ochiengakuno@daad-alumni.de
Dresden-Germany,Thursday - 4th January 2018.
Uhuru Kenyatta (The Embodiment of Kenyattaism in Kenya)
Raila Odinga (The Embodiment of Odingaism in Kenya)
Am of a strong conviction that if you change the way you look at things; those things you look at change.
Fact is: Whichever way you look at it, Odingaism just like Kenyattaism; both of these have been a struggle to somewhere in the post-independence Kenya.And Kenyans subscribed to both "isms" with a passion - The Luos and The Kikuyus respectively laying the foundation of the respective "ism".
Look at it this way: Each "ism" achieving the presidency as the END GOAL is one way of looking at (or grading) the progress of each "ism" for that matter.This has been the yardstick that Kenyans have used for a long time and unfortunately still is.
This approach has led to heart-wrenching frustrations after each election in the Odinga monolith whereas on the other hand, the Kenyatta monolith has "won" the contested elections cycles over the years and took home the presidency.Thus going by the Kenyan yardstick of grading the two "isms", it's only a fair assessment that the victory goes to The Kenyattaism.
However if there is any lessons learnt in the 2017 elections cycle, it is that our yardstick and our grading system around matters political competition as a nation need revision as a matter of urgency.And Civil Education and Public Sensitization around these issues need to be prioritized.
A journey to somewhere need not be judged by "reaching there or otherwise" and ignoring all the aspects of "how you got there".Our society is today crumbling under the madness of "the end justifies the means" - and all this is unfolding before our very own eyes; live on our TV screens in our living rooms.
Voter apathy is going to be a phenomenon that Kenya will have to contend with as a nation going forward.Our children are already learning that you don't have to earn it; just get there, period! Those who have - over the years - subscribed to The Odingaism as we've come to know it are today pitying themselves and giving in to the value culture propagated by the other side.
All these is unfolding because the Odingas have "not got us there" - The Presidency! The torturous path the Odingas and those who subscribed to it have followed over the years in the quest for the presidency doesn't matter anymore! And neither do the achievements realized along this path matter anymore. None gives a damn about the New constitution 2010, No! None gives a damn about Devolution and the County Governments, No! It doesn't matter that we have a bicameral representation embodied by the Senate and the Parliament in Kenya today, No!
The more comprehensive civil representation the country has realized for example on women's issues through Women Representatives and through County Assemblies matter no more, No! The list could go on and on...
Again all that because we didn't get there - The Presidency - with Odingaism? Be like, really?
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Eng.Ochieng Akuno holds an M.Sc. in High Performance Material Engineering from Dresden University of Technology with Postgraduate Training(Ecosystems,Resilience&Adaptation to Climate Change) from Cologne University of Applied Sciences/UNEP.He is also an Alumnus of The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), The President - Know-How Global Germany and Founder & Executive Director of Kanam For Education(KAFE): ochiengakuno@daad-alumni.de
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