Kenya is 50/50

Kenya is 50/50

“I thought that the children are the future. Do Kenyan children really count in the development of this country? Are they just there to be told wait for tomorrow? “You are the leaders of tomorrow!” That is a very depressing statement from any adult leader whether a parent or a politician to tell a kid to wait. Wait for what? What you can do today do it now. Procrastination and change of goals are the cancer gnawing the soul of this country.  

Kenya celebrated Golden Jubilee this Jamhuri day.  It was marked with pomp and colour. Opinion is divided on whether or not the KSh. 500 million spent to hold that historic event was justified.

I had decided to carry an in-depth feature about the celebrations. The mainstream media went all out to cover it on acres of newspapers, minutes of radio airspace and hours of TV videos. I took to the internet to see what they were up to in their celebrations of Kenya@50. I did not carry the story because it had no news value given it came against the backdrop of the death of Mandela and I had to make my judgment on what to publish.

The beauty with the internet is there are millions of contributors and there is no such a thing as monopoly of information. Everyone can and do contribute. For the most part, internet content does not suffer the political correctness and compromise of the regular mass channels. The blogosphere and social media sites are the new frontiers of shaping public opinion and agenda. There are blunt, unapologetic and fresh.

It is in the social media where you will get creative comments such as: najihurumia kuwa Mkenya, 50 years of making mistakes, there are only two tribes in Kenya; the rich and the poor and Kenya ikona wenyewe.

Kenya is 50 years young. It is not 50 years old. During those years it has achieved universal education, expanded infrastructure such as roads, electricity and plans are ready to acquire standard gauge railway as well as renovate Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. It is fondly called the island of peace in a sea of coup d’états, political violence and dictatorship. When tourists board airplanes to Africa they want to be received by the warm land of hakuna matata. They return with Maasai souvenirs to advertise Kenya to the world.

Sadly, Kenyans themselves have seen little to be truly proud of their country. The standards of living are unaffordable. Prices of basic commodities could not go higher. The fuel cartels milk the taxpayer until she bleeds. There is rampant corruption everywhere. The youth unemployment is a national scourge. This exposes the young people to indecent activities such as crime and despair. What is the future of a nation whose youths are hopeless and marginalized?

I thought that the children are the future. Do Kenyan children really count in the development of this country? Are they just there to be told wait for tomorrow? “You are the leaders of tomorrow!” That is a very depressing statement from any adult leader whether a parent or a politician to tell a kid to wait. Wait for what? What you can do today do it now. Procrastination and change of goals are the cancer gnawing the soul of this country.

At independence Kenya was at par in terms of economic development with Asian tigers like Malaysia and Korea. Successive leaderships ran down this republic. It is a kiosk which operates on credit.

Will the next 50 years be more democratic? More free? More promising? Will Kenya realize the Vision 2030 dream of being a middle income economy?

In 2063, Kenya will celebrate a century. By then, I hope the following will be realized: reduce the number of members of parliament, senators and women representatives and county assembly members, bridge the yawning divide between the haves and have nots, strengthen  devolution and have a productive and healthy population.

The writer is a 3^rd year student of Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University. He blogs at musyokangui.blogspot.com

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