Why do Kenyans accept such low standards in everything?

National broadcaster KBC aired a 90-minute friendly football match without a timer on Saturday. “The game ended abruptly,” one of my colleagues remarked dryly.

One moment we were watching Harambee Stars beat the Mambas of Mozambique, the next moment, it was over. No warning, no indication of what was additional time, nothing!

I called out this shoddiness on Twitter and got hit with plenty of reactions from people saying we should be grateful that “at least” they broadcast the game live.

Never mind that the replay of a game in the first half was about 30 minutes late. Don’t even get me started on the quality of commentating. I know that those who live in glass houses like me should not throw stones, but that doesn’t change the facts.

A few hours later, I saw author Kinyanjui Kombani talk about universities photocopying his books.

“@DaystarUni is the only university that buys my books for use by its students. In @KenyattaUni the lecturer handed out photocopies!” he tweeted.

He should be grateful that “at least” they’re reading his work, some people told him. While “Daystar ordered more than 1,000 copies from the publisher, and another set of digital licences for the e-versions,” Kombani’s alma mater, Kenyatta University, just photocopied.

He’s often asked when he will quit banking to write full time, but how can he when he would not be able to make a living from it?

THE 'AT LEAST' MINDSET

This “at least” mindset Kenyans have is just an apology for low standards. These low standards breed the mediocrity that defines almost every aspect of Kenyan life.

When we are surprised that anything begins on time, we unconsciously allow the organisers of future events to be tardy because we’ve already made it acceptable.

We are not outraged when a notorious politician does objectively horrible things because “at least” he cares for the people.

We make excuses for bad behaviour because “at least” they haven’t killed anyone. We make excuses for grand corruption even in the face of incontrovertible evidence because the other side is just as bad.

Kenyans love to say they are the best in “East and Central Africa” when comparing just about anything. Who are we competing with exactly? Burundi? South Sudan? Maybe the Central African Republic? There is no pride in being top in the bottom pile, just shame.

It is only in Kenya where an airhead with barely coherent tweets turns up on TV as a political commentator. This is why a whole tribe of social media “influencers” are celebrities and talentless bimbos have millions of admirers of their seemingly glamorous lifestyles.

About Sh400 million was used to install CCTV cameras in Nairobi, only for them to be condemned as unreliable, yet that is somehow okay in Kenya. Several more millions were used to set up traffic lights around the city. Those, too, have never worked, but the citizens are not furious, so it is alright.

Pastors shamelessly steal in the name of the Lord but Christians are quick to defend them with Scripture: “Touch not my anointed.” Politicians get away with murder every day in this country and somehow still get re-elected.

When you criticise anything in Kenya, there is never a shortage of people who will tell you to be positive and stop being so pessimistic. The argument is always that “at least” something is being done.

We accept bare minimums when we are entitled to so much more. Optimism cannot, and should, not be a substitute for a solid critique. Kenyans must say no to criminally low standards and demand more.

You can’t build a merit-based society if any effort demands to be applauded, however little. We scrape the bottom of the barrel so many times, come up with almost nothing and are still pleased that “at least” it’s not entirely empty.

UNENDING DRIVE TO BE 'POSITIVE'

The unending drive to be “positive” is the number one reason Kenyans accept mediocrity. The second is organised religion. In Kenya, every failing can be explained away using a convenient Bible verse.

You can’t hold thieving government officials’ feet to the fire and keep them accountable if you’re busy praying for them. Leaders only deserve your respect if they show that they are worthy of it with their actions, not when they are making a mockery of their power and privilege.

Evil should be actively opposed, period. Positivity and religion can’t be used as crutches whenever we encounter something or someone who deserves to be called out in no uncertain terms.

Kenyans must raise their expectations and stop making excuses for criminally low standards. An average culture begets average people who are satisfied with just existing and nothing more.

So KBC must get a digital clock for its next game and Kenyatta University’s Literature Department should start buying Kinyanjui Kombani’s books. Anything less is unacceptable and should be condemned.

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IN AMERICA, AN AFRICAN ELECTION

It was so unlikely that few even considered what the future might look like. The United States has just elected as president the most unqualified, racist, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic candidate to ever run for public office.

Despite opposition from within his own party, the Democrats, all living American presidents, the media and every reasonable citizen, Donald Trump still won a confusing victory.

Though Hillary Clinton beat him by more than 200,000 votes, she lost, thanks to an outdated 213-year-old system called the Electoral College.

“Not My President,” and “Donald Trump Must Go”, protesters from New York to Los Angeles have been chanting in the week since his shock win.

“Hillary Clinton has spent 30+ years building her career, only to lose to someone who picked up politics as a hobby last year,” pointed out a now popular tweet last week.

As Hillary pointed out during the third debate, Donald Trump was hosting "Celebrity Apprentice" on the day she was in the Situation Room monitoring the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.

“All Americans must be accompanied by an adult,” quickly popped up in a sign outside an English pub. To quote a former American diplomat: “Choices have consequences.”

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MARTHA KARUA’S ABOUT-TURN

“Are you still running for president?” I asked Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua in June.

“Of course!” she replied emphatically. She explained that just because she was working with Raila Odinga and other Opposition leaders did not mean she had abandoned her ambition.

That is why it was surprising when she announced last week that she was supporting President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election bid and going for the Kirinyaga governor’s seat.

Coming just a fortnight after Peter Kenneth’s withdrawal of his presidential ambitions, these make for strange times. One obvious reason is that both politicians know they stand no chance of winning without Uhuru’s backing.

The second was hinted at by Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa over the weekend. Will Peter Kenneth and Martha Karua dissolve their respective parties and join Jubilee?

Either way, their decisions sadly narrow the choices of good leadership available to Kenyans.

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FEEDBACK: ON RAMPANT CORRUPTION IN THE COUNTRY

Larry, corruption is a firmly entrenched cancer in our country! Lone voices like yours are not heard by anyone because each of us is corrupt in some way. When we pay a little money to get our ID card or the City Council wardens to let us hawk our wares or get tenders, it is corruption. Once a man tastes the power of easily acquired wealth, there is no stopping him.

When the leaders condone and use immoral ways to get money at the expense of ordinary citizens, there is no way we will rid ourselves of this scourge. We elect dishonest people to Parliament in exchange for the paltry sums they use to grease our palms

At the root of all corruption is materialism, which makes us want a posh lifestyle. The only way to reduce, or maybe remove, this unholy attraction, is through social and ethical education and sincere and dedicated religious and honest leaders.

Usha Shah

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As the Pope declared during his visit to Kenya, corruption has infiltrated all sectors of our country. It goes beyond the political bigotry to our cultural milieu, where nepotism and tribalism define its very nature.

It began with the popular argot, “toa kitu kidogo” but has grown into billions of shillings. My concern is who should stop it, since it gets highlighted only after it has taken place. The perpetrators have a network whose tendrils extend to the untouchables and that is where the battle is lost.

Antony Kamindo

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The law categorises women alongside the youth and people living with disabilities as those who should get … support in accessing government tenders. You and I thought it was clear which women qualify, going by the others on the list, but it appears we were wrong. No less than a Cabinet secretary has clarified that all women are disadvantaged, whether they are multimillionaires or ordinary Wanjikus “struggling with small-time tenders to supply airtime and pens”. Now we know.

Njeri Aseneka