Of Kenyans’ Collective Myopia & Selective Amnesia

I elect to be a last laugher this time round. This I do with regard to the political conundrum that the country has been in over the past one or so months. My reasons for taking a back seat and letting things play out are well documented right here in this blog. If Karl Marx was alive in Kenya today, he surely would not opine that religion is opium for the masses. He would replace ‘religion’ with ‘politics’. Though not for all. With no further ado, here is my 5-point 2 cents on the ‘ai ii bi sii' IEBC-out heatwave:

1.    The vulgarity that was exhibited by bigwigs from whichever political divide is just a mirror of the values (or are they vices?) that we, as the Kenyan society, hold high and close at heart. A stinking morass of morals and social norms. According to one Aristotle, Society produces what it has, no?

2.    The 2013 election was probably the best and most advanced Kenya ever held, but not the best there could ever be. As Sir Winston Churchill put it, 'success is never final' - Raila n Co. have done well to wake people up from the stupor and comfort resultant from the ‘success’ of the 2013 election. Their methods of going about it though, have left a sour taste in many a peace-loving Kenyan...the end does not always justify the means, or does it? (Niccolo Machiavelli would turn severally in his grave if he got wind that I had asserted this.)

3.    Given the unpredictability of Kenyan political theatrics, and the similarity of the recent events with the trajectory of events leading to Kenya's darkest hour 9yrs ago, Sod's Law remains a REAL possibility. The Raila-led ‘vugu vugu’ in the build up to the 2005 referendum stands out as the prime example for this. He led masses into rejecting the proposed constitution (which had in it a Prime Minister’s position), only for him to beg for the same position in the ‘nusu-mkate’ contraption of a government. Should he lose again come 2017, I foresee him and his henchmen again calling for mass action to reverse back to the current IEBC set up, or worse still, ask to recycle the current commissioners. Call it the art of political oscillation, in which the masses are the pendulums. Mere means to the selfish ends of politicians. With this in mind, the next time you find yourself or your brother/sister following the masses in the name of "mass action", kindly remember/remind them that in most cases, the 'M' in 'Masses' is silent.

4.    Diplomacy seems to have prevailed... if the recent agreement by both CORD n Jubilee to sit at the negotiating table n find a way out, is anything to go by. However, let's not forget that one description diplomacy is that it is the art of telling somebody to go to hell in such a manner that they ask you for the direction...One of the sides (Jubilee or CORD) is up to a wild goose chase. You ask which one it is? Your guess is as good as mine. Time will tell.

5.    Lastly, this whole "Operation IEBC iende Nyumbani" drama IS NOT ABOUT/FOR YOU, Wanjiku. It's a LIGI SOO kind of thing! A sport of self actualization; where are you in Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?  Believe it or not, you, Wanjiku, are, have been and will continue to be the pawn on the political chessboard. But this is if you continue to be driven by a herd mentality like sheep. You have allowed yourselves to be exploited along your tribal lines by subjective crooks with warped logic. You forget your past so easily and are blinded to the aftermath of your current actions. Classic case of the Cult of Mediocrity! Take it or leave it, but you will be the "starring" and the "villain" in your own movie. And the Vultures (read your Tribal Kings) will have the last laugh sharing the spoils of your anguish.

P.S. Alluding to Chinua Achebe’s reference to Nigeria in his smallest book, 'The Trouble with Nigeria' “I believe that by all means, (Kenya) is a nation favoured by Providence. We are a great People.” But COLLECTIVE MYOPIA and SELECTIVE AMNESIA are our malignant cancer...if only we could open our eyes to this reality and immediately start taking corrective measures against it!