Month: December 2017

It is around 10:00 pm on 30th, December 2017. I am chatting with my best friend via “sms” before retiring to sleep. Marking the date, this conversation is filled with resolutions and plan for 2018. “The Dos and the Don’ts.” What are friends for if not to build and empower each other? So we discussed lots of things, from our spiritual relationship with God, career, education, financially, e.t.c The whole intention of this conversation was to help each other to raise the bar in all aspects of life. We clearly have to achieve this!

I have develop a habit of waking up one hour earlier than my usual waking up time, just to dedicate it solely on reflecting and reviewing my life, what I want of it. What I should do and how to achieve it. This is because of The Reason listed above. One of my favorite lectures once told me we should always evaluate our relationship with friends, does it add value, is that value worth it? If not then such relationships should be terminated.

This is the same aspect that my beloved continent is facing, having various relations and engagements that are not worthy and if it has value then not valuable enough. Both inter and intra-states relationship has less to offer for our countries and Africa as a whole. The relationship is characterized by exploitation from other continents. They take more than what they give and yet African states seems to ignore that fact.

Kenya seems to be in those ‘flashy’ and ‘extravagant’ relationship which looks wonderful but quickly leads you to lots of dept. Ignorant plays a major role in this with greed being the fuel- its comparable to a jobless person borrowing lots of money just to buy expensive gadgets and spend the rest on leisure instead of investing on ventures that can generate wealth- Currently the Kenya’s principal debt is at sh4.4trillion threatening to hit sh5trillion celling by beginning of the year. Mathematically speaking, the government is borrowing approximately sh86billion per month! That’s huge, but where all this money do go is a mystery- has it changed your life now that each Kenyan owes at least sh97000 (computed against 45 million people according to the latest economic survey by Kenyan National Bureau of Statistic).

How you carry yourself is what defines you, it is what determines the kind of relationship with people around you. African states are like a beautiful lady, who is curvaceous, awesome make up. I mean appealing to the eye, just like what we Kenyans refer to as “slay queen” yet she does not have the same appeal intellectually. Not because she is dumb, but because she decided to be ignorant. We can all imagine the relationship that such a description will have with the opposite sex. African states are rich with resources, minerals, oil, agriculture, tourist attraction sites, awesome climate… name them, yet our foreign policy are wanting regarding how we engage with other countries based on our resources. I was quite disappointed when I read the Sino –Africa policy measures. The saddest fact is that they were drafted by Chinese, ours was just to sign the agreement. It looked all colorful and impressive but yet in action it is not.

If our country is really serious about getting industrialized by 2030- if that dream is still alive that is- we should seriously evaluate our bilateral trade policies with other countries. In 2017 alone, Kenya imported goods worth more than sh400billion from China alone! With Kenya only managing to export about 175billion worth of goods to China. This deficit of trade in the side of Kenya is unhealthy. Balance of trade is important in a country’s economic growth, it’s clear China is gaining whoppingly at the expense of Kenya. This must change, we cannot play dead in such a toxic relationship which is hurting our local industries which are going out of business with many more not seeing the light of day. Yet we want to industrialize by 2030, what a joke!

I think it is time African needs to raise their bar and behave or carry themselves like they are worth and not to be manipulated by short term goodies (if you like you can call it development) that will not take any impact in our society. We might just end up like Siri Lanka which is in a sorry state due to over-borrowing to build flashy infrastructure, which cannot generate enough income to pay the loan leave alone grow the economy. The country is slowly being placed under receivership by China in the bid to recover their money.

As a new year begin, let our country and Africa at large to do a serious sole searching. We should evaluate our relationship with the so called ‘Donor” countries to check if we are in a healthy or exploitive relationship. We should also use our loans to do economy improving and wealth creating projects for not only in improving our life (citizens) but also paying our loans with comfy or ease.

Wishing you a prosperous New Year filled of God’s Blessings

Says B.N

It is a day to “Christmas,” it does not matter to me. Ideally it should not!  It is just a normal day to me. It’s not that complicated but that’s a story for another day. Though, it is one of the valuable days, because it is among the two weeks which I have dedicated solely to reflect about my life… It is end year, right? I need to plan for next year, you know, reflecting is essential. Just as expressed in “the Monk who sold his Ferrari” Have you read the book?? I actually have a thing for the Buddhists/Monks or to be specific Dalai Lama… The way they handle themselves both spiritually, mentally, socially… it is just adorable. Just like I adore how people meditate during Yoga… Wait a second? Is meditation and reflection one or the same thing, or are they related? Anyway, I am doing both. My friend, Berlin, taught me on the importance of meditating and reflecting more so about your relationship with God. It is essential.

This year to me, has been both to the two extremes, I thank God for them. Because I was blessed abundantly, and I also learnt valuable lessons from my misfortunes. Enough about B.N. 

