Tales from country of wonders

Almost half a century ago, Mwalimu Enoch Ondego recorded the song “Kenya ni nchi ya ajabu” (which could be translated to mean Kenya is a country of wonders). While its focus was on the terrible past that our country had endured, and on urging Kenyans to look to the future and help build the nation, the title of this song is just as apt today as it was then. We have an interesting way of dealing with our national priorities, and our demonstration of concern is different from what any foreigner might expect.

Today, the country is in the throes of a drought that those in the know forecast will affect almost half our population and lead to many deaths. The arid parts of the country are even drier, and there is little good news from our traditional breadbaskets. This is the definition of a disaster. One would expect the entirety of our national attention to be focused on how to save the lives that are threatened by this situation, but because our country is full of wonders (ajabu!) we have better things to do.

A STRIKE

Secondly, at the time of writing this, doctors were on a strike that began on December 5 last year. Public health facilities, and some private ones as well, have been practically closed down, and patients have had a hard time finding care. The bafflingly lackadaisical approach by government in dealing with the strike might actually be in line with our designation as a nation of wonders.

As if those are not enough crises, the universities have not been spared industrial unrest and concerns about the quality of their graduates. The education sector as a whole is in turmoil as the Cabinet Secretary turns from section to section with no shortage of problems to solve. Parents, lecturers, students and university administrators have not been spared the anxiety, and the magnitude of the crisis would shake a government anywhere else on this planet. However, because of our “wonderful” nature, we see things differently.

At the height of the doctors’ strike Parliament convened a special session to discuss changes to the laws governing elections in this country. They have had several sittings to vet nominees for various constitutional commissions to replace those they (politicians) previously hounded out of office. Threats have been made of paralysing the country unless certain political demands are met. No such threats have been made concerning the drought, the doctors’ strike, or even the education crisis in this country.

BEST INTERESTS

No politician can therefore stand before us today and honestly claim to have the best interests of their people at heart. They are more interested in their own welfare, and it therefore makes sense that they would focus only on electoral processes that increase their chances of winning and retaining political power. The citizens are often mere pawns in this political chess game, being used to fight wars that have little to do with them.

For this reason, the current priority for all our political leaders is the ongoing voter registration process. They have taken to the stumps as if the campaigns for the August General election have been officially launched. They are crisscrossing the country on the pretext of mobilising new voters to register, but in reality they have embarked on campaigns for the elections. They have made voter registration so important that in parts of this country people are facing the threat of being denied public services unless they demonstrate that they are registered to vote.

Shops, pubs, and other private enterprises are also indicating that they will not serve anyone without evidence of voter registration. The country has gone mad, and people are even being urged to avoid engaging in sexual relations with any unregistered person! This country is really special.

While people are dying due to various preventable causes, our “wonderful” republic is hypnotised by the antics of our magicians in the political arena.

Lukoye Atwoli associate professor of psychiatry and dean, School of Medicine, Moi University.

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