete reasons, facts and statistics and they are the reason Kenya is holding together. They move important bills and legislations, they pay their taxes and are way above party politics and are driven by reforms. Unfortunately they are not in the majority but only constitute about 10% of the members of parliament.

There is still a certain 5% of MP's who do not have any category they can be placed under, they are everywhere at all times and the street term for them is “kigeugeu”. 

Since there is no certainty with anything politics and political in the Kenyan parliamentary scene I don’t want to mention the names of MP's and the categories under which they fall. But dear Kenyans please consider the category under which your aspiring MP's falls before casting your vote.

However much they are the cause of unplanned and misdirected policies, we need as Kenyans to stop blaming and always directing the causes of our woes to the members of parliament. It is only ignorant people or those fed with wrong information that is easily manipulable. Know your constitutional rights, the roles of the members of parliament and the workings of the government. And when you are informed you can say no to oppression and exploitation and demand for what is truly yours. 

A PETITION TO HONORABLE MEMBERS

A petition

From the Kenyan matatu touts, the roadside maize roaster, the cobbler, the peasant farmer, the shopkeepers, the teachers, the nurses, the men in uniform, the hustling youth, the underpaid government employee, the forgotten people of northern Kenya and everyone in the struggling social strata of the Kenyan society.

To the honorable members of Kenyan parliament.

Honorable members:

For many years you have been practicing without theory and without principle, in cunning ways you have let our resources flow into plunder. Feeding us with fallacy after fallacy of the workings of the economy, plausibly putting forward economic theories and facts which blinded our very reasoning and thus we entrusted you with our future, with our hopes for a brighter future.

Your deception can be measured by the rising food prices, rising oil prices, misappropriation of our money in bogus contracts and projects that can be referred to as white elephants.   

The little knowledge that we have of political economy tells us that economic growth is not the solution to our problems honorable members and it seems like you don’t understand these simple dynamic.

Being the prime drivers of the economy we have a right to be consulted in drawing the budget but since your interests come first you by passed us in coming up with the said budget but please consider the following.

Henry Hazlitt said something important which we as Kenyans are pointing out to you through this petition, when analyzing economics you “must trace not merely the immediate result but the results in the long run, not merely the primary consequences but the secondary consequences, and not merely the effects on some special group but the effects on everyone”, to this end don’t make economic  mistakes today that will bring misery to the generation of the future, make the product of the 5.6% economic  growth equitable and available to us all and not only a few clique of selfish individuals and till then the recent read trillion shillings economic budget will not mean anything to us.

We understand you like to spend on programs to please your constituents and over the past many years you have been driven by projects which will guarantee you secure votes in the future.

We formally ask these noble duties of you so as to achieve economic progress in the name of development; formulate bills that will effect a legal system that protects privately owned property and enforces contracts in even-handed manner, provide competitive markets, place limits on government regulation, establish an efficient capital market to channel capital into wealth-creating projects, ensure monetary stability, lower the tax rates, ensure free trade and effectively order our priorities.

To give you some empirical and real life examples of our plight today honorable members, the following are some extracts from the everyday Kenyan conversation.

“the price of jogoo,1kg of maize flour, is now more than twice what it cost 5 years ago- uchumi kweli ni mbaya”

“I stopped taking tea in the morning like I used to, however much I would like to, I can’t afford a ¼ kg of sugar”

“ these days going home from work is something I don’t look forward to like I used to, seeing the looks in my kids eyes and knowing I cant give them enough food to my, my husband doesn’t even talk to me these days, his obsession is watching the evening news, he sulks and the look on his face is of a deceived person”.

“am shutting down my shop, I cant continue selling basic foodstuffs to people whom I know cant afford them, I always hear dissatisfaction and slow groans when I announce the new food price”.

These are just some of our cries, honorable members, and you tell us Kenya is headed in the right direction, you might be on the right track since you are not headed to any particular destination.

The uchumi is growing but where is the money going? Yes, to your oversees accounts, that we know waheshimiwa and we need not mention specific cases like the recent  4.2 billion shillings embezzled education fund and the so many other unexposed plunder of our money, We are a forgiving society, we don’t want to dwell in the past, just try hard to end the habit of stealing from  poor Kenyans.

Our petition honorable members implores your humane conscience, If at all you have any, to try to feel our pain and work towards relieving us of these burden which your selfish interests has heaped on our  backs.

Honorable members don’t be ……. “ A canker who cankers the very wood wherein he stays, or the snake who stings and bites those who managed milk for him”

Yours,

suffering Kenyans.

NEGATIVE ETHNICITY IN KENYAN VARSITIES.

Education should add value to those seeking it and be able to transform peoples’ lives, the university might be considered ideally, as an institution that removes traditionalism from the lives of the students body and instill a new level of reasoning that is objective and that does not limit one to his/her immediate environment, simply put it should help people “think outside the box”, in many aspects the Kenyan universities has served these roles but there is a sector in which it has failed completely, in changing the attachment to ethnic cocoons and tribal groups and an unwarranted ethnic hatred that has over the years been accepted as part of the varsity life.

