Our country has come (and gone) through a lot of shakeups in recent times. And in all these circumstances we have realized that we are our own worst enemies. Yes, we are enemies to our very own existence.
Well, and the ruling elite has been doing very little to steer us clear off the path of self-destruction. In fact, our leaders have been out to aggravate matters. Some of the people we let sail into Kenya’s cockpit, the driving seat, have completely forgotten what the electorate mandated them to do.
Some of them have forgotten that the common man (the mwananchi) is their employer – at least we pay their salary by being faithful to paying our taxes!
They forgot their employer (and what the employer wanted done) the minute they stepped into the “job”. The job mesmerized them. They were inundated with all manner of “pressures” that saw them forgetting that their employer wants results and not just mere babble.
When in the House, they forget that they are discussing the future of their employer, you and me. They twist issues and pass bills to save their own skins (from the flip-side of their avarice!). They fight to continue living while subjecting their employers to a life of utter doom and heartache.
This is not right!
They do not want to pay taxes like the rest of us. They don’t want a dime of their fat cheques touched in the name of paying tax. This is a case of an employee being better than the employer in the employer’s office! Quite an incongruous state of affairs.
They forget that we cried foul when they were awarding themselves “plump” pay packets sometime back. They got their way then. It pained us. And now they do not want to pay taxes. This is too much!
Are they not Kenyans? Are they not supposed to pay taxes like the rest of us? Or are they trying to say that they are better than the people who pay their salaries? Are they better than the people they represent? Are they “more equal” than us?
Oh, my head is going round and round in circles.
They forget that people in this country have not fully healed from the effects of the post-election violence that characterized the start of this year. People who lost their loved ones, property, homes, livelihoods and …hope are yet to get a respite from the physical, emotional and psychological devastation that was “visited on them”.
But our employees, our leaders, pretend that everything is okay and that, because the violence is no more, then, everything is all right.
Everything is not okay.
There are so many people who are yet to be resettled but our leaders are not doing enough to alleviate the plight of the IDPs by presenting workable solutions. The very people who are supposed to come to the rescue of the mwanachi are closing their ears to our cries and pleas. A very sorry state indeed!
And the other day these same people, the voices (nay, “noises!”) in the House, passed a bill aimed at gagging the vehicles of information in Kenya. They want to make sure that their employer does not get to know what kind of people they (our leaders) are.
How will you and I get to know them well if they strangulate the editorial process? How will you and I get glimpses of “the behind-the-scenes” if (and when) they completely gag the media? If (and when) this happens, are we going to claim to be a democratic nation? Are the members of the ruling elite waiting for 2012 to start listening to us?
This can never be allowed to continue happening. We must stand up to decry their “tyranny”. Yes, and it should be done with the needed vehemence. I like what Edmund Burke says: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
If we continue resting on our laurels and do nothing about anything, then, we could be in the same position even 100 years from today. Nothing will have changed.
You know if we continue doing things the way we have always done and then expect different results, then, if someone calls us crazy, we should take the punch humbly. It is preposterous to expect different results if we continue employing the same methods to achieve a certain goal.
The kind of people this country needs (both the employer and employee)
A time like this demands: strong minds, great heights, true faith and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honour; Men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue;
And damn their treacherous flatteries without winking;
Kenyans, we have a long way to go. A long way to true freedom and truth.
So, vaa hiyo nguo ya kazi (put on your apron) for you should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth. It is murky business…
MPs be warned: Revolutions don’t just happen, they evolve
Ladies and their woes
The advantages of online job hunting
Be the change you so much seek
Featured Post
2 Kenyan Billionaires Who Built Empires Without Corruption
How 2 Kenyan Giants Became Self-Made Billionaires PLUS A Deep Dive Into The Secrets And Strategies That Anybody Can Apply When discussing th...
Showing posts with label Words of wisdom by Ritch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Words of wisdom by Ritch. Show all posts
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
The Nairobi Bomb Blast Ten Years On: A Subtle Lesson
Yesterday Kenyans and Tanzanians marked ten years to the day the dastardly bombing of the American Embassies in these towns rocked our lives – and completely changed many lives.
But, even as we mourn our departed heroes, we ought to rectify ourselves on a number of issues.
Kenyans, we are very slow to learn some things and our leaders are equally “inept” when it comes to some things. They have not been providing the necessary leadership to help build us a bastion against a recrudescence of social ills that have been threatening to split us into two equal halves.
Even as you read this, the monster that we created by our sheer ignorance and ineptness in dealing with “our issues” head-on is wreaking havoc in this country – so much has gone up in smoke and we pretend not to know the reasons why.
Early this year we saw, experienced and tasted the flip side of our ignorance – the monster growled out loud and the country shook!
