Change of seismic proportion is on the way

Change, as they say, is the only constant in life. Interestingly, though many of us yearn for it, we are often unprepared to handle it.

And from where I sit, it is not too hard to predict that this is the one word that will dominate public life in Kenya in the coming year.

Let’s start, as always, with politics. Once International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo carts off his suspects to The Hague, the actors in the political theatre will be in for a change of seismic proportions.

Alliances will shift like sand in the desert winds, and new players will emerge on the stage because, as you already know, nature abhors a vacuum, especially of the political type. Secondly, with elections beckoning in August 2012, the political tempo will rise, hitting a crescendo in December.

I can predict that Mr Isaack Hassan, the chairman of the electoral commission, will be shouting himself hoarse, trying to stop politicians from campaigning ahead of time. Of course, neither the politicians nor their supporters will listen to him, and since he has no powers to prosecute election offenders, it will be business as usual.

Do not forget that the number of political vacancies has increased tremendously with the coming of county governments, which means that voters might be left a little confused by the high number of people campaigning for various positions.But if Kenyans really want to do themselves a huge favour in the coming year, they had better de-emphasise the role of politics.

I know that this is easier said than done, but we have allowed ourselves to be held hostage by the fetters of hard-line partisan politics, whose greatest legacy has been to polarise the country along ethnic lines. But we do not have to walk down this path all over again. As they say, history exists so that we can learn from it and avoid the pitfalls of the past.

Of course, our politics is a little too competitive even by global standards. Not that this is essentially a bad thing, but then again, there is so much else that makes the world go around. Like money. Ah, how beautiful is the colour of money! And its feel!

The other day, I was reading The Richest Man in Babylon, and the author talked about a man who loved to feel the weight of gold coins in the wallet in his pocket. Sadly, in Kenya, about 16 million people have never known how it feels to carry a pouch full of coins, even copper ones.

It is a national shame, I believe, that so many people spend less than Sh70 on any given day of their lives. That is why they are outraged when men of means, like Prof Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, boast that they spend more than Sh2,000 on lunch at the Serena on an ordinary day.

The other day, the governor of the Central Bank of Kenya said that a majority of Kenyans would benefit greatly from some form of financial literacy.

How to make money

If Kenyans are to change their social and economic fortunes in the coming year, they will need to take some lessons on how to make money and, as Robert Kiyosaki says in Rich Dad, Poor Dad, they also need to know how to make money work for them.

For far too long, many of us who have the ability to haul ourselves from the pit mines of poverty have wallowed in the miasma of want merely because we do not have the experience of turning the little we get into the much we want. Yet, with a little self-belief and some determination, the goal of improving our fortunes is reachable.

I have heard many inspiring stories of men and women who started off in humble ways and have gone on to make something of themselves through honest labour. I know this is a hard route to take in a country where the corrupt become overnight millionaires.

But, if we are to strengthen our moral fibre and transform our society, we cannot afford to de-emphasise the importance of honest labour as the path to social justice, economic advancement and national renewal.

Lastly, life is for living. We may interpret the world. We may even succeed in changing it. But of what use will that be if we cannot partake of its nectar?

Eh, and before I go, do not forget that one of the things worth celebrating is our cultural diversity. Since we cannot change that fact of our national life, why don’t we do the next best thing and embrace it?
Happy New Year!

Mr Mbugua is the out-going Chief Sub-editor of the Daily Nation. This is his last instalment of Monday Mix. [email protected]