Going
by the posts on social media sites, God finds Himself in an enviable
position. He is called upon to assure victory for one presidential
candidate over the other. Many are claiming that the next president is
God's choice and that Kenyans should go along to get along. He is also
called upon to guarantee peace, and future success to the next
president. I think He has better things to do...like drawing up a list
of the naughty and nice, to use a past phrase, so that on the Day of
Judgment...well, you get the drift.
Instead of calling on the Almighty to intervene in a minor political contest, perhaps we should ask for His guidance as we form our next government. This nation faces challenges that have persisted for decades. Child mortality is still frighteningly high. As are deaths during childbirth and poverty levels. Kenyans routinely slaughter each other over land, grazing rights and political offices. Education is not worth the word in Kenya; we can barely stack up against the Asian Tigers let alone the best of the best in the West. Debilitating diseases still stalk the land.
We have demonstrated a staggering lack of civic-mindedness over the past fifty years and in the year of our Jubilee, perhaps, it is time to call time on the apathy and neglects of the past. We must seize the bull by the horns and tackle the issues that hold us back. Debating with the leading lights of the middle classes, one is persuaded that the corruption, cheating, lies and murders that have coloured our governance in the past are things that can be overcome. Perhaps, with a new president and a new constitution to implement, this is the time when we take these issues, one by one, and sort them out not just for our sake, but for that of our children and theirs in the decades to come.
A visitor from Mars would be mistaken for thinking that the most important choice we have to make is between two very similar presidential candidates. The truth of the matter is that we have more difficult choices to make. In rewarding the men and women who toil in the public service, we must choose between paying them and paying for their tools. In the security of the peoples of Kenya, we must choose between a draconian application of the Penal Code and negotiating with men and women who would seek to do us harm. In educating our children, we would choose between making education free or making it of the highest quality possible. The choices are many and complex. How we choose will determine whether we have a short term or long term view of the viability of our nation.
Even today as uncertainty plagues the outcome of the presidential contest, we must not lose sight of the things that make us one. It cannot be reduced to a National Anthem or a National Flag; we must all, somehow , rise up to the occasion and see ourselves as one nation and one people. For this to happen, we must not jealously guard the allocations that will be made from the national Treasury; we must acknowledge that some are more deserving of State largesse than others and ensure that when that largesse is dispensed, it is done fairly and honestly. If we do not, then it matters not who the man at the top is. We will, sooner or later, revert to self-destructive behaviors and ruin the present and the future we so desperately deserve. If we must call on the Almighty, if at all, let us call on Him to help us do this.
Instead of calling on the Almighty to intervene in a minor political contest, perhaps we should ask for His guidance as we form our next government. This nation faces challenges that have persisted for decades. Child mortality is still frighteningly high. As are deaths during childbirth and poverty levels. Kenyans routinely slaughter each other over land, grazing rights and political offices. Education is not worth the word in Kenya; we can barely stack up against the Asian Tigers let alone the best of the best in the West. Debilitating diseases still stalk the land.
We have demonstrated a staggering lack of civic-mindedness over the past fifty years and in the year of our Jubilee, perhaps, it is time to call time on the apathy and neglects of the past. We must seize the bull by the horns and tackle the issues that hold us back. Debating with the leading lights of the middle classes, one is persuaded that the corruption, cheating, lies and murders that have coloured our governance in the past are things that can be overcome. Perhaps, with a new president and a new constitution to implement, this is the time when we take these issues, one by one, and sort them out not just for our sake, but for that of our children and theirs in the decades to come.
A visitor from Mars would be mistaken for thinking that the most important choice we have to make is between two very similar presidential candidates. The truth of the matter is that we have more difficult choices to make. In rewarding the men and women who toil in the public service, we must choose between paying them and paying for their tools. In the security of the peoples of Kenya, we must choose between a draconian application of the Penal Code and negotiating with men and women who would seek to do us harm. In educating our children, we would choose between making education free or making it of the highest quality possible. The choices are many and complex. How we choose will determine whether we have a short term or long term view of the viability of our nation.
Even today as uncertainty plagues the outcome of the presidential contest, we must not lose sight of the things that make us one. It cannot be reduced to a National Anthem or a National Flag; we must all, somehow , rise up to the occasion and see ourselves as one nation and one people. For this to happen, we must not jealously guard the allocations that will be made from the national Treasury; we must acknowledge that some are more deserving of State largesse than others and ensure that when that largesse is dispensed, it is done fairly and honestly. If we do not, then it matters not who the man at the top is. We will, sooner or later, revert to self-destructive behaviors and ruin the present and the future we so desperately deserve. If we must call on the Almighty, if at all, let us call on Him to help us do this.
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