Hypocrisy reigns supreme in this country. The people we expect to light our path as a nation so that we don’t fall into pits (some of which we, sadly, helped create!) rarely rise to the occasion. Here I am talking about our politicians, our religious leaders, our schools (the teachers and the whole school system) and the media.
Most of the time, these groups of people and institutions fail to bring us together. They, instead, fight to drive wedges between us. We fail to see them guiding us to celebrate the beauty of unity and being one. Being our examples, we fail to see them working as one (remember, example is better than precept).
We fail to see them taking the opportunities that present themselves and turning them to gold – especially opportunities that would help foster nationhood.
What is the use of ranting about how different we are and laying our weaknesses (most of which are mere stereotypes) bare at the expense of national unity?
What has all this got to do with the Nairobi bomb blast ten years ago?
The answer is simple: the solidarity and empathy exhibited by Kenyans of all walks of life when the tragedy struck.
The story of one woman’s struggle for her life under the massive rubble is worth mentioning here. This is the story of Rose Wanjiku Mwangi – newspapers called her ‘A Candle in the Wind’.
She was buried under the rubble when the American Embassy and other buildings around it came tumbling down due to the impact of the bomb. She was alive for around four days under the rubble; and she was all the while communicating with the rescuers. This spurred them to work even harder in order to save her life.
Her voice fell silent on Sunday, August 9, 1998, but on the next day, Monday, the rescue was spurred on when tapping was heard from where she was thought to be buried.
The whole nation was hoping and praying that she would be rescued. Her determination to live – the massive rubble on top of her notwithstanding – touched many people.
No one asked what tribe Rose was or, even, from which part of Kenya she came from. If any one did, then it was for a different reason. A reason far from the one some people would have today asking the very same questions.
She died less than 24hours before her body was recovered at 0300 local time on the Wednesday of that week. Millions of people in Kenya and other countries around the world mourned her death and that of others who lost their lives during the American Embassy bombing.
Rose’s spirit to live against all the odds, encapsulates the spirit that we should have as a nation. A spirit to rise above our lot; a spirit to rise above ethnic differences; a spirit to celebrate nationhood (and not just mouth the fleshless “Najivunia kuwa Mkenya”).
This is a spirit that our leaders (political, religious and school leaders) and the fourth estate (the media) can help us realize. We are tired of just existing. Can we begin living as Kenyans?
We must stir the fighting spirit within us to life and fight on till we reach the acme we aspire. As bothers and sisters; as Kenyans, we can make it!
But, even as we mourn our departed heroes, we ought to rectify ourselves on a number of issues.
Kenyans, we are very slow to learn some things and our leaders are equally “inept” when it comes to some things. They have not been providing the necessary leadership to help build us a bastion against a recrudescence of social ills that have been threatening to split us into two equal halves.
Even as you read this, the monster that we created by our sheer ignorance and ineptness in dealing with “our issues” head-on is wreaking havoc in this country – so much has gone up in smoke and we pretend not to know the reasons why.
Early this year we saw, experienced and tasted the flip side of our ignorance – the monster growled out loud and the country shook!
Hypocrisy reigns supreme in this country. The people we expect to light our path as a nation so that we don’t fall into pits (some of which we, sadly, helped create!) rarely rise to the occasion. Here I am talking about our politicians, our religious leaders, our schools (the teachers and the whole school system) and the media.
Most of the time, these groups of people and institutions fail to bring us together. They, instead, fight to drive wedges between us. We fail to see them guiding us to celebrate the beauty of unity and being one. Being our examples, we fail to see them working as one (remember, example is better than precept).
We fail to see them taking the opportunities that present themselves and turning them to gold – especially opportunities that would help foster nationhood.
What is the use of ranting about how different we are and laying our weaknesses (most of which are mere stereotypes) bare at the expense of national unity?
What has all this got to do with the Nairobi bomb blast ten years ago?
The answer is simple: the solidarity and empathy exhibited by Kenyans of all walks of life when the tragedy struck.
The story of one woman’s struggle for her life under the massive rubble is worth mentioning here. This is the story of Rose Wanjiku Mwangi – newspapers called her ‘A Candle in the Wind’.
She was buried under the rubble when the American Embassy and other buildings around it came tumbling down due to the impact of the bomb. She was alive for around four days under the rubble; and she was all the while communicating with the rescuers. This spurred them to work even harder in order to save her life.
Her voice fell silent on Sunday, August 9, 1998, but on the next day, Monday, the rescue was spurred on when tapping was heard from where she was thought to be buried.
The whole nation was hoping and praying that she would be rescued. Her determination to live – the massive rubble on top of her notwithstanding – touched many people.
No one asked what tribe Rose was or, even, from which part of Kenya she came from. If any one did, then it was for a different reason. A reason far from the one some people would have today asking the very same questions.
She died less than 24hours before her body was recovered at 0300 local time on the Wednesday of that week. Millions of people in Kenya and other countries around the world mourned her death and that of others who lost their lives during the American Embassy bombing.
