5 bad things that make Kenya small

Sarakasi Dance Troupe performs stunts at Uhuru Park on October 20, 2017 during Mashujaa Day. We are a nation with incredible, and even boundless potential but we have refused to rise to the occasion. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Our destiny as Kenyans is so intertwined that we would not realise our full potential without embracing one another.
  • Silence in the face of oppression and evil is not maturity. It is being an accomplice in oppression.

One of the characteristics that distinguish us humans from animals is this deep yearning for greatness.

By extension, therefore, a nation is made or broken by the sum total of its citizens’ desire to triumph against great odds, make a better life for every citizen and put the country on a trajectory of growth.

Is Kenya yearning for greatness? No doubt, yes. Are we a great nation?

It will be an understatement to just shout “no”. We are a nation with incredible, and even boundless potential but we have refused to rise to the occasion.

Can Kenya be great? The answer is a resounding, yes. I have listed five things that stand between us and greatness. Here we go:

1. We cut down trees

It is said that when indigenous Kenyans took over the management of schools from the mzungu, the first thing they did was to cut down trees.

Some of those trees were as old as the schools or older, were indigenous, posed no danger to life or property, and more, importantly, were part of the ecosystem.

Even where new trees were planted to replace the old ones, they weren’t indigenous and it would take two generations or longer to have the same qualities and functions as the fallen ones.

It is not just the cutting down of trees that I have a problem with. It is what it symbolises.

It says that we live for today and hope tomorrow takes care of itself.

It speaks of our utter disregard for life and the systems that support it.

It betrays our greed and lack of patience — expecting to climb a tree from the top and hoping to be trusted with big things without first taking care of the small ones.

2. We don’t like ourselves very much

Jesus Christ talked of two commandments that are greater than all others.

The first is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”.

The second is: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

It is possible to love your neighbour if you love yourself, but virtually impossible to love anyone else if you don’t love yourself.

Why do I think that we don’t love ourselves, very much?

Because we vote for those who steal, not just from us, but also from our children and cheer them on.

We fight, deride and even kill our fellow citizens who struggle with us, and support us in time of need, instead of whipping the backs of those who steal our heritage and our future.

3. If they are poor, we are rich

I have seen this so often that I stopped caring, at some point.

If Community X suffers a high incidence of poverty and disease, some members of Community Y tend to celebrate it.

If members of Community Z suffer a major loss, Community V will say, “serves them right”.

Our destiny as Kenyans is so intertwined that we would not realise our full potential without embracing one another.

Every community has its strengths and weaknesses.

We must complement one another. Imagine a situation where we all worked together undivided by politics and ethnicity.

We would rival South Korea and Malaysia, and not competing with our neighbours.

4. That fellow is stinking rich

This is a common phrase among “middle class Kenyans”.

We celebrate riches and admire rich people. That in itself is not a problem.

The problem is that we don’t mind how they acquired the wealth.

In fact, we don’t care if the source of wealth is unclear or if we know they actually stole it from our hard-earned taxes.

What is conveniently forgotten is that if we invested our resources prudently, more people would be able to buy and our businesses would prosper.

What we have instead is a small wealthy elite that consumes most of the goods and services.

The rest of the population is looking through the window as the eating goes on. This situation is not sustainable.

5.Silence

The culture of silence is becoming a crisis. When atrocities are committed, by the political side that we support, we would rather keep silent than risk missing out on opportunities.

We have reached a stage where silence is not only expected but is seen as a sign of maturity.

No, silence in the face of oppression and evil is not maturity. It is being an accomplice in oppression.

Kenyans must stop felling trees, hold leaders accountable, embrace diversity, celebrate hard work, innovation and enterprise and demonise silence in the face of oppression.

This way, we shall set the stage for greatness and no one will be strong enough to stop us.

Mr Gori is in corporate communications. [email protected]