THARAKA NITHI MY GARDEN OF EDEN
For
those who have never been to Tharaka Nithi County they think the place is a paradise.
Their thoughts are laced with stereotypes of land of miraa, fertile soils for
agriculture and serene tourist attractions. Such mindset is deceptive. One only
needs to stand and face Mount Kenya.
Despite close proximity to the second tallest mountain in Africa,
Tharaka Nithi is ravaged by a raft of environmental hazards.
Careless
and reckless attitude
The
Mt. Kenya forest has been diminishing at an alarming rate. Residents have been
cutting indigenous trees with abandon. They clear large tracts of land for
“development”. They either want to build plots or lease the land. Others plant
illicit drugs such as bhang in large clearings deep in the middle of the Mt.
Kenya forest. Does this explain why the recent
forest fires that swept Mt. Kenya took too long time to contain? Drug addicts
hide in forest dens as they puff away marijuana carelessly. They recklessly
leave embers of butts on the floor of the forest. Dry leaves and woods catch
fire. We all know the results of this care-free attitude.
Cold
winter
In
the neighbouring county of Nyeri, farmers reported that their crops were being
attacked by adverse frost. They wilted and dried. Farmers lost millions of
shillings in agricultural input investment due to this disturbing the balance
of nature.
Last
semester (May-August) was one of the hardest ever. I recall how the weather
suddenly turned winter and a bout of running nose hit me. The flu and fever
were so contagious that as soon as you healed the disease recurred since it was
still in the air anyway. I spent a lot of money buying handkerchiefs and cough
syrups. At one point I missed a practical class which required me to give an
oral presentation. My sore throat failed me. I sneezed until I cried. My ears
blasted and my throat thundered.
The
unforgiving nature strikes
Environmental
icon the late Prof. Wangari Mathaai (God bless her soul) once famously quipped
that if you destroy nature, nature will destroy you too. Nature is so
unforgiving that we cannot escape responsibility of our actions. If we embark
on deforestation, nature will strike back with apocalyptic curse of global
warming. I reported back for this semester on September 19. Farmers were
already tilling their land in preparation of the rains. It is no longer tenable
that those who plant early reap more harvest.
Two months down the line, the fields are still dusty and bare. Random
rains rotted the seeds planted in advance.
Farmers embarked on a sowing spree again at an extra expense.
In
a country such as Kenya where land is a central factor of production as well as
an emotive subject, we cannot afford to joke with nature. It is everyone’s
guess that the rains have defied the natural seasons. They are no longer
predictable. They ambush us with shocking surprises. This sets the stage for
drought and famine. If this situation continues unchecked we will be begging “tunaomba
serikali” as we walk meekly carrying begging bowels around Tharaka Nithi which
is supposed to be a bread basket. Do we want another Kenyans for Kenyans
campaign for Tharaka? Didn’t we learn from Turkana?
A
case in point is Ndagani High School located near Chuka University. I visited
their dining hall and was appalled. Heaps upon heaps of logs! I sought a
comment from a fourth year. She naively told me that the trees in question were
indigenous. They took years to mature only to be ruthlessly chopped down by the
cooks. I think the worst discovery of machines in the entire human history and
civilization is not an AK47. It is not even the weapons of mass destruction. It
is the power saw. The saw is like a gas chamber. It drowns acres of trees by
slicing them mercilessly where it hurts the most for them not to recover. The
stumps are left standing lonely on bare soil. They are carried away by rain
water. Soil erosion carries away fertile top soil leaving behind barren and
rocky soil exposed.
Wisdom
of learning from others
The
sad thing is that the students never thought about recycling animal waste yet
they have a good number of dairy cows zero grazed in their compound. Biogas is
an alien concept to them. I am not saying we should not cook. I am saying we
cook sustainably. Non-renewable fuel is currently the fan of modern day war. We
do not want to be like Middle East or Nigeria who fight over oil. We can learn
from the split of Khartoum and Juba in order to build better counties and
country. I do not want my Tharaka Nithi to be like Abyei- a disputed territory stranding
the border of South Sudan and Sudan. It remains a theatre of killing innocent
civilians. Impunity has spawned warlords who roam free.
In
Kenya we have had enough. It is a sad chapter we would like to close. However,
the closure has been a mirage. We should say never again to Internally
Displaced Persons and squatters.
The
sad reality is that we like short cuts. We do not care so long as our interests
are taken care of. That is why the landlords investing around the campus
continue to cut down trees to build more hostels at the expense of the
environment. That is why the students drop litter yet a few seconds ago it was
used to wrap their shopping.
Taking
responsibility
It
is time we take full responsibility of our actions and inactions. Let the
environmental degradation not be because of one of us failing to do their part
or did a portion that contributed to environmental degradation. It is our duty
to recycle plastics. We should clean cans of Blue Band and keep sugar there.
Then the nylon cover of the sugar can be collected and sent back to the factory
for smelting so that other wrappings can be recast.
The
glaciers of snow at the summit of Mt. Kenya are vanishing like morning dew.
This should jolt us to wake up to reality. Tourists who visit and climb Mt.
Kenya will soon opt for other destinations and deny us foreign currency if we
do not change. The rivers whose source is Mt. Kenya will dry up. We will suffer
more than before due to our own activities. True, the human being is the worst
threat to the environment.
Final
plea: Please spare our children by nurturing the nature
Now
please do your children and grandchildren a simple favour, I hope it will not
be too much to ask. Spare them. Do not make them only to imagine that there was
a huge forest around Mount Kenya that sustained lives of plants, animals and
human beings for centuries before it was wiped. Should you leave this world,
make it a better place than you found it. Part of that making the difference is
conserving the nature. Nurture the nature.
The
good news is that all is not lost. We can still reverse the destruction. Let us
not just take it as a tired cliché that when we cut a tree we should plant two.
It is our obligation, our calling and our responsibility. When God created Adam
and Eve and placed them on the Garden of Eden they were tasked with taking care
of their environment. Tharaka Nithi is my Garden of Eden and I will preach
green gospel of revolution as long as I live. Before I bow I will pass the
baton to another champion of nature. Endeavour to be part of this noble cause.
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