The yearly elections of student leaders into the university students organization in the various public and private universities has been a replica of what is seen in the national general elections where people vote along ethnic lines. A coalition like the Kikuyu, Kamba and Kalenjin or the KKK coalition as famously known is found at the Kenyan universities rivaling the other coalition of Luo, Luhya’s and the “leftovers” or the LLL, Kenyans have the audacity to refer to their brothers in minority communities as “leftovers”, how such a self replicating negative culture came to be can not be established precisely. The question that comes to mind is were our national politicians who have gone through the same institutions been socialized in the same way as the current individuals at the universities along ethnic lines or are they the ones spreading the retrogressive culture of ethnicity in the campus politics?

Tribalism and negative ethnicity can almost entirely be blamed on the “iron fisted” Moi’s regime who used the policy of divide and rule similar to what the colonial powers used in Kenya to establish their control on the natives.                                                                                                     When people are divided collective bargaining and unity becomes an illusion as ethnic chauvinism leads to competition between the different ethnic groups.

In Kenyan campuses today certain posts in student leadership is a reserve for certain communities who are the majority, instead of embracing merit and the credibility of individuals and voting for people who can deliver, the generally “uncomunicated” qualification and accepted rule is considering from which community a person vying for a post in leadership comes from and nothing based on merit and secondly his/her ability to mobilize his/her tribesmen.

Martin Luther Jr’s dream of having people “judged by the content of their characters and not by the colors of their skin” is a dream that is yet to be instilled in Kenyans, the university which should be on the frontline to inculcate such a dream has failed dismally and until Kenyans see beyond the tribal background of their fellow brothers and sisters peace and unity will remain shaky, and only then shall we fulfill the need to work together to achieve national development.

The role of comrade power that in the late 1980s and early 90s saw varsity students take part in issues of national development and political dimensions has slowly been fading away and the demise of the comrade power can be attributed to the ethnically charged individuals found at the universities today whose power of collective bargaining has been taken over by ethnic competition.

It is time some common courses should be introduced in the educational institutions and streamline ethnic and race issues in our education curriculum to educate people on how ethnicity impedes national development and acts as an obstacle to achieve peace, unity and stability in Kenya to avoid the occurrence of an incidence like the 2008 post election violence that has seen 1300 Kenyans loose their lives and thousands others displaced from their homes.

Lets stand up for unity, lets pronounce zero tolerance against negative ethnicity and end the negative circle of ethnicity in Kenya today.

AFRICAS PROBLEMS NEEDS AFRICAN SOLUTIONS.

Africa has since time immemorial been referred to as the “dark continent”, which is predominantly the western view. Time and tide has changed and Africa needs a new dimension and level of thinking to erase the negative and outward looking solution seeking ideology that has for many years characterized how Africa tackles its problems.

People of Africa have been indoctrinated by the western media and made to believe that the solutions to Africa’s problems lies in external solutions in the name of western, IMF  and world bank experts who have no connections to Africa whatsoever.

What Africa needs is massive adjustments in changing the existing social, economic and political belief that the people of Africa bear. Africans need to believe in their capability and capacity to perform and in working out solutions to their problems without having to rush to the western world for help, yes there is a need to maybe, consult when it is necessary and learn from the west but not to let the west make decisions for Africa. The disbelief of most African societies in the ability of one of their own is a product of the colonial legacy, whose effects are being felt to date despite it happening almost five decades ago. I will give an example of my high school which had a white principal before I joined and the white man had to leave and an African one had to take his place, the reaction of the society then was one of skepticism and doubt in the ability of the African principal to perform and many parents opted to take their children to other schools ironically headed by Africans, a year latter the school achieved results that were the schools highest from its foundation. The need to believe in the African capability can help Africa realize development and end its problem.

The Kenyan politicians rejected a local tribunal to prosecute suspects of the 2007 post election violence because of the belief that a local tribunal wont be as effective as the international criminal court and instead recommended that the post election violence suspects be tried at the ICC in Hague.

This is not a simple implication as it seems from its outlook, it’s a multifaceted solution in the sense that despite what history has on African leaders and politicians, Africans need to believe in the capability of their leaders to drive Africa to a ‘REFORMED AFRICA’ instead of creating a new Africa typical of the western idea of the solution to the African problem.

On the economic front this means that Africa doesn’t need “aid” to help end the hunger, poverty and helplessness manifested in most African societies, Africans need to realize that no aid is free. Why for example does the US borrow money from a state like China and redirect it to Africa as aid? Why don’t they settle their own debts? It is because Africa has created a belief in the west that Africa can not stand on itself without support from the western world.

Chinua Achebe in a little book “THE TROUBLE WITH NIGERIA” addresses very pertinent issues in Nigeria’s social conditions, forty years latter issues like tribalism, corruption, social injustice, the cult of mediocrity, indiscipline and a false image of ourselves that Achebe found to be an impediment to Nigeria’s development is very evident in African states to date and the solution to these social moral decay lies in a change of the “moral deficiency syndrome” to a “moral integrity syndrome” where people are guided by ethics and integrity in all their daily undertakings, this lies in the hands of Africans and does not cost much to make the transformation.

Peoples of Africa need not take up arms against each other; they need to be in a fight against social decay and a fight against corruption. People of Africa need not to listen to divisive politics from mediocre political leaders but instead replace all such leaders with those who are capable of delivering results.

Solutions to Africa’s problems lies in African solution.