Kenyan youth are their own worst enemies

Sunday Times - 29/07/2007
By: Njogu wa Gitu, Maragua.


There is this notion being advanced that the youth in this country are a neglected lot. This which is a big lie. On the contrary, the youth in this country have all along had the opportunity to expand their horizons, but because they only have themselves to blame their lack the vision to exploit their talent.

The crying attitude among the youth will not solve anything for them and unless they go out there and seek the opportunities like other Kenyans. They say that they have been sidelined in matters of leadership, but who gives leadership to who? Leadership is a competitive game and it open to all including the youth.

These youth are a funny lot, nay, ridiculous! They never tire of telling us that they are the majority hence why they should be incorporated in decision making organs.

But when you ask them how they want to be incorporated, they are clueless. That voter registration exercise has been going on and the youth who to lead the country have not even been registering themselves. If they don't register as voters, how then wil they elect their own as leaders? I don’t know whether they want Electoral Commission of Kenya chairman Samuel Kivuitu to take the clerks right into their bedrooms.

The writing is clearly on the wall thus: Until that time the youth will embrace the power of thought and hard work, they will forever be singing the hymn of isolation. Numbers without action is akin to the barking of a toothless dog.

And when you tell these youth that they got to style up and be proactive, they come up with some slogans, say, gutuka (arise). Why would you get noisy about such a serious issue? And since the youth are just there to help others make a killing in their name, the gutuka sloganeers leave the scene after making colossal amount of money out of the drive.

For the few youth who respond to voter’s registration, majority register more than 10 times in different constituencies because some "elders" have paid them to do so. That is the beauty of these youthful minds.

And when it comes to voting, two out 10 will find their way to the polling stations, with the other eight being in the convoys of elderly politicians where their usefulness will be stoning, shouting and jeering at rivals, all these for a pay of khat, beer, cigarettes and bhang of course.

And the end result? More elders ascend to power. This is the real tragedy of our times.

Again, are the youth as poor as they want us to believe? The amount of liquor some of these youth consume is enough to knock down a dozen elephants. All these drinks cost money.

The other day Finance Minister Amos Kimunya increased the taxation brackets for cigarettes and beer in order to post resources for the secondary school’s tuition fees. You just need to walk past at the smoking zone and most of those puffing away furiously there are the youth.

It is important that the youth get this from me: The elders will rule over you till that time Jesus will come to your rescue.

In any case the youth have shown clearly that they cannot be trusted to run a big country like this one of ours if their biggest pre-occupation is to form gangs to extort money from the matatu sector, behead people like sheep, getting recruited into Mlungunipa Jeshi la Coast and Saboat Lands Defence Force.

Come on, you need to wake up from the deep slumber of self delusion if you want to be taken seriously. Over to you, my dear youth.






Njogu wa Gitu,
Maragua.

This govt has failed Kenyans

Letter from Kenya Times 31-07-2007
Linus Egesa,
University of Nairobi.


When President Mwai Kibaki was sworn in on December 30, 2002, I had a very deep emotional feeling. A new nation was being born. It symbolised the fact that a new order was coming into being and an old order was passing away. I wanted to be involved in it, be part of it, and notice the birth of the new regime with my own eyes.

Several months down the line, political mischief began; promise of a people-driven constitution was a mirage; a lean cabinet resulted into a bloated one; among other issues the Artur saga. However, despite this, the Kenyan people remained steadfast and hoped things will improve with time. Critics of the unfolding unpleasant events were branded as power-hungry, self seekers and tribal bigots.

Cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities I cannot sit on my laurels without commenting on issues affecting Kenyans. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Anyone who lives inside Kenya cannot be considered an outsider anywhere within its boundaries.

There can be no gainsaying that ethnic injustice engulfs this country. Its ugly record of ethnic-based favouritism in appointments, rising crime rate and poor distribution of resources. These are the hard and brutal facts obtaining in the country today. On the basis of these conditions, ODM-K leaders have in the recent past sought to negotiate with their NARC-K colleagues but the latter has consistently refused to accede to good faith negotiations.

As in so many past instances where our hopes have been shattered, the shadow of deep disappointment settled upon us. The mwananchi had no alternative but to take to the streets whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and international community. In typical totalitarian societies, the Narc government showed its might by teargassing demonstrators.

Demonstrations usually seek to create a crisis and foster such a tension that an elite which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks to dramatise the issue so that it can no longer be ignored.

I am firmly opposed to violent demonstrations but there is a type of constructive, non-violent tension which is necessary for growth. Socrates understood this when he felt it was necessary to create tension in the mind, so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal.

Some have asked why not give the government time to meet its promises? The only answer to this query is that the Narc administration must be prodded as much as the former Kanu regime, before it will act. We were sadly mistaken that the election of President Kibaki would bring manna to Kenyans.

The government is by and large composed of old guards dedicated to maintaining status quo. Historically, privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and involuntarily give up their unjust posture; but as Reinhold Neibuhr reminds us, groups tend to be immoral than individuals.

Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed. Kenyans must exercise vigilance at all times.