Rose’s spirit to live against all the odds, encapsulates the spirit that we should have as a nation. A spirit to rise above our lot; a spirit to rise above ethnic differences; a spirit to celebrate nationhood (and not just mouth the fleshless “Najivunia kuwa Mkenya”).
This is a spirit that our leaders (political, religious and school leaders) and the fourth estate (the media) can help us realize. We are tired of just existing. Can we begin living as Kenyans?
We must stir the fighting spirit within us to life and fight on till we reach the acme we aspire. As bothers and sisters; as Kenyans, we can make it!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Kumekucha Social Check: Our Young Men
Why you are extremely corrupt if you buy into Safaricom shares
The other day I found myself 'inadvertently' eavesdropping on the conversation of some two young men. They were talking about Aids, sex and marriage.
One of them was saying that men (quite an outlandish generalization!) cannot do without sex. He went on to say that as long as a man is 'functioning' then sex is the sure release of his building pressure.
Then the insalubrious 'party pooper' was brought into the picture: Aids. They fear Aids (who doesn’t?). Talking of Aids as if talking of the weather is sheer madness (what I learnt from what they were saying). They said that with Aids lurking somewhere in the shadows of 'after sex' then a tricky situation had plunged headlong onto the scene.
One of the two (a bachelor, I learnt) said that with Aids marring the beautiful picture that once gleamed in the light, marriage had become a no-tread zone to many a young man. He said that he would 'marry' for two or three years and, after getting a kid or two, tell the woman (read wife),
"Your time's up. Pack your bags and leave!" He would retain the children (with that, he would have accomplished his goal in life!).
They viewed sex as a way of letting off 'steam' and marriage as a 'factory' for making children; after that: to hell with it!
My Take
This is a dim view of reality. Sex and marriage are beautiful things created by God. Sex serves its purpose divinely in the context of marriage. And marriage is more than just 'where children are made' but rather where we learn to use our God-given talents to benefit each other (the married) in exciting ways that increase the gushes and torrents of love.
Still on the issue of marriage, sample what Bishop T.D. Jakes has to say to the married and the ones aspiring to be married one day.
What it means to be Married:
"To the one you are marrying you are saying: when my time comes to leave this world, when the chill of eternity blows away my birthdays and my future stands still in the night, it's your face I want to kiss goodbye. It's your hand I want to squeeze, as I slip from time to eternity. As the curtain closes on all I have attempted to do and be, I want to look into your eyes and see that I mattered. Not what I looked like or how much money I made, or even how talented I was. I just want to look into the eyes of someone who loved me and see that I mattered."
This is quite a huge price tag attached to the marriage institution and certainly the missing piece in the jigsaw.
Spouses out there 'for better or for worse' please don't do this to your partner.
The other day I found myself 'inadvertently' eavesdropping on the conversation of some two young men. They were talking about Aids, sex and marriage.
One of them was saying that men (quite an outlandish generalization!) cannot do without sex. He went on to say that as long as a man is 'functioning' then sex is the sure release of his building pressure.
Then the insalubrious 'party pooper' was brought into the picture: Aids. They fear Aids (who doesn’t?). Talking of Aids as if talking of the weather is sheer madness (what I learnt from what they were saying). They said that with Aids lurking somewhere in the shadows of 'after sex' then a tricky situation had plunged headlong onto the scene.
One of the two (a bachelor, I learnt) said that with Aids marring the beautiful picture that once gleamed in the light, marriage had become a no-tread zone to many a young man. He said that he would 'marry' for two or three years and, after getting a kid or two, tell the woman (read wife),
"Your time's up. Pack your bags and leave!" He would retain the children (with that, he would have accomplished his goal in life!).
They viewed sex as a way of letting off 'steam' and marriage as a 'factory' for making children; after that: to hell with it!
My Take
This is a dim view of reality. Sex and marriage are beautiful things created by God. Sex serves its purpose divinely in the context of marriage. And marriage is more than just 'where children are made' but rather where we learn to use our God-given talents to benefit each other (the married) in exciting ways that increase the gushes and torrents of love.
Still on the issue of marriage, sample what Bishop T.D. Jakes has to say to the married and the ones aspiring to be married one day.
What it means to be Married:
"To the one you are marrying you are saying: when my time comes to leave this world, when the chill of eternity blows away my birthdays and my future stands still in the night, it's your face I want to kiss goodbye. It's your hand I want to squeeze, as I slip from time to eternity. As the curtain closes on all I have attempted to do and be, I want to look into your eyes and see that I mattered. Not what I looked like or how much money I made, or even how talented I was. I just want to look into the eyes of someone who loved me and see that I mattered."
This is quite a huge price tag attached to the marriage institution and certainly the missing piece in the jigsaw.
Spouses out there 'for better or for worse' please don't do this to your partner.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)