The way we celebrated Obama during his recent and only visit reminds
me a lot of Kenya’s style.
The euphoria came with pride and sense of unity and identity. The
Kenyan achievement, very much reminiscing the excitement that comes with
victory when David Rudisha and Kemboi win their race or break the record.
It is very different when the dust settles. Then we start asking the
actual Kenyan question; Is that a Kalenjin dude… ?
Obama is a lucky dude. Distance shortened and protected by our
television screens, we love him to be there; the POTUS, and indeed celebrate in
the same way as our athletes, sportsmen and of course Lupita. But we also
clearly know Obama would stand no chance of being the president of the republic
of Kenya, or PORK.
In escaping the confines of ethnicity where even the foreskin
popularised by David Kuria pre- disqualifies a person potential, he has
achieved a lot in his personal journey and for his country. He has also made us
be aware of the potential we have as a people and as a country.
Obama needed the environment that recognised, acknowledged and nurtured his talent, intelligence and
potentials. As ordinary as he is, and black (despite mother being white) he
rose to become the president of the most powerful nation on earth!
Imagine, a Kenyan Obama campaigning to be Kenyan president. I would
like to imagine the obstacles. Since he is a Luo with mzungu mother, he would
not be Luo enough. Besides, he would be expected to support ‘Baba’ and give him
full allegiance, or face the wrath of politicians and wananchi from Nyanza.
He would never bother to look for votes in central! The ethnicity
would seal the deal.
Indeed his orator skills, academic prowess and the pleasant person
he is would still not count because he would not be from any of the three or
four elite families where all our presidents will continue coming from.
So no matter what we do, as long as we continue being divided along
ethnic lines, fighting over non-issues, having wrong priorities, trading moral
values for money…the best presidents this country should have had will continue
living among us as ordinary citizens and shall continue celebrating ‘our people’
changing the world away from us.
