By Njagi Nderitu
Former President Moi used to scuttle and scare Kenyans by implying that opposition to his monolithic rule was “siasa mbaya”. He went on to categorically state that if the “siasa” was “mbaya” then “maisha” was bound to be “mbaya” too.
While those who read between the lines clearly saw and understood the cynicism and hypocrisy in Moi’s reasoning, there is an indisputable truth in the assertion. When politicians, as they have always done in Kenya, refuse and or fail to use their heads and start using their mouths instead (to “over-eat” and to talk nonsense) the going gets ugly.
Kenyatta, Kibaki
We all know that Moi did not mean well in making the forgoing argument as corruption and tribalism thrived very well under his watch. Things were not any different under Kenyatta, and now under Kibaki. The truth is that in Kenya “siasa ni mbaya” and consequently “maisha ni mbaya”. Obamaland is not doing any better.
Now, 2012 will be a very important year to my country of birth of Kenya and my adopted homeland of USA. Both countries will be holding elections to determine their various representatives and most importantly to elect their respective presidents.
In Kenya, thanks to masters of confusion, we are still discussing if the elections will be held in 2012. The parliament wants to serve “a full term” and most importantly to enjoy their hefty untaxed benefits.
Our ever silent and calculating president remains obscure not to offend his political allies who are uncertain about their future without him. While the debate on the date of the elections may be healthy and democratic, Kenya does not have the luxury of unlimited time in this matter. Thanks to Mwau the matter is now in court for determination. We do not want to build unnecessary hype, anxiety, and tension that will benefit the usual political thugs who put the country on fire in 1992, 1997, and 2007/08.
In the build up to the elections, in the two countries, I wish to serialize the events leading up to the elections. I will start with the basics and progress towards the pinnacle. To begin, I wish to look into some basic political terms and some basic facts.
But lets start with some basic definitions. Politics is all about who gets what, when, how, and why. In other words, politics is the process through which we negotiate, agree, disagree, compromise, and determine who gets what resources, when, how, and why.
The world is endowed with resources that are rarely adequate for each and every human need, especially when we have some greedy people around. Just like we do with our individual incomes, governments have to determine what to prioritize in their budgets.
In other words, just like individuals cannot meet all their needs and wants all at the same time, governments cannot meet all the needs and wants of their citizens all at the same time. Needs are those “things” that we deserve for say some basic human survival.
Food, clothing, shelter, basic security, medication, and may be now education are in this category.
In a more sophisticated society like the one I live in in Obamaland, roads, internet, recreation parks, and many others may pop up in this same list. On the other hand, wants are some “things” that we may consider luxurious. A Mercedes Benz is a want as we can comfortably do without it, or is it? Atwoli, the representative of the poor workers, has a chameleon one that changes color depending on the weather and the environment.
A huge house, four course meals, fancy clothes, etc are certainly not basic needs for human survival and as such may be classified as wants. By now you note that what may be a want in Kenya may be a need in Obamaland. Please keep this context of needs and wants as you read along.
Ndunyu Road in Nyahururu
The other question that I wish to answer is this: why do we form governments? I addressed this question in an article that I wrote after the fire that destroyed property worth millions on Ndunyu Road in Nyahururu town. However, it does no harm to repeat it here to lay a good foundation for my arguments that will follow. Governments are formed so that citizens may pool resources together to provide for public goods for common good. You can imagine what would happen if each of us was to have private army, police, power lines, roads, rail lines, power stations, etc.
The situation would be confusing if not out-rightly crazy. That is one major reason why we enter into a social contract with the government, we surrender some of our rights and pool resources together so that those essential public goods may be provided for. That is why those who fail or refuse to pay taxes should not enjoy public goods!
Democracy is so far the most popular style of government.
The biggest weakness of democracy
Of course democracy is not perfect, it has its flaws. The biggest weakness of democracy is that the will of the majority is imposed on the minority. Mind you, the majority is not always right. However, since both Kenya and USA proclaim democratic principles I will use the democratic model as the basis of my series. Generally, democracy empowers the people to elect their representatives to elective posts.
The people are supposed to have a say in the manner in which public affairs are conducted with a guarantee on some basic rights like “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”. The executive, legislature, and the judiciary are supposed to be governed and guided by democratic principles in execution of the will of the people.
I certainly do not wish to engage you in a basic civics class but these issues are paramount in understanding why Kenya and USA are in a such a delicate situation as they prepare for their respective elections in 2012.
We cannot all be our representatives
It is those elected representatives, since we cannot all be our representatives, who are supposed to come up with policies on how the national cake (pooled resources) should be shared. Those policies come in form of laws, regulations, guidelines, advisories, memoranda, directives, etc.
Remember, those policies must be based on some law or some democratic authority. I hope you by now begin to appreciate why we need informed, dedicated, committed, and knowledgeable individuals as our leaders. It is not an easy thing to lead a country and it cannot be performed by every Dick, Tom, and Harry.
Lack of leadership
As we shall note later on in this series, USA is what she is today to a large extent due to the efforts of some very dedicated leaders in the past. Lack of leadership may be what is now ailing USA just like Kenya. This is why 2012 is such an important year to both nations. Politics then is the process through which we negotiate those sharp turns, twists, and corners to come up with policies that are appropriate for the needs of the people.
Public barazas
The process involves all that you may think of as politics: political parties, civil society groups and organizations, campaigns, public barazas, town hall meetings, electioneering, voting, debating (in and out of parliament), writing of opinions and views (like I am doing here) etc. Democracy is not a straight curve; it is full of bumps, turns, twists, and surprises. It can be nasty and brutish!
It is the decorum and civility with which we negotiate the twists and turns that determine the value of our democracy. When we descend to chaos and mayhem we cease to be democratic.
Leaders, elected and self-declared, have a very high moral and constitutional role to play in ensuring that our politics are conducted in a civil manner. After all that is what human life is about, variety, negotiation, sharing, and compromise.
Now that we have the basics on politics, policies, democracy, and human needs and wants, I will begin to investigate the basic historical facts and political parties in my next article. I will also begin to identify the “forces” at play in the build-up to the elections in both countries. Please keep on reading in the run-up to 2012.
Njagi Nderitu.
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