It's time tribal chauvinists were shown the error of their ways

At first, nobody was afraid to use the word “tribe” in reference to his or her indigenous background. But this word soon became politically incorrect because it began to sound synonymous with “native” and “savage”, words popular with the colonial-type wazungu, complete with all their derogatory connotations. So the tribe graduated into “ethnic community”, meaning the same thing, but even that has slowly been replaced by the word “nation”.

Today, we talk of the Mulembe, Kamba, Luo or Gikuyu “nation”, a phrase that has become popular with ethnic chauvinists of every hue, who do not want to sound crass and pedestrian. But none of these peoples are a nation. We just use these phrases to sound sophisticated and inclusive, while our opinion leaders, especially politicians, are busy excluding “outsiders” from areas and jobs they regard as their very own.

What is a nation? you may ask. According the dictionary, a nation is a large body of people united by language, culture, customs and history, and associated with a particular territory in which they are the majority. But in the word’s ordinary use, a nation is a sovereign state with its own government.

But then there is no need for playing semantics in this case; everybody knows what is meant by these terms of endearment; they are supposed to be political messages from candidates to their voters. It does not really matter if a collection of sub-tribes and clans speaking the same language with a few differences in dialect wants to be known as a nation.

ADDLED BRAINS

What does matter is when politicians with addled brains decide to make asses of themselves in public, concerned merely with seeking votes through populism. This week’s primordial behaviour by two governors and three MPs, when they invaded Moi University, Eldoret, calling for the removal of a newly appointed acting vice-chancellor allegedly because he is a “stranger”, was in very poor taste.

In February, the vice-chancellor of Eldoret University, Prof Teresa Akenga, was also deemed to be an outsider. In fact, things got so bad that she was attacked with machetes at her home by hired goons in an attempt to evict her from the university because she was not a Kalenjin.

The strange thing is that folks who so noisily protested the appointment of Prof Laban Ayiro this week are the same ones who organised the sustained attack on Prof Akenga’s suitability. They were then led by Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago. This time, he tried to do the same thing with the able assistance of the local Senator, Mr Isaac Melly. Just because no sanctions were slapped on him or his friends in the Akenga case, it is no wonder he would attempt to evict Prof Ayiro. This is the fruit of impunity.

PRIMITIVE REASONS

What is baffling is that the reasons advanced by these so-called leaders for rejecting the appointment of non-Kalenjins are not just insular but primitive. They would prefer one of their own, but they don’t really say why. In fact, these, together with the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, are the only institutions where trouble always erupts when there is a change of guard. Who gave these people the idea that just because the universities are located close to their villages, they own them? What are they trying to tell the rest of Kenyans? This, to me, is a very dangerous trend.

Already, there is great disquiet over the hiring practices in most universities, so much so that the National Cohesion and Integration Commission has been fighting a seemingly losing battle, trying to ensure ethnic balancing in the hiring of the teaching, administrative and subordinate staff. In most cases, the majority of workers in these institutions are from the peoples hosting them. Therefore, one can understand why some fellows see red if their pals are not elevated to high positions, for then it is not easy to get jobs for the boys, or to “win” those lucrative contracts.

It is time the tribal chauvinists were shown the error of their ways. Rejecting an appointee because he is not your tribesman or, if you like, a member of your “nation”, is both barbaric and crude. Is it any wonder that we Kenyans are in so much trouble when the tribe rules our every waking moment?

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