The Call
By December 1916 more than 17,000 British troops were officially diagnosed as suffering from nervous or mental disability (maybe shell-shock or post-traumatic stress disorder these days), despite which the British military authorities continued to charge and convict sufferers with 'cowardice' and 'desertion', and to sentence to death by firing squad many of those found 'guilty'.
I believe we have all failed. We have acted in cowardice towards our duty of being the watch towers of the country we love. We have subrogated the leadership we have all yearned for to old 'wazees' who continue to enjoy their sunset years while we continue to watch and pray, perhaps for the tomorrow that so far has eluded us. Just like the British soldiers, we should face the firing squad.
Kenya is a beautiful country, there is no doubt about that. It is a country with a diverse culture that forms a beautiful symphony when you watch people wake up every day to go eke out a living. We have produced immense talent in entirely every field. But why dont we ever produce champions of democracy who have the interest of all classes of Kenyans at heart? I am not talking about the usual kind of politicians who every five years get a chance to test the integrity of the Kenyan folks. My mind and my heart is yearing for a man or woman who will break the barriers of corruption, stimulate the economy to grow in leaps and bounds, give Kenyans a new meaning to the Harambee spirit and above all, ensure that justice, equality and fairness reign supreme. That is what our country is yearning for. This what the name Kenya means.
We should realise that there is no enough time. Martin Luther King Jr reminds us that time never rolls on the wheels of inevitability. In fact, he says that time is neautral and cannot wait for any man and the best that humanity can do is make time its ally. It is upon you and I to move on from debating on the streets, on chairs in pubs, on walls and notes in Facebook and face the giants that are bedevelling the country.
I believe that every person has a right to contest in an election. But it is no moral right when people of questionable character fill up the ballot papers. Kenyans cannot just be fools and make up things. There is something perhaps that we know that those with the mandate do not, which would be utterly appalling. But even then, we continue to be the worst enemy to our country. We have ears hear but we want to use them to see. We have eyes to see but we want to use them to smell. We are all bangled up.
We need to start questioning the character and the integrity of those seeking leadership. Money is good. I like money. We all do. It can make one happy. But it would never lead us to contentment. Why sacrifice leadership at the alter of one hundrend shillings? Why not use that one hundrend shillings to question its source. It is interesting that in America, as the Republicans were nominating candidates for the November mid term election, issues reigned supreme. It is never about who is the son of what or not or who has the most money or not. In fact, Delaware Tea Party nominee Christine O' Donnell is being chided for being anti masturbation while the New York nominee is being regarded for being pro-beastiality! Question is, what do we really know about our politicians?
Finally, my grandmother would joke about a story she heard about two salesmen who were sent by a British shoe manufacturer to Africa to investigate and report back on market potential. The first salesman reported back, "There is no potential here - nobody wears shoes." The second salesman reported back, "There is massive potential here - nobody wears shoes."
Kenya is calling on us.
I believe we have all failed. We have acted in cowardice towards our duty of being the watch towers of the country we love. We have subrogated the leadership we have all yearned for to old 'wazees' who continue to enjoy their sunset years while we continue to watch and pray, perhaps for the tomorrow that so far has eluded us. Just like the British soldiers, we should face the firing squad.
Kenya is a beautiful country, there is no doubt about that. It is a country with a diverse culture that forms a beautiful symphony when you watch people wake up every day to go eke out a living. We have produced immense talent in entirely every field. But why dont we ever produce champions of democracy who have the interest of all classes of Kenyans at heart? I am not talking about the usual kind of politicians who every five years get a chance to test the integrity of the Kenyan folks. My mind and my heart is yearing for a man or woman who will break the barriers of corruption, stimulate the economy to grow in leaps and bounds, give Kenyans a new meaning to the Harambee spirit and above all, ensure that justice, equality and fairness reign supreme. That is what our country is yearning for. This what the name Kenya means.
We should realise that there is no enough time. Martin Luther King Jr reminds us that time never rolls on the wheels of inevitability. In fact, he says that time is neautral and cannot wait for any man and the best that humanity can do is make time its ally. It is upon you and I to move on from debating on the streets, on chairs in pubs, on walls and notes in Facebook and face the giants that are bedevelling the country.
I believe that every person has a right to contest in an election. But it is no moral right when people of questionable character fill up the ballot papers. Kenyans cannot just be fools and make up things. There is something perhaps that we know that those with the mandate do not, which would be utterly appalling. But even then, we continue to be the worst enemy to our country. We have ears hear but we want to use them to see. We have eyes to see but we want to use them to smell. We are all bangled up.
We need to start questioning the character and the integrity of those seeking leadership. Money is good. I like money. We all do. It can make one happy. But it would never lead us to contentment. Why sacrifice leadership at the alter of one hundrend shillings? Why not use that one hundrend shillings to question its source. It is interesting that in America, as the Republicans were nominating candidates for the November mid term election, issues reigned supreme. It is never about who is the son of what or not or who has the most money or not. In fact, Delaware Tea Party nominee Christine O' Donnell is being chided for being anti masturbation while the New York nominee is being regarded for being pro-beastiality! Question is, what do we really know about our politicians?
Finally, my grandmother would joke about a story she heard about two salesmen who were sent by a British shoe manufacturer to Africa to investigate and report back on market potential. The first salesman reported back, "There is no potential here - nobody wears shoes." The second salesman reported back, "There is massive potential here - nobody wears shoes."
Kenya is calling on us.
