War, war and war!
The other day it was Sierra Leone,
then southern Sudan, then
the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda,
as in the list is endless. Now its Kenya
fighting the terror based Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
Wars would cease
if the will to make them was there. There is no substitute to stabilize any
government like war. It provides any government with a means of dealing with
rowdy youths. Yes! These are the same youths who are recruited from our estates
and hoods to join the army and serve their country. But during wars they are
placed upfront- that’s how you deal with the rowdy youths, giving them responsibilities,
even if not of honor and having them upfront at the most dangerous war zone
spots.
Wars everywhere
help the society to be busy, reduce population and kills boredom. All over the
country, in our little “Mtaani Barazas” and “jobless corners”, the topic that
has elicited debate is our troops in Somalia. Infact there are leading
panelist and experienced experts who take charge and give their views despite
them never even coming close to an army camp in their lives. But don’t we have
them in our society? They that pretend to know everything, even more than the
men on the ground. These guys can give government intelligences a run for their
money,
Indeed, wars give
the older generation a more visible approach to deal with the younger generation.
Here the old remember the glorious days where there was no war and how things
have changed and will continue to change. They call the younger ones “the
cursed generation.”
Whether
politically, socially or economically, there is no subsidiary substitute for
war. In the political realm, war can only be abolished if there is a substitute
to social-economic stats. Economically, the government budget will continue to
allocate billions of taxpayer’s money to the defense and socially, our people
will ask questions, but they will do so in the safety and comfort of their
homes and social circles. And they will forget!
Zimbabwe has currently been on the headlines for
the wrong reasons. But anyone who mentions the 1980 summer Olympics never
ceases to mention the Zimbabwe
all white field hockey team that defied and defined history.
2012 is here and many are looking forward
to the London Olympics. The Olympics fever is here and Africa
as a continent has had remarkable historical moments at the Olympics. I can go
on to talk of the legendary Kipchoge Keino but that is a story for another day.
1980 saw Zimbabwe
participate for the first time at the summer Olympic games under the name Zimbabwe from its previous colonial name- Rhodesia.
Despite being the one of the country’s
proudest moment, even after her 1980 independence, it is the circumstances that
led to the inclusion of Zimbabwe
at the Olympics that really baffles many. One of the hockey players then who
was the goalie recounted to the BBC in an interview of how they were not even
suppose to go to the Olympics in Moscow, but when the American led boycott
wiped out most of the field hockey entries, Zimbabwe, the new nation borne out
of the turmoil Rhodesia, became a last minute substitute.
Mind you, the invite came 5 weeks before
the start of the games and after the rigorous training sessions, no one could
have predicted let alone imagine what happened. Zimbabwe swept through 5 games
undefeated.
Two identical twins, sandy and sonia Chick
both playing for zimabwe and the only identical twins to ever have won gold
medals recount how despite being white, they all chanted; “ forward with the
rooster,” which is Mugabe’s party slogan in their 4-1 thrashing victory over
Austria to bagg the coveted gold medal.
daughters of zimbawe-the twins sandy and sonia
As the Zimbabwe
players partied and drank champagne in Moscow,
back in Zimbabwe,
fans took to the streets singing zulu songs. It did not matter what colour
one was-all that mattered was the
unifying factor, a team that had unified both the whites and Africans into one
proud nation. When they touched down, the reception at the airport was
overwhelming, the twins recall. All that mattered was that they were all proud
Zimbabweans together.
And if you thought politics and sports are
like water and oil- they do not mix, then you are wrong. Mugabe in a
congratulatory telegram to the team, he addressed them as “the daughters of Zimbabwe”.
Infact Mugabe went on to urge the country to forget the war struggles and
unite.
And just like the 1980 olympics, the 2012
slogan will remain the same credo for Africa-“
it is not the colour that you go in with, but the one that you comeout with
that matters.”
“THE SLAVE NATION”-
LESSONS FROM THE “KABOGOS” AND “SONKOS “OF AFRICA
An American
satirist Dorothy Parker was full of sayings wasn’t she? And I got one that
really got me thinking a lot. “I don’t know much about being a millionaire, but
I’ll bet I’d be darling at it.”
Kenya now has green horn Mps-
swimming in money called William Kabogo and Gideon Mbuvi Kioko alias Mike
Sonko.
THE FLASHY KENYAN MP MIKE SONKO
PARTY LEADER-MARTHA KARUA, MP KABOGO AND MP SONKO
They are the new
walking ATMS- similar, as both are fabulously rich, staged dazzling campaigns
and won, ran on the same party ticket and their opponents claim they could be
distant relatives, who share a multi
billionaire friend in politics and in business.