Currently, in almost the entire world, it is a festive season. As it is a custom to many, there will be numerous celebration. What will befall us after the merriment will depends on what choice we make during this season. And when it all ends, the reality may bite a little painfully- what have you achieved this year?! The year might have started with lots of expectations and enthuse, maybe it was that year which you looked forward to. But here we are again, another end of the year!

End year and New Year are closely linked, funny aha! Not really, I mean they are just seconds apart. So what’s the difference? I think it’s just acquired mentality, which is important though, for individual growth and society’s development. The society has learnt to use this two different yet similar days to its advantage.

The End year is the time when the society reflects upon whatever it has done or experience throughout the year. Achievements which led to growth and development of the society will be considered as good moral builder for the future. With the down falls and setbacks experienced during the years serving as the best learning point for a better future for the society.  

So what are the setbacks that our society have faced? Tribalism- not a surprise- has risen to a higher notch, politics playing a major role in its escalation. The democracy in Kenya and African countries is fixed or dictated democracy, where communities based on their ethnicity relations feel it is their solely right to be the ruling party of government. This has led to radical hatred between tribes in Kenya. Majorly Agikuyu, Luo’s’ and Kalenjin’s.

Unemployment rate has increased- not a story anymore-. The number of youths getting out on the streets with posters written boldly ‘SEAKING FOR A JOB. I HAVE BACHELOR DEGREE IN COMMERCE FINANCE OPTION AND CPA UPTO LEVEL K” has become the only way for some people to seek for employment. Back then in both primary, high school and even in the universities and colleges, people would study with an assurance or let me say a strong hope of getting job after… Business that should provide job opportunities to Kenyans have also collapsed or are almost collapsing due to poor business environment. We are left in a situation where we do not see the importance of the efforts we did put in our education. For the ones who are skilled and wants to start a business, they lack capital to support them in doing that, so what is left is a business idea that might never be implemented. 

Education- is proving not to be the key to success anymore-. There has been a remarkable failure in our education system. There has been high increase of failed students in this year and last year KCSE examinations. This is not something to smile about. It is a reflection of what our education system is. Our universities are producing non-qualified graduates, they do not have the skills that mark what is expressed in their transcript and certificate. Then you wonder what they were doing for the 4-6 years in campus.

Unity and cohesion- has reduced because everyone is accusing or suspecting each other of foul play. This is due to the economic disparities and favors from the government.  If the region which you come from receives more favors and resources from the government it brings tension. The coastal region wants or wanted to secede from Kenya because they feel like they have been sidelined in terms of development like other regions for instance central Kenya, where there has been an outstanding growth and support by the government.

Our Savior devolution has proved to be a nightmare “dubbed corruption brought closer to you” it has become a money minting business to those working there. It is an avenue for corruption and nepotism in the country.

Killings by police. Police have been noted to killing innocent civilians and beating innocent people in their homes. They have been seen harassing women in public and even shooting at innocent children. This is the same police whose mandate is to protect people and their properties from harms way. Contrarily to what they are doing. This has made relationship between civilians and police to soar. Kenyan police is ranked worst internationally this year.

We have also had significant achievements. There is a notable reduction of terrorism in Kenya compared to the previous years. The number of terrorist attack has reduced, this is a positive gesture that the government and other actors involved have been doing an awesome work on this. 

We also have an SGR train, this has remarkably boost transportation of people from one region to another. The means is cheap compared to other alternatives and it is also takes a short time, meaning you have a lot of time saved to doing other important duties. 

Tourism has improved, despite the political tension hotels recoded positive booking. Judging from the previous years, during election years, the number of tourist normally reduce due to the tension brought by the political moods. This means that the tourist sector played an important role of ensuring that they assured tourist of their safety and hence they had no need to fear.

So as we mark the end of yet another year and beginning of another one, it’s important for the society to evaluate itself. Thrive to make the good experiences and acts better and work towards eliminating bad vices out of our society. Through this therefore, our societies can then be capable of developing itself to the better.

Says B.N
 

We humans are a paradox- we a very complex in our biological function yet very simple to understand in terms of behavior- The way our brains take and passive free goodies is very different on our it passive hard worked for things. And you are left wondering why neurosurgeon is much different to psychologist! 
 Our behavior can be compared to an experiment conducted on two dogs (not that we are dogs, don’t get it twisted). One of the dogs, lets name it eeeh what’s that name again? Rex, let’s call it the dog’s common name Rex! It was given to hunters, and the instructions were very clear on how to treat Rex- it was to be trained to hunt, and every time it successfully completed a hunter, it was given the first share of the meat. Over several hunts, Rex was motivated to hunt and was excited every time it was hunting time, its speed and wit increased improving its efficiency in hunting. It became a healthy, happy and hardworking dog. 

