fauz

Friday, January 28, 2011

Unity as a society is a catalyst to development

“I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.”

Nelson Mandela

    Yesterday was an eventful day for me.I had been invited at the presentation by an Iranian delegation from the province of Khouzestan,led by the Governor,MP's and entrepreneurs.
Our host,the humble,kind and down to earth Chairman and founder of Grain Bulk Handlers,Mr Muhammed Jaffer gave a really inspiring speech on the need for unity as the only way to spur development in our country.Later after the meal,we had a chit chat and he gave an example of Mwalimu Nyerere and his ujamaa system.Economically,ujamaa failed,but socially,it helped build the peaceful and united society that is Tanzania where a person is not judged by his tribe,but capability or rather merit.I have personally realised that 80% of Tanzanians do not know what President Kikwete's tribe is,and they care less!
    The Chairman attributed the sense of oneness in the Tanzanian society to the leadership of the Late Julius Nyerere and posed a question: 'how if Kenyatta also did the same thing for Kenya,where would we be economically?'
     The above Tanzanian context applies to China,they are not a superpower by default,they have advanced technologically because of the unity,they have earned th respect.The oneness that they experienced under Chairman Mao Tsedong is all that they needed.I am not a communist but I am sure even the other superpowers envy China's strides in scientific,economic,military and agricultural advancement.
    When I mentioned 'envy' above,Iran came into my mind.The Iranians,despite the sanctions by the Bretton woods institutions and the U.N,coupled with the negative publicity by the western media,is so advanced in all aspects of life.After watching the presentation of what Khouzestan province has to offer not just Kenya,but the whole world,I came to one conclusion-Unity can bring development in a society.
    I came to learn that despite the problems that they face during electioneering periods,the Iranians stand as one nation,yet they have different ethnic groups,just like in the Tanzanian and Chinese cases.Then,enter Rwanda under President Kagame,he preached unity after taking over a country that had been ravaged by a war that brought about one of the worst genocides in history,only compared to the holocaust.He has steered little Rwanda to the heights never achieved by any other East African nation through a sound leadership.Kudos Mr.President!
Another thing I noticed is the way our leaders struggle so much with English,they believe that by speaking English,it shows how advanced one is.It's a pity that,they debate in Parliament using English as a medium of communication,yet they would be better off using Kiswahili because it's what they and the masses understand better.The Iranian Governor stuck to his Persian.So does Venezuela leader and most leaders from the middle East who stick to Spanish and Arabic respectively.
    Lastly,I would like to urge all of us Kenyans to always remember that,for us to make strides as a nation,we need to remove those 'tribal tags' that we have,only then can we stand tall amongst other Nations!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Are we this cheap?

'A vote is like a rifle,it's usefulness depends upon the character of the user' ~ Theodore Roosevelt,American 26th President (1901-1909)


   Elections have been around since time immemorial.Election malpractice is as old a trend as the elections,
In beloved Kenya,it is a notch higher and it is public knowledge that we get the leaders we do not deserve as a result.Most of these leaders use unacceptable ways to win seats.In other words,candidates will do anything to win elections and we as a society end up getting the wrong leaders.
Politicians have been traversing the country preaching the need to vote in 'youthful' leaders,yes,they youth need to take this country back,they need to determine their own destiny,but we need to be careful lest we might fall into bigger problems.This is a story for another day.
Today,I would like to talk about the cheapness of our votes and how we can use the same vote weapon to liberate us;
  The highest amount of money that an average politician will pay for a vote is KSH 500 per person during elections.He will spend his money once every five years.This comes to KSH 100 per annum,per person,for him to be in parliament or any political office that we elect them into.Is that amount worth the poor leadership this politician will steer,for five years,only to appear before another election to repeat the same thing again?We need to wake up!
  Also,we need to get people of integrity,not people with questionable pasts.I would rather be led by an old person with integrity than a younger leader with a can of worms.
All we need are good leaders with a vision.Leaders who will improve our infrastructure and make the systems work.A visit to little Rwanda will make you realise what exactly we are missing in Kenya.They have a leadership that loves it's country and that's all we need in Kenya and I hope and pray that we get such leaders soon.
  I would like to urge more youthful leaders in the private sector to vie for elective posts and try to right the wrongs done by the 'leaders' we have had.I know it is a difficult decision to trade the confort of your secure job for the dirt in politics but you can't sit and watch the country go to the dogs.What shall we tell our children and their children?

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The cops,too,are human!

The whole country was dismayed at the manner in which the Police executed suspected thugs last week and we were quick to condemn the action of the cops forgetting that many lives are lost on a daily basis throughout the country courtesy of thugs.
The manner in which those people were killed left alot to be desired,yes,the cops failed.I would like to commend the government,especially the Minister of Internal Security,Hon.George Saitot,for admitting publicly that there was a mistake.
Hardly a week passed and the thugs hit back,shooting two cops.What amazed me was the failure by human rights groups or anyone in government,to condemn what the thugs had done.Many cops have lost their lives in the line of duty.The same week,we saw a truck driver whipping a traffic Police Officer like a child,that was despicable!
It's true,they are paid for their job,but we,as the citizens of Kenya,need to learn a lesson or two on gratitude.The cops are human too and any loss of human life should be condemned equally.
On a different note,I would like to urge the government to take the Police back for some lessons on 'customer care' or 'Public relations',that's an area they are poor at.

Haki yetu

My fellow countrymen,First,I would like to thank God the almighty for keeping us safe and seeing us through tougher times than we have.It could have been worse,always remember.
Then,I would like to thank you for your precious time to visit my blog.The main purpose of this blogg is to mainly sensitise and educate the youth of this nation on the need to wake up and realise our potential,the need to get to know how powerful we are,yet all we get is a raw deal from the political class.The time is now and we need to organise ourselves.
Much has been talked about by many policians lately regarding matters 'youth' and how important it is to get the youngest of them to lead this nation.I have realised how the top leadership of this great nation lambasted the U.S. Ambassador,Michael Ranenberger,for,ironically,helping the youths of this nation develop!They should have applauded Mr.Ranenberger and not criticise him,on a national holiday,to the full glare of the whole nation.They ought to know a thing or two about how President Obama was elected,it was by volunteers,mainly the youth and their parents,who were at first hesitant,but later succumbed to the pressure from the youths.I could see this duplicating itself right here,right now.Yes we too can!
We are 60% of the voters! Don't you think we should unite as one youth 'tribe' regardless of where we come from?Do you think the crop of leaders we have will stand the storm if we,as a youth 'tribe' and not Kikuyus,Luos,Kalenjins or giriama,spoke as one.All we need is affairs in this country being run the right way,period!
I would like to conclude by asking you to unite and the rest as they say,will be history.All we need is get together.I will be updating,on this blog,whatever event we will have.We need to start a movement of volunteers,cadres to help popularise this movement.Are you ready?