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Traveling Down the Same Road Again 5 Years Later with ODM Replaying NARC

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Published on Sunday, 09 September 2007 18:49
In the last general election, politicians went berserk and campaigned vigorously on the agenda to defeat KANU from power without a plan and went on to win an election ill prepared on how to govern. This caused a lot of confusion two years into the administration because the architects never looked beyond power. When Raila Odinga was asked what they will do with power once they clinch it, his answer was we are first concentrating on winning election first and then power sharing later. Such an answer is kind of selfish and unintelligent because regardless of what happens a country’s development will not wait for leaders to think and come up with a development agenda on the governing watch. That is unacceptable in all terms.

Five years later we have history about to repeat itself with ODM concentrating on defeating Kabaki. Then what next?

When politicians like Raila Odinga go around claiming all sorts of ills about lack of development, Kenyans should ask one question, what has he done for Kenya? In fact, in his entire life, Raila has done nothing but make noise. If that is something to be proud of then the old saying empty vessels make the most noise was coined ill haphazardly and will not hold water in Kenya. The issues is not Raila alone but politicians who instead of empowering the people they are busy impoverishing them by promising goodies and do it all mentality. Such kind of leadership in ill-fated and evil as it denies people a chance to grow to their potential and contribute to development since they wait for manna to show up from politicians. How sad.

On another case, using Raila as a guinea pig of politics, his record speaks volumes about his abilities and inability to do nothing. In a recent remark, Raila was quoted saying that the money booming the Nairobi stock exchange is from illegal drugs and that the economy never grew by 5% as aspired by the economic survey released by the ministry planning. I wonder why this should be true and not the earlier good news especially when the earlier is documented. Such kind of sentiments bring a question on how the next president of Kenya can borrow a car from a 30 year uneducated boy whose business links are unknown and then expect us to respect him.
One, a president should be a man with known manners and whose company is made of presidential people not young men with questionable characters. I mean questionable and not all young men. Despite that, Raila has never attended any fundraise anywhere in Kenya to raise money for any cause but he is quick to attack other people’s wealth as if they have stopped him from being wealthy. Is this the Kind of president Kenya needs?

In the wake of events many presidential candidates have released there manifestoes on what they intend to do when elected president when the same folks dismissed Hon. Simion Nyachae’s 2002 presidential general election manifesto but they are now borrowing a leaf without shame. Even with that they still have no agenda on what they will do with power once they gain it. Worse, most ODM presidential candidates have no experience in leadership despite having served under the KANU regime where they contributed nothing to its advancement. So where will these guys take the country? Nowhere.

Looking at the track records, Kalozo will be Raila’s puppet; Mudavadi is a flip flopper and has no leadership skills because his political career was heightened by former president Moi’s hand picking him to succeed his dad and his inexperience showed up in the last general election when he switched parties endlessly a sign of confusion on his part. He still does. Raila, the man has never grown up and such kind of president will be catastrophic and will face a vote of no confidence in the house. He will properly run Kenya to its knees.
Think of a man who has never donated even a shilling to any national charity organization or assisted any disaster victims like the north eastern hunger fund? This alone explains selfishness and the mentality on some of the candidates’ part. For example, it is sad when the sasme persons accuses others like Hon. Simion Nyachae of not contributing to the development in Kisii when Nyaribari Chache enjoys the Nyanturago cultural festival every year without mentioning the thousands of projects initiated and funded my Hon. Nyachae in Nyaribari Chache and Kisii as a whole together with his counterparts. On education, Hon. Nyachae has build great schools and contributed immensely to fund education and has established a scholarship fund in Nyaribari Chache rivaled by none in Kenya. The wannabe president will cast aspirations on his record when he as done more than anyone while they have done nothing.

In general, the ODM group has no agenda and it is sad that leaders who are grown men can spend five years campaigning instead of leading the country. Talking endlessly used to be a women job and doing was a men thing although because of gender equality one will face tongue lashing if caught implying the same but you get the point. I hope that though this article is centered on two individuals it explains what leaders should and shouldn’t look like.

In essence, ODM was not a party from the beginning and it isn’t because a political party usually has rules and regulations with a leadership council to run its affairs lacking in ODM. With KANU out of the movement predictions are that since LDP denied KANU victory in 2002, the later is on a revenge mission. At the end of it all, Raila Odinga will be alone come November because he is viewed as untrustworthy. Likewise to most of his lieutenants who move with him wherever he goes. This is a sign of hard times for ODM.