Politicians mustn’t mute voice of Kenyans in BBI rallies
Hesbon Owilla
Even for those who know nothing about reggae, they now have no option but have a clue about the genre of music as our politics seems to have turned into a reggae of sorts.
You are bound to encounter the “nobody can stop reggae” phrase anywhere you turn.
The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) has been is now equated to reggae that proponents say cannot be stopped.
This excitement, however, must not distract Kenyans from real issues that they need to articulate collectively.
In fact, it is obvious as things stand, it is our politicians who cannot be stopped as they will always find a way to use a national initiative to achieve political mileage.
Even in the BBI political rallies, political undertones and innuendoes aimed at undercutting perceived rivals are discernible.
In the same measure, the proclivity of the media to focus on political sideshows is fairly high and the reasons are obvious.
You see, the media have over the last few years had to contend with shrinking revenue, thanks to various factors, one of which is digital disruption.
Advertisers no longer entirely depend on the media to sell their products. And to attract numbers, our media have resorted to screaming headlines rather than situate issues.
Politicians last week took the BBI rally to Meru and as usual, it’s the political elite who dominated the forum at the expense of residents.
The voice of Mount Kenya people should not be muted by politicians. Neither should the persistent problems of the many disillusioned youths be swept under the carpet.
It’s encouraging the Meru rally brought together Opposition leader Raila Odinga and Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi. For those who don’t know, these are ideologues of the second liberation.
The meeting gave hope that the consensus building platform can yield unity of purpose as envision by BBI originators.
But where are the interests of the youth in this whole BBI thing? It’s not funny how the youth attend political rallies and patiently, nay, disinterestedly sit at the periphery as politicians discuss their future.
As the youth, we must wean ourselves from the delusion that we have no role to play in politics, and end only benefitting from measly handouts.
The Meru rally was not exceptional. Why do we as a country, nurture successive generations of a group that bays for handouts and a regenerative political system that has failed to cure this?
The BBI is a train that is well-poised to attend to the economic insecurities and address the perpetual misuse of the youth.
The onus is on them to show interest and engage more constructively. Ultimately, we should have a people-driven referendum and the BBI gives us the best bet to vote for changes that will relegate to history the culture of handouts.
It should not be lost on us, that whereas the BBI team is collecting views on how these Kenyans, especially the youths, can be delivered from economic insecurity, some politicians are trying to win petty popularity contests.
The work of senior politicians in government is to serve the people by helping the government they brought to power deliver on its mandate. But what we see are leaders abdicating from the very role the citizenry honoured them with. —The writer is a PhD candidate in political communication
Hesbon Owilla
Even for those who know nothing about reggae, they now have no option but have a clue about the genre of music as our politics seems to have turned into a reggae of sorts.
You are bound to encounter the “nobody can stop reggae” phrase anywhere you turn.
The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) has been is now equated to reggae that proponents say cannot be stopped.
This excitement, however, must not distract Kenyans from real issues that they need to articulate collectively.
In fact, it is obvious as things stand, it is our politicians who cannot be stopped as they will always find a way to use a national initiative to achieve political mileage.
Even in the BBI political rallies, political undertones and innuendoes aimed at undercutting perceived rivals are discernible.
In the same measure, the proclivity of the media to focus on political sideshows is fairly high and the reasons are obvious.
You see, the media have over the last few years had to contend with shrinking revenue, thanks to various factors, one of which is digital disruption.
Advertisers no longer entirely depend on the media to sell their products. And to attract numbers, our media have resorted to screaming headlines rather than situate issues.
Politicians last week took the BBI rally to Meru and as usual, it’s the political elite who dominated the forum at the expense of residents.
The voice of Mount Kenya people should not be muted by politicians. Neither should the persistent problems of the many disillusioned youths be swept under the carpet.
It’s encouraging the Meru rally brought together Opposition leader Raila Odinga and Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi. For those who don’t know, these are ideologues of the second liberation.
The meeting gave hope that the consensus building platform can yield unity of purpose as envision by BBI originators.
But where are the interests of the youth in this whole BBI thing? It’s not funny how the youth attend political rallies and patiently, nay, disinterestedly sit at the periphery as politicians discuss their future.
As the youth, we must wean ourselves from the delusion that we have no role to play in politics, and end only benefitting from measly handouts.
The Meru rally was not exceptional. Why do we as a country, nurture successive generations of a group that bays for handouts and a regenerative political system that has failed to cure this?
The BBI is a train that is well-poised to attend to the economic insecurities and address the perpetual misuse of the youth.
The onus is on them to show interest and engage more constructively. Ultimately, we should have a people-driven referendum and the BBI gives us the best bet to vote for changes that will relegate to history the culture of handouts.
It should not be lost on us, that whereas the BBI team is collecting views on how these Kenyans, especially the youths, can be delivered from economic insecurity, some politicians are trying to win petty popularity contests.
The work of senior politicians in government is to serve the people by helping the government they brought to power deliver on its mandate. But what we see are leaders abdicating from the very role the citizenry honoured them with. —The writer is a PhD candidate in political communication
