Monday, March 07, 2005

KENYAN POLITICIANS - A REFLECTION OF US?!!!


Here is a long blog, but stay with me you'll understand why.

This has been a revealing moment for me. Have you ever written a piece in your head, that is before you get it down on paper, only for you to realize it reveals too much about you? About us? That’s what l feel about this blog. I have been thinking about my life.

In another life it seems, If l believed in a project, l would do it based on my belief of the result it was projected to contribute to humanity. If l got offered a project and l didn’t see how it was helping the world become a better place, l simply turned it down. This was regardless of how much money l was going to get at the end of the project. Noble? I think so. But my friend when l look at my life, l seem to have moved from there. Thankfully l am going back to my roots. Something happened that triggered this blog. Allow me to say l learn from my mistakes, and pretty fast baby. Did you know that you learn more from your failures than from your successes?

Today as l was walking to the stop to get a matatu l thought, “honey what changed?” When did you get so possessive of getting paid on time? About backing off from a contract if payment was not assured, even though l supported the cause? When did that lady l stare in the mirror everyday change?

At that point, My mind jogged to our political arena. The Kenyan political arena that is. And for the first time l wondered are these people we sometimes like to refer to as hooligans a reflection of us? Of Me?

How many times have we as Kenyans living in Kenya and in the Diaspora criticized the government of corruption, which is embodied in our employment system? Our school system, tendering systems and every other arena you can think of? How many times have we criticized the government for lack of preparation for everything they did?

AND NO KENYANS, l am not supporting anyone here. I have not been bought by anyone other than my belief system. I am just helping us think, critically for once.

When, dear Kenyan, you do a sloppy job and you know it, aren’t you reflecting one of our Kenyan leaders? Like our Nairobi Mayor who keeps promising things will be done at certain times only they are done half way and sloppily. Plus more ministers who have promised to do stuff and done it badly. When you promise to deliver a job on time and it is either late or doesn’t show at all or when it does, it is not what was ordered for , aren’t you reflecting the way our constitution has been treated by our ministers? When your cousin, daughter, sister or brother gets a job or when she/he gets a an internship in your organization, because you are the boss, aren’t you practicing nepotism like most of our politicians? When you take the company car to run your personal errands aren’t you behaving like Honorable Ngilu before she realized it was wrong? So which part of this don’t you as a Kenyan understand? I mean the mirroring part.

You might not be in grand corruption like some very suspicious ministers who get shocked when they are mentioned adversely in these cases. You might not access the kind of money that the ministers have access to. But in a small way, if we get involved in what l just mentioned or more, you are mirroring our politicians.

Remember today you have the small office coupled with ambition. When your ambition gets its way and you get to the mheshimiwa’s office, the little corruption acts you entertain will just become grand acts of corruption. These thugs, as we like to call our ministers, didn’t start stealing today. I can take a bet on 99.9% of them and l will win the money. Remember these ministers we were just raiya like you and l. They were Unknown, trodden upon and yet ambitious. It was only a matter of time though before small vices they considered not harmful became grand and could not be ignored.

I am not saying the voice of reason that sends us all back to the drawing board to check our acts should not be raised. But the next time we criticize our politicians lets ask ourselves,


Are we getting angry with them because they are mirroring us? Are we getting angry because they might cause us to be revealed as their messes get investigated? Or, are we genuinely angry at promises not kept, jobs not done or done sloppily and systems that aren’t working?

Kenyans, Exactly what are we angry at and why?
AND IS OUR ANGER GENUINE THEREFORE JUSTIFIED?