Inviting tear gas from the police not a wise move by Cord leaders

The sight was very distressing. The spectacle of an old man being escorted by his bodyguards, tears streaming down his face, was completely unedifying and should never have happened.

Last week, I predicted that the Opposition seems to be intent on provoking the government through activities in which everyone will be a loser.

If Monday’s events were expected to end up the way they did, then the plan succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.

However, the rest of us were left with the feeling that someone is giving the Cord leadership very bad advice.

What was the point in the Opposition setting itself up to be clobbered, sprayed with teargas and martyred?

MASS ACTION

Such strategies could have worked in the 1980s, but not today when Kenyans still have vivid memories of the gory events of 2007/2008.

That bloody season started with calls for mass action and street demonstrations and ended up in unprecedented carnage.

Getting saturation media coverage by using the wrong tactics is like winning minor skirmishes only to end up losing the war.

A single-minded pursuit of power can be admirable, but whipping up the emotions of one’s followers through incitement is never the wisest option.

Once you let the genie out of the bottle, it is very difficult to put it back or to control it.

My contention, for which I will certainly be crucified, is that the Cord leadership has tried almost everything to discredit the government, and failed.

NATIONAL DIALOGUE

This can be very frustrating. Barely a year after Jubilee won, the losers were calling for national dialogue.

There is nothing inherently wrong with seeking dialogue with your antagonists, but if they do not want it, you cannot force them.

In any case, this call was laced with insolence, insults and even talk about revolution, which was why nobody took heed.

This was followed by the Okoa Kenya initiative, which, on the face of it, was quite in order.

Referendums have been legitimised by the Constitution and the procedure is also outlined by the same document.

It is obvious that some people, especially in Jubilee, were dead set against it right from the start.

Maybe they knew that Cord wanted to use it to gather momentum for next year’s election.

One can understand, therefore, why the Cord leaders are so bitter.

But is occupying Anniversary Towers and ejecting IEBC commissioners the way to go? I detect a whiff of chicanery in the whole notion.

Also, governments everywhere in the world have the sworn duty of maintaining law and order. If any government fails to do so, then it is definitely illegitimate.

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My heart goes out to poor Governor Issa Timamy.

His county, Lamu, is one of the largest in the country, but it is also the least populated and he is worried that in the future, there won’t be enough voters to elect anyone to any office.

The good thing is he is not thinking about himself, for there is little likelihood that he will be around in the next 18 years to vie for office and enjoy the demographic surge he envisions.

Mr Timamy believes that the 101,500 souls who inhabit the county are simply not enough and he wants young people to settle down and make babies.

To do that, he says, they should be allocated free land which is in plenty. But there are a couple of problems with the proposal.

To start with, it is no longer fashionable to urge people to go forth and multiply.

POVERTY

Indeed, Kenyans are being constantly advised to have only those children they rear comfortably.

Also, economists have established a close link between endemic poverty and family size.

As a general rule, the poorer folks are, the more children they tend to get, which leads to a vicious cycle of destitution.

Maybe the governor should seek ways of making his county wealthier through prudent investment policies. This way, young people can stay put and spend more time at night in worthy pursuits.

Alternatively, there are many young folk outside the county who can be “imported” to bring about the desired result.

If, for instance, Lamu has more land than the governor knows what to do with, he can invite chaps from Kiambu or Kisii, areas that are over-populated, to come over and grow things. A higher population as a result would be a bonus.

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