BBI HAS SOME GOOD IN IT
Today I saw this post on a WhatsApp status,
“Our bus is badly driven.
Wheels have come out;
Engine has knocked;
Tank is empty; and
Gearbox has been stolen.
The driver says changing the
number plate from Jubilee to
BBI will solve the problem;
And some passengers agree.
They are trying to push to see
if it will start”.
The post is courtesy of Joshua K. Njega.
———–
The message is home and dry, but too on the surface. People who think BBI cannot fix Kenya’s problems assume that the problems we face has nothing to do with our social structure.
From the recently released 2019 Census report, one thing Kenyans have taken issue with is the characterization of Kenyans by tribes. A post by Maina Wa Muchiri was particular about this, where he wondered, “What’s the purpose of lumping, say Kikuyus in Lamu, Eldoret, Nyeri, Nairobi etc together? Are there national resources to be allocated to Kikuyu as an ethnic group, wherever they reside?”.
Tribalism is one of the biggest problems that face this country. In as much as everyone wants corruption to be eradicated, the fight against corruption cannot be won when tribalism still triumph economic reasoning.
It is true that the fight against corruption right now targets those affiliated with William Ruto. When the fight will reach William Ruto himself, the Kalenjin community will instantly rise to defend their son – and calls for war won’t be far from their mouths. The same will be true if the fight against corruption lands at Raila’s doorstep, a person being considered by many Luos as their Messiah. The Kikuyus will be ready in arms to defend their Uhuru Kenyatta if by some miracle the EACC heads to his doorstep (personally I believe most of the corruption cases should end up at Uhuru’s doorstep).
One of the BBI objectives is to address this tribal reasoning, by borrowing from Julius Nyerere who managed to form a one nation in Tanzania despite the many tribal groups in that country. If Kenya could exist in a similar national cohesion, promote national values of ethics, then it could be easy to implement national development agenda that will push the bus forward.
What the post by Joshua K. Njega failed to realise is that the engine of any country is social cohesion – and because our social structure is broken as he rightfully recognises, we can only fix it using a platform such as BBI.
See also: Jubilee Coalition Announces UhuRuto2013 -Android Based Mobile App
Article Categories:
OPINION