Mr President-elect, Sir, you may have no honeymoon!
Dear Mr President-elect,
With due respect, kindness and humility, please allow me to address you through this open letter and in this forum, this only time.
I hope you are peacefully basking in the glory of your election victory and awaiting enthronement to deliver on the new mandate assigned by the sovereign people of Kenya (if it’s not cut short through a court process courtesy of aggrieved petitioners). If the inauguration doesn’t abort, allow me to add into your in-tray for prioritising and planning purpose.
Firstly, a majority of the people you will be taking oath to lead are writhing in pain from pangs of hunger occasioned by the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities. In case you are not aware, Mr President-elect, with a Sh1,000 today, which is so hard to come-by in the first place, you can’t afford a packet of maize flour, a kilo of sugar, a litre of cooking oil, a cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes and a quarter kilo of beef for a descent dinner for four (a nuclear family). Further, remember over three quarters of Kenyan households can’t comfortably raise the Sh1,000 daily. Please, when you sit on your throne, save these millions.
Secondly, you are inheriting a very polarised nation, and partly your campaigns contributed to it. With slightly above half of voters in last week’s election supporting you, the other half looked elsewhere. And with the emotions that Kenyan politics carry, you definitely have not less than seven million Kenyans to sooth political wounds, as their president. Kindly find a formula of bringing down the walls of political enmity and lead a united nation. Needless to say, a united nation will create a conducive environment for you to pursue your development agenda.
Thirdly and closely related to the foregoing, a divided nation can easily be united by a sense of inclusivity. The millions of voters and citizens, who did not board the ‘Wheelbarrow’ bandwagon, are equal Kenyans and deserve equitable share of the national cake. Kindly consider going against all traditions and lead a nation that everyone feels part of. This may not be very convenient though.
Again, your competitors in last week’s elections had a dream for this lovely nation. Kindly, find it prudent to borrow from their agenda to strengthen yours and deliver the Kenya we want. In addition, there are viable projects from the outgoing government, which your are part of, that are worthy continuing. Build on that foundation, Mr President-elect.
Worth mentioning, and which I guess must be part of your plans, the nation you will be leading deserves a progressive growth with near zero public debt. Borrowing, a nation must, but kindly deliberately avoid the perceived insatiable appetite for loans the outgoing regime was famed for. Sorry, I can’t claim to advise you better on this, sir.
Finally, I wish to remind you of your words during election victory acceptance speech of Monday: You said you “were prayed into that position”. We often saw you in churches for prayer sessions and other events. Keep up the spirit. A praying nation is a united and prosperous nation. Lead Kenya to a God-fearing and praying nation. You’ve publicly quoted II Chronicles 7:14: If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will heal their land (and I add) “thus says the Lord”. Lead Kenya in that direction, sir!
In the meantime, I wish you good health and peace of mind ahead of your enthronement.
— Yours, patriotic Kenyan, [email protected]
