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Nyachae is Right, After All

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Published on Saturday, 02 June 2007 05:53

I am no more of a sympathiser with the Opposition's quest for unity than many angry Kenyans impoverished by Kanu's plunder of our national resources and image. But when it comes to settling the score, I don't believe in setting the house ablaze together with such treasures as principle, conscience and democracy. These things, as you may have known by now, are very dear to some people like Mr Simeon Nyachae.

At the ripe age of 70, Mr Nyachae does not have two chances of becoming president of Kenya. It is now or never. So I quite understand why he is piqued by the underhand method used by his colleagues to pick Mr Mwai Kibaki as the sole opposition presidential candidate. Mr Nyachae has invested heavily in the presidential race and it is a crude joke for someone to wake up one day and decide that he should not run. Surely, there has to be what lawyers call due process. The son of a former chief and an administrator himself, Mr Nyachae knows when an administrative decision stinks. And this one surely does. You need to look at what procedure was used to understand that Mr Nyachae has his points all right. The problem is that it is not politically-correct now to appear to stand in the way of the much sought unity.

The recipe for Nyachae is not to bully him out, or persuade him to step down with whatever incentives. The guy wants a dish called democracy and he is entitled to it. Can someone please serve it to him hot and bristling? Mr Nyachae's gripe is simple. He had proposed an electoral college of 300 representatives drawn from Kibaki's National Alliance Party (NAK), his Kenya People Coalition (KPC) and James Orengo's forsaken Social Democratic Party (SDP) to elect the super alliance presidential candidate. But his proposal was outrightly rejected for a quick fix back room declaration of support for Mwai Kibaki.

Since the National Rainbow Alliance Coalition has decided to carry out primary nominations for all parliamentary and civic candidates, and if it can achieve that feat, what is so hard about carrying out transparent nominations for the presidential candidate as well? If Mr Kibaki is the sure and preferred front-runner and he has the support of most NARC members, what is the big deal? If Nyachae's proposal is not acceptable, then Narc should try out others. Narc should carry out nomination in 210 constituencies. The nominees for parliamentary seats can then constitute themselves into an electoral college and elect the Narc presidential candidate. The 211th nomination may turn out to be all the Opposition needs to be united!

Nyachae has his point and he should not be condemned. All he needs is to be given a fair chance to lose. Otherwise democracy will suffer irredeemably if such compromises become the norm. Mr Nyachae may be a obstinate lone-ranger but if he is not accommodated, the victory that the Opposition is yearning for might be elusive. From my political mapping, Ford People is the party to beat in Coast province and Kisii diaspora, Narc in Western, Nyanza, Central and Eastern; Kanu in Rift Valley and North Eastern. Nairobi and Central and parts of the Rift Valley will provide the swing vote. But the eventual winner will be determined by such factors as the process of nominations and alliance-building, which should not be ignored.

Responding to last week's column, Ruth sent me this stinger of advice to Kenyan politicians. Read on. Politics is about people. How to use and mobilize people to please people. To be rated a successful politician, one requires three qualities: talent, skill and experience. A talented politician draws people to him/herself just by appearance. We warm up to Matiba, Mandela, Nyerere and Mboya, and Yoweri even before they open their mouths. It is in the looks, the poise, the stride and the smile. No one will like a politician who sneers all the time, twists his mouth, shrugs his shoulders and gesticulates in a manner suggestive of a male Italian fashion designer. People, do not get attracted to a politician with an attitude. Even fellow politicians get repulsed. But talented politicians also have a tactility for mood.

They sense and feel with the people. So that when they open their mouths, they vibrate with the people. This inborn knowledge is perfected through acquired skill. You research, you analyze and you plan your public speeches, appearances and movements. So that even if they seem like disjointed utterances like Daniel's often are, or like Clinton's Ngo-ish rhetoric, they still resound with the thoughts of the people.

One must learn to be in tune with the issues burdening the people's minds. Today is the wrong time to tell us that we should forgive looters. We want them arrested and arraigned in reformed courts of law. If you can't tell us that, simply tell us how we can generate the money we lost in the past. Be precise and SMART (Sensible, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound). Be manager-like. Everyone knows the crap! That is why, try as he did, Raila understands and accepts his lack of political skill. So does Wamalwa. Unfortunately, Musalia did not know that he possessed it in abundance. How do you think Mugabe got back into power? His opponent had no line stronger than the "Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans, give us our land!" rhapsody.

Finally, perfected over years, skill progresses into experience. You look good, you know what to say and do and you have been around. But Mr. or Ms guy-about-town (both man and the wooed) must also know when and where to appear. Kongo is history because he was over exposed. You don't just come out shouting at and about everything all the time like you know it all. Kamotho, Kombo, Kivutha, Kituyi, Kimanthi, Ochuodho, Ojwang, the Rutos and all. You risk sinking like Sunkuli just has. And so, even when he has nothing to say, we still rush from the kitchen at the sound of Matiba's voice. It has nothing to do with his dancing style by the way. Experience makes one a professional. But when you go further than experience, you acquire the 'revered' title of "dictator" reserved only for the likes of Hitler, Mobutu, Thatcher and the Russian guy who should have died by now.