I’ve made a very interesting observation about the Kenyan youth, especially those fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to study out of the country. Many young people under age 24 seem to have absolutely no interest in what’s going on in Kenya. Many don’t bother to read the papers online. Yesterday, due to lack of time to read the entire online editions, I printed out sections of the Standard and the Nation, in particular articles about the Armenians saga to read over lunch. I ran into some fellow Kenyan students who were absolutely clueless that such events had occurred and they were so surprised to see the printouts! Mention the raid on the media earlier this year, the launch of Narc-Kenya, Kibaki and his family domez, and all I got was blank stares as if I was speaking in somali or something.
This indifference also extends to politics. Severally I’ve tried making conversation with guys about the political situation back home and who they’re likely to vote for come next year’s general elections. No one seemed to be least bit bothered! Guys would much rather gossip, discuss soccer and entertainment, get boozed and get laid. Is that all we live for? Many young Kenyans don’t bother to register as voters and even if they do, getting their lazy asses down to the polling stations is another thing altogether!
Obviously I blame the clowns who are currently in power for the lack of interest in politics among the youth coz with all that nonsense they spew out their mouths on a daily basis. Maybe we feel totally helpless or we might think that Kenya is beyond help so we’d much rather not think about it. Or maybe we feel that it’s not our place to speak out against these seasoned politicians.
An idea struck me although I don’t know how feasible it would be or if it’s even possible. I’m not a political genius so work with me here. It’s mostly based on assumption.
The youth make up about 60% of registered voters, right? That makes us the outright majority of voters, but I highly doubt that there is any political party in Kenya that actually reaches out to the youth. I’m talking about having the youth’s interests at heart. Kenyan politics is all about name calling and mud slinging, and in the process no one bothers to address issues (or at least make empty promises in their manifestos) to address issues faced by the youth.
We face various issues that include HIV/AIDS, sexual (as well as other forms of) abuse, inadequate educational facilities, lack of employment opportunities for university graduates, lack of adequate opportunities to develop individual talents among others.
Anyway, the idea is, would it be possible/feasible to start a political party that solely caters for the interests of the youth? I’m not necessarily talking about going for the top seats, but let’s assume that the party could reach out to the youth in all corners of the country and educate them about their rights and the importance of having a party that’s formed for the youth and by the youth, encourage them to register as voters and to actually go to the polling stations on election day and vote. Throw in a few inspirational young leaders and through aggressive campaigning somehow manage to get something like 40% of the youth registered to vote, to become party members.
Such a move will make the more established political parties wake up and realize that the youth are a very important portion of the electorate that has long been ignored and that we’re tired of being taken for granted. They will definitely start taking the youth more seriously, and they’ll come up with agendas, platforms, policies or whatever fancy names they give to their plans of action. This youth party would then form an alliance to swing the youth vote in favour of whichever party that has the most solid plan to address issues faced by the youth. Future support for the party will be based on how well they tackled these issues.
Moi used to tell the youth “you are the leaders of tomorrow…” that was years ago but what we see today is a bunch of senile septuagenarians in power and driving Kenya to the ground. This “tomorrow” will not just pop out of a hole and announce “I’m here!!” Tomorrow will become today only when the youth decide to get more involved in politics and in matters that affect their own lives, when young Kenyan graduates out there decide to come back home and share their wealth of knowledge and help in building the country instead of throwing stones from afar.
So what do you think?
June 22, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Another wonderful post!I feel you on the self imposed ignorance of many young Kenyans abroad.I was once at a gathering of Kenyans and I mentioned the raid on Standard and I was looked at like I was speaking greek.
Many of them think that since they are in the states they may never go back.I talked to another Kenyan telling them that I want to save and go home for vacation next summer and he told me that it would be a long time till he goes back and that Kenya can kiss his ass!I told him that with the way things are nowadays he could find himself back at JKIA and whether he likes it or not, no matter how long he stays here he would be a visitor and he would always be asked when he is going home.
As for they youth in Kenya I think if they organised themselves they can become a formidable political power instead of being pawns for the geezers in power!
June 22, 2006 at 7:26 pm
I agree with you soooo much. Like here in states, there was a huge movement by the youth, the vote or die slogan. We have musicians and entertainers out there who command some serious following. The artists themselves are complaining about the govt not being on their side. I did an interview with bamboo who really unearthed some serious flows with the system back home. The power the youth have is soooo much but i am sure the politicians are glad that we r bafoons who dont make noise. we r ignorant and that is y they dont care about us. Stay tuned for spots that will try and awake the youth to make noise so that changes can be effected.
June 24, 2006 at 1:34 am
@Acolyte: Good to see I’m not alone in speaking somali to the masses!
@One Mic: karibu sana & asante sana for your contribution.
The big question remains, guys. Just how do we get the young guys to take an interest in Kenyan affairs and be part of the change?
June 26, 2006 at 2:44 pm
Archer, I think things are kidogo easy now. We have forums like this one, kenyamoto, the internet etc. We jus need to start things rolling and make noise. We make 65%of the pop. We can make noise