Flowers of culture enrich the nation with diversity

A Greek proverb goes: Civilisation flourishes when people plant trees under which they will never sit.

Fifty years after the ceremonial handover of colonial institutions to Kenyans, we have still not figured out who we are in terms of culture and ideas.

True, we have a rich cultural legacy. Our nation’s ethnic, geographical and historical diversity is simply amazing.

In addition to this cultural feast, Kenya has a dynamic civic culture that compares with the civil rights struggles and slave rebellions in the Americas and even with the democratic traditions of the Greek.

From the days of Mekatili wa Menza, Elijah Masinde and eventually the Mau Mau, Kenya has distinguished itself in the world through ordinary people fighting for freedom with faith, arms and ideas against a political class that initially tries to suppress the people and then is forced to play catch up with them.

That history started with the British who thought it would be easy to settle in Kenya, displace people and disrupt their cultures.

The people fought back, and the British eventually accepted that they could not stop the wind of change, and 50 years ago today, gave in to Kenyans’ demands.

But the struggle did not stop there. It continued in academic halls and newsrooms, at pulpits, on theatre stages, in forests and parks.

And just like its colonial predecessor, the political elite fought back with detention, torture and exile and managed to postpone a new constitutional dispensation for 20 years, until 2010.

VIBRANT COMMUNITY

And now with technology, our civic culture has produced a vibrant community that has defied the walls of educational institutions, publishing and media houses.

Musicians such as Just a Band and Suzanna Owiyo, writers, film makers, artists, photographers and poets have been able to gain national and international recognition through social media.

Such cultural innovations reflect worldwide trends, where traditional institutions of school, cinemas and book publishing have been disrupted by the internet. Kenya is definitely moving on with the rest of the world.

But even with such a rich legacy, Kenya is yet to entrench its legacy in culture and ideas beyond its borders.

We are haunted by Taban Lo Liyong’s label “literary desert,” because even though Kenya may be known for its marathon runners and literary names such Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Majorie MacOludhe, we know that Kenya’s sportspeople, thinkers and leaders have not captured the world’s imagination like Usain Bolt, Julius Nyerere, Thoma Sankara, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka and Nelson Mandela have.

Sadly, some politicians have publicly declared learning the arts and humanities as a waste of resources, and have been emulated by educational institutions which give little support to their teaching.

Instead of setting up institutions and policies that could translate Kenya’s cultures into a civilisation, the political class is fighting petty battles to stall expression and civic engagement through retrogressive media and NGO Bills.

And with devolution, there is the risk that counties will develop particular cultures without a national or global outlook. Let’s hope that celebrating 50 years will give us the resolve to chart a positive future. Happy 50th birthday, Kenya.

Dr Wandia Njoya teaches at Daystar University.