What Next???

There are important cases in which the difference between half a heart and a whole heart makes just the difference between signal defeat and a splendid victory.
A. H. K. Boyd

"It is not enough to fight. It is the spirit which we bring to the fight that decides the issue. It is morale that wins the victory."
General George Marshall

It has been a difficult week I believe 2006 has begun on a trying note for Kenyans ... and, unfortunately, that is what it has taken for me to blog. I'm not proud of it ... but then, I can comfortably say that I am like many other Kenyans.

"How?" you ask.

Kenyans have an amazing ability to be complacent about issues that they have direct control over.We are so complacent that we don't even realise that we are.That is why my post is a reactionary one ... because I'm a Kenyan ... and although I am proud of being one, I am not proud of this particular trait.

I have been thinking about what Kenya is going through at the moment ... from the famine-related deaths in North Eastern Province to the world-famous Anglo-Leasing scandal ... and I've been hoping that the worst is over ... that we have hit rock bottom. Sadly, though, I think the worst hasn't come yet.

No, I'm not looking at the Kenyan glass as half empty ... I like to be optimistic, but even in my optimism, I must be realistic. I know that Kenya's outlook should be optimistic, but God has done His part ... and we are dragging our feet about doing ours. Kenyans have redefined the word snooze. Our reaction to anything that happens in our country is like any individual's reaction to having to wake up in the morning.

Picture this: When you go to sleep, you do so knowing that you must wake up the following morning ... so you set your alarm clock for whatever hour suits you. The following morning, when the alarm goes off, more often than not, you will hit the snooze button. If you do this often, you will agree with me that it is an addictive habit ... you're so used to it that if you jump out of bed after the first ring, you have a bad terrible day. You snooze regardless of the fact that time will not wait for you ... you snooze hoping, fervently, that time will wait for you.

That is how Kenyans respond to their destiny.

It is unlikely that any Kenyan has forgotten the NARC euphoria that swept the country prior to the 2002 general elections.How can we forget? It seems like only yesterday that we were praying, and believing ... that the change we had craved for years on end would free us of the chains by which we were so strongly bound ... the chains of unemployment, corruption ... and, of course, disillusionment. And change we got. Once again, hope had been restored to a country full of promise ... we danced, we sang and we made merry ... because the Kenyan Dream had come true.

Since then, Kenyans in different parts of Kenya have been victims of drought at different times. This is not because we can't do anything about it, but because we would rather sit back and wait for the solutions to be served on a plate and delivered at our table, cutlery and seasoning included. We must wait for proceeds from concerts and controversial donations from elsewhere before we:
(i) Kickstart our own rescue initiatives
(ii) Criticise the initiatives initiated by others or
(iii) Criticise the government.
I know I'm right ... because I've been there.

That is how it's been with the Anglo Leasing Scandal ... we may say we had no part to play ... but we chose our leaders ... and resigned ourselves to fate when they did not bring the change we desired. None of us stood to challenge them when they broke their promises - instead, we grumbled amongst ourselves about how all politicians are the same. Yes, we did ... and we will do so again after next year. We will continue to do so for as long as we can stand our apathy towards politics and our fear of responsibility. We will not only continue to do so, but we will continue to thrive in our apalling lethargy ... and develop ulcers from our lack of fulfilment.

As I said before, God has done His part. However, we are not yet at rock bottom ... because if we were, we would not be saddened by what is going on in Kenya ... we would be angry - no, we would be completely outraged! We would be tired of having to endure so many broken promises that we no longer believe in our leaders, or in our capacity to take up these positions of leadership and work for the good of our country. We would not wait for the World Bank or (insert foreign institution of choice) to come and tell us why the culprits of the Goldenberg or Anglo Leasing Scandals should be apprehended. No ... we would be ready to work our fingers off establishing policies and looking for the right institutions to push for their enactment.We would be so tired that we would seek to empower rather than exploit fellow Kenyans.

When we get to this point, we will be sceptical when we hear that our economy has grown by 4%. This time around, though, we will be sceptical because we know we have invested sweat and blood ... we will have forgone our well-paying white-collar multinational jobs within or without Kenya to establish institutions that buy and build Kenya, we will have stopped pirating music in order to build the local music industry, and applied for those jobs that are invisibly labelled "expatriates only" because we have enough knowledge to do them well, and enough courage to learn from our failures. A. H. K. Boyd and General George Marshall probably didn't know each other, but their thoughts about victory and spirit being bedfellows must have come from experience. We don't need to keep looking for quotes on victory ... we need to create situations from which we can come up with our own.

The events that have taken place in Kenya over the past 6 weeks are difficult to deal with, but they may be blessings in disguise. We must be ready to get off our high horses, get our hands dirty and graze our knees and elbows as we pursue the Kenyan dream.

I know that this dream is alive in all of us ... that is why we anticipate better infrastructure and greater incentives for those of us studying or working abroad to return. Change never came easy, and that is unlikely to change. However, as Kenyans, we are blessed with God's grace, and enough diligence and intelligence to take charge of our destiny and watch the Kenyan dream come true.

So, what are we waiting for?