MP KABOGO
But then again,
hasn’t Africa seen this? Ask any African
statesman and he / she will tell you that this isn’t new. I do not know what
their merchandise is but I respect the mere fact that they are astute
businessmen and if we were all like them, maybe Kenya would have no need for vision
2030.
Forgive me,
however, I must confess, like framed English cleric Charles Caleb Colton; “many
speak the truth when they say that they despise riches, but they mean the
riches possessed by others.”
But again, I want
to be rich as Kabogo and Sonko, but I am constrained by the mortal fear of what
Leonardo Da Vinci warned; “he who wishes to be rich in a day, will be hanged in
a year.”
But then, how many
of those who have tried to be overnight millionaires have we hanged? You
guessed right-none! That is why we have commission of inquiries almost the age
of our forefathers that have inquired nothing. Because I ma unaware of any who
has been hanged, I am still tempted to push my luck through.
I suspect,
however, it would be burdening God too much trusting Him to walk me up this
ladder to the honey- pot in a year or two. It may take the rest of my life waiting
on God to bless me to the point I do not hanker for sh. 1 million and to make
myself the “mister IMF” for the less fortunate.
You see, in my
pride of Africa land- Kenya, money really does earn one respectability, a place
at the high table, the choicest meals, the choicest sitting places, powerful
friends, human nature which is like a prostitute in the Dark continent as only
those who can pay the bed get it and a million fanatical beggars praising you
as they wait eagerly for the bread crumbs.
As a former
colleague asked another; “will KBC play martial music when you die and how many
shops will close in your village when you die?”
The “Sonkos” and
“Kabogos” of Africa are greenhorns. They
always eye what is ahead of them, even before they attain what is before them.
Vying for an Mp seat, you will hear them say that they are now eyeing the
senate or governor. They claim they won’t pocket a cent of their salary but
will instead divert it to the projects in their constituencies. They come with
promises of free education, free electricity connections- all in the name of
wooing the voters.
MIKE SONKO-AH RASTA MAN
This brings me to
the question which if I had an opportunity to seat with them I would ask. But
since I am not seeing that happening anytime now, I will ask it here; what is
this God-blessed business that makes sh. 1M equivalent to the sh. 10 coin we
grudgingly throw to street beggars?
But then again, I have
2 worries about the “Kabogos” and “Sonkos” in politics; first, money and
generosity do not necessarily make one a better leader and we need leaders who
can “uncurse” us from the curse of depending on the being fed fish to teach us
how to fish on our own. This is because; the dependence they create will make
us their own beck and call slaves.
This is because
many such leaders will live in gold- encrusted homes, cry about how poor the
poor are, and still scramble for C.D.F and other state largesse and fruits of
corruption.
So, until Africa stops being dazzled by the rich man’s and woman’s
‘chapaa’ (money), and bartering our votes for cash, we shall remain one big
slave family pretending to be free. We shall even lynch the pickpocket but
sprawl over ourselves on the ground when our legislators pass by.
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet
sheds on the hill that has quested it…..”-anonymous.
Do me a favor. I
want you to think about the trouble makers, drug addicts and mostly those who
don’t fit in our view. But mostly, think about them in your family. Believe me
they are thinking of you and not somebody else.
When you take these
great teachers who have come into your life to teach you to love them even
through what they are struggling with, then there is a need to love them even
if it is hard.
Peace Pilgrim was
an elderly woman who walked around the country, and all she did, dressed in
white, was to talk about peace. Nobody knew her name; she was just called Peace
Pilgrim.
One day, she was
walking to another street when an accident took place and she was knocked down
by a car and she died.
But she left a
journal that I believe would return spirit to that place in your heart where
there is pain, sorrow , worry, fear, agony and hurt.
In the Bamemba
tribe in South Africa,
when a person acts irresponsibly, and unjustly, here he is placed at the centre
of the village, alone and unfeted. All the work ceases, the entire village
gathers around the accused individual and each person of every age begins to
talk out aloud to the accused. Each person, one at a time, talks about all the
good things the accused at the centre ever did in his lifetime. Every incident,
experience that can be recalled with any detail and accuracy is recounted. All
positive attributes, good deeds, strengths and acts of kindness are recited
carefully and at length.
BAMEMBA UNITY
No is permitted to
exaggerate the compliments or positive attributes of the accused. The tribal
ceremony often lasts several days, not ceasing until everyone is drained of
every positive compliments that can be mastered.
At the end, the
tribal circle is broken, joyous celebration takes place and the person is symbolically
welcomed back into the tribe. Necessities for such a ceremony are rare.
What if we can
teach those who we hate to immerse in a culture of acceptance and love, then
that spirit has to rise? No doubt!
I've been intrigued by this tribe ever
since I heard about them while listening to Dr. Wayne Dyer speak on their
unique tradition. Take a moment to read about it...
