Kenya; The way forward

          

BY Dennis Agesa,9th March 2018

(jeffdennihs@gmail.com)

On the 12th of December 1963,Kenya was declared an independent state.On that material day,men and women from all walks of life across the country shed tears of joy because a new dawn had come.The voice of hope was heard.And as men,women and children watched our flag being raised,they knew life would never be the same again.The people we entrusted with the leadership mantle never lived to actualise the Kenyan dream.For the last six decades,Kenyans have been unable to find hope, jobs, inspiration and the reason to live.Our youth have become easy victims of war-lords, rabble rousers, demagogues and modern day slave traders.Our youth, who should be the our nation's present and future, have been turned into jobless individuals,illiterates,thieves and modern day lunatics. Dreading the condition in our country today,we are doomed as nation.

Kenya's ruling wits must admit that they are mostly to blame for our problems. They must stop the opportunistic habit of depending on other nations like China and denouncing the same benefactor when Kenya's self-inflicted wounds have become too obvious. Unless there is a change of mindset, Kenyan elites will continue to act like a herd, yesterday behind the West or East, today the West or China and tomorrow it could be sad.

Our leaders must recognise that we as a people are sovereign and therefore, a first priority. Of these interests, nothing is more important than the right to life, security, health, education and livelihoods. It is in this context that Kenyan leaders must stop denying fundamental human rights to their population. Freedom and equal opportunity will unleash entrepreneurial energy that has historically transformed other societies. They must invest in education, health, rural and urban areas where the majority of poor Kenyan's live as well as small and medium enterprises. In all these areas, women and youth should be given priority.

Our leaders must have a clear and robust strategy to exit from being the dependent patient, in and out of rehab or intensive care of aid.Kenya's natural wealth must beget value. Kenya's export of natural resources, national revenues, foreign investments and aid money must be deployed and recycled into developing capital, knowledge and skills to create value-added products and services. This is the trajectory of wealth creation that the rich aid-givers of today follow.

The ruling class must prevent the internal tribal conflict.The antidote to this is to democratize and enlarge the circle of people’s participation in governance, strengthen the rule of law and nurture a culture of dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts.

Finally, Kenyan rulers must heed the wisdom from all cultures of the world. Human progress is not solely about building material abundance and registering GDP growth, important as they are for human survival. Creative imagination, innovation, science, technology and entrepreneurship proceed from human’s quest to improve their lot.Kenyans must learn from their own achievements and flaws and those of other societies to nurture the wellbeing and resilience of individuals, families, communities and nation.
Dennis Agesah is a B.Com student with a bias in Motivational literature. An aspiring writer