If only we could emulate our athletes, this country would prove unbeatable
What you need to know:
- The sense of patriotic pride forged together by the achievements from the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing must not be limited to some temporary, passing phase.
- It should be built on so that the glue which holds us together as a nation is solidified to form a firm foundation for our evolution into a strong, prosperous, united nation.
- If our sporting teams were chosen on the same factors we often apply to public appointments, we would have had to throw in a few fellows who can’t run to save their own lives, merely to reach some ethnic quota.
No doubt Kenya has been solidly united by the all-beating athletes who bring glory from the IAAF World Championships in Beijing.
The collective joy and pride that such stellar achievements serve to imbue in all Kenyans transcends the petty ethnic nationalism and divisive partisan politics that at other times threatens to tear the nation asunder.
As we get set to welcome home the conquering heroes, the greatest tribute we can pay them is to learn from their example and resolve to move forward as one united, indivisible, nation.
The sense of patriotic pride forged together by the achievements from the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing must not be limited to some temporary, passing phase.
It should be built on so that the glue which holds us together as a nation is solidified to form a firm foundation for our evolution into a strong, prosperous, united nation.
The young men and women who did us proud on the track and field represent individually and collectively, the very best of Kenya.
They won, not by luck or fluke, but through sheer hard work, determination and focus on clear set goals.
If we all emulated the spirit that wins gold medals on track and field, Kenya would not be some puny, poor, backward country, condemned to suffer the curse of greedy leadership, mismanagement, unchecked corruption and the evil of ethnic competition for power.
It would be a strong, modern, progressive and prosperous State knocking on the door to the First World, rather than regressing to violent, primitive, atavistic feuds driven by ethnic kingpins using us all in furtherance of selfish pursuits.
We would reject greedy and selfish leaders and elect only those truly committed to service and to the nation.
We will learn that success is built on pillars of hard work and excellence rather than favouritism, nepotism, and ethnic balancing.
Today, we all hail Team Kenya, and only a retard would attribute the Beijing achievement to anything other than the right men and women for the right job.
It is neither a Jubilee nor a Cord victory, and neither is its glory limited to specific regions or ethnic nationalities.
Nobody in his right mind would stand up and say that the team selection was skewed towards certain regions or was otherwise not representative of the face of Kenya.
This is an example that meritocracy triumphs over all other methods. Had the Kenya team for the athletics championships been selected on the basis of regional or ethnic balance, it would not have brought home the number of medals it did.
That surely must be lesson for everything else we do. There will always be a good case for balance and equity.
No one can argue against efforts to provide a leg up for disadvantaged and marginalised groups.
However, the honourable search in public institutions for ‘the face of Kenya’ must not go to the extremes we sometimes employ.
If our sporting teams were chosen on the same factors we often apply to public appointments, we would have had to throw in a few fellows who can’t run to save their own lives, merely to reach some ethnic quota.
It is, therefore, time to recognise that the quota methods we currently employ provide only temporary solutions and cannot help us compete on the global level.
That is one of the most important lessons from Beijing.
* * * *
This is the last column I will be penning from my corner redoubt at the Twin Towers. From today, I leave employment with the Nation Media Group to begin a new phase as an independent journalist, and also have more time for myself and family.
I have already explained in detail, in a missive to Nation colleagues I made public recently, the reasons for my decision to take early retirement.
I need not repeat myself here, but suffice it to mention that it has been one helluva ride with the most magnificent bunch of colleagues anyone can hope to work with.
I can also restate that retiring from Nation Media Group does not mean retiring from journalism or retiring from life. This column will keep on going like the Energizer bunny.
[email protected] Twitter: @MachariaGaitho
