Kenyans must stop constant whining; they have a great deal going for them

 

Published on Monday August 29, 2011 in Daily Nation

The speed with which the Kenyans for Kenya campaign has provided food for the starving is laudable.

Barely two weeks since the local media brought us stories from Turkana, starving children now have life-saving Unimix.

This is a great story but it is not new. Kenyans have since colonial days risen to meet great challenges. In the 1950s, Kenyans went into the bush and formed the Mau Mau. These were illiterate people who challenged colonial land-grabbing, exploitation and discrimination.

The Mau Mau had no modern weapons and had only rudimentary knowledge of military strategy. They made the Kenya colony ungovernable and hastened the transfer of power to the majority.

Later, in the 1970s and 1980s, when the economy was crumbling under dictatorship, Kenyans began organising themselves again. The initial human rights defenders were few and easily contained.

But by the early 1990s, these freedom fighters were a multitude that regularly poured into the streets loudly stating their demands. Ten years later, after continued perseverance, Kenyans peacefully brought down the dictatorship.

Nothing matches the Constitution-making process in demonstrating the Kenyan genius and strength. Educated Kenyans identified the political problem and developed a model Constitution. The views of all Kenyans were gathered in what was a very laborious, often contentious but always enlightening process.

There were endless obstacles. The government of President Moi played every game in the book, including wooing politicians with minimum political reforms.

But the intelligent and patient Kenyan would not have it. When Kenyans were done, many ‘‘watermelon’’ politicians ended up wearing green colours to usher in the new political dispensation.

There are endless examples of where Kenyans have solved intractable problems. Commuters are no longer piled up like potatoes in matatus, and with the M-Pesa service, anyone with a phone essentially has a bank account.

And then, rather than just house southern Sudanese refugees, Kenyans helped them create their own country.

Why then don’t Kenyans apply this genius and strength in all other areas that challenge their quality of life?

The reason is that we have not internalised this power. Many, even after seeing these transformative changes, do not believe that they can do it again. It is often easier to keep blaming someone else and to nurse grievances rather than to summon victory again. Politicians are blamed with such vitriol that one would think they go to Parliament by force.

The need to play victim and blame others is found across Kenyan society. The poor are some of the worst human rights offenders. Many believe they are owed by society.

Robbers have been known to tell their victims, during heists, that they also have to educate and buy things for their children. Worst of all, people rob bleeding and dying motor accident victims instead of trying to save lives.

Generally, the widespread violence in Kenyan society is because people wrongly believe they are not good enough. Violence is not because of poverty.

Were that the case, we would be facing the wrath of warriors from the hungry North and elsewhere.

Not good enough? What if the Mau Mau had believed that? The illiterate Mau Mau were challenging not just a government but an empire.

University students, many from peasant families, provided some of the most serious challenges to the dictatorship of the 1980s.

Chief Justice Willy Mutunga could have stayed put in his university office blaming endless characters in the establishment. But he knew that he and his fellow Kenyans had what it takes to transform society. His belief in himself and in other Kenyans has been proved right.

There is plenty to say about Kenya’s politicians. Many of them have a similar mentality to that of the car accident robber – ‘‘grab while you can and run, you will not survive if you play fair’’.

But if Kenyans continue to harness their power, they can elect a political class that serves their interest.