And then there was the other dog, what can we call it? Max is the name, it’s not that its special but I picked it just because it rhymes with Rex. The instructions given to the hunters about Max were also clear- it was to remain at home, not subjected to any work, given food routinely and allowed to roam around. Max was enjoying life of free food and no work. Overtime Max became lazy, less lively and playful with its food.  When the hunters deliberately skipped feeding Max with an open opportunity to hunt for food, it could   rather stay and wait for free food.

Enough with the dogs! We are familiar with the saying, give a beggar free fish every time he/she comes to ask for food and will show up every single time he is hungry. But teach the beggar how to fish and he/she will fend for him/herself and will never show up at your doorstep again… You would have probably saved an entire generation from hunger by reducing dependency. This is comparable to Rex and Max. Rex having being taught that hunting brings food, even when left on its own it will use its skills to hunt and get food. For Max, getting free food without work might just make it starve to death if left unfed or even resort to other vices like stealing for a quick and easy fix.

So is charity and free food effective in poverty and hunger eradication? My answer is NO! Free goodies is not entirely that good. There are several relief organizations in Kenya and the number seems to be growing lately, from Humanitarian Africa Relief Organization, Islamic Relief Kenya Somali Programme and CARE International Kenya to Kenya Red Cross, World Vision and the many UN organizations. The question is, has poverty and hunger really been managed? From what I have noticed, we are stake in the same vicious circle year in year out. From annual floods, droughts, community clashes leading to hundreds of deaths yearly, and high child mortality rate due to malnutrition ( 340,000 children below the age of five are malnourished) and poor healthcare and hygiene. During such calamities, these organizations ran to offer humanitarian and relief services. They bring food and water, clothing, shelter (tents) and healthcare temporally and then they leave, this is an easy fix. They will wait till the next disaster strikes again (which is inevitable because no measures have been put in place to prevent and manage such disasters). It will be a routine for them, year in year out, and the circle will always continue without a permanent and a sustainable solution to these problems. 

According to the latest Red Cross statistics 2017, the number of Kenyans needing emergency relief food has doubled in the last four months to about 3 million people. This is solely due to the worsening of the devastating drought experienced in Kenya. “The situation is getting worse every day. Malnutrition rates among children are steadily climbing. Children are getting sick, and livelihoods of families have been decimated following the loss of thousands of their livestock,” Dr Abbas Gullet, secretary-general of the Kenya Red Cross Society, said in a statement. “It is more and more difficult for people to access water – people are having to travel for up to three times as long just to get water for their family….” Sadly, are this not the same situation we experience every year despite all the charity, relief and humanitarian services of all kinds? So what’s the catch here?

Turkanas’ and the Pokots’ are always the worst affected, in addition to the drought, famine, malnutrition, poor healthcare and education, high child mortality rate, there is also frequent tribal clashes among these pastoral communities resulting into several deaths and displacement of people. These calamities only attract more aid and relief and not real and sustainable solutions. Just like a friend of mine from West Pokot told me, the Turkanas’ ant the Pokots’ are so used to relief food that they are no longer willing to work or to farm, because all they need to do is wait for the relief food. This mentality always put them at high risk of famine, which is always the case. He further said, he is working to help break this mentality by offering mentorship regarding agricultural activities to provide a sustainable solution to hunger in that region.

Relief and aid is always an excuse for the government not to do its mandate.  Constructing dikes and better drainage to prevent the periodic floods which destroys property worth millions of shilling, crops and loss of life is a problem that the government is responsible to solve, and not waiting for relief and free staff to cover up temporally. Building dams, drilling boreholes, water desalination, creating irrigation schemes, education and initiating alternative sustainable economic activities to eradicate hunger and poverty is government’s responsibility to its people. Not being comfortable with aids and relief given to its people which is short lived. They expected relief organization to provide free health care to their citizens yet it is its responsibility as a government.

Do you remember Max? Continuous relief makes us more like Max, reliant on free things to the point where we can’t hunt on our own. Relief should be used to get people back on their feet, strong enough to teach them how to hunt for food and a better livelihood so that they would not need relief and aid next time. It should not be used as an alternative livelihood. That is the reason why we are having more and more relief organization while famine, hunger, poverty, name them is also on the rise, a clear indication that we are doing it all wrong. Rex is the way to go

Let’s teach our people to hunt too. Empower them to be able to fend for themselves, let relief not be an alternative livelihood to them and use it as an excuse for our own and government’s failure. Until then, we will hear these stories every year- “We are running out of words to describe the situation in affected parts of Kenya, and across the region,” said Fatoumata Nafo-Traore, the International Federation of Red Cross regional director for Africa. “Our message is simple: humanitarian organisations need resources to respond at the scale that is needed. If we don’t, then thousands of people may die, and children will be affected for the rest of their lives. “And we won’t be able to say ‘we didn’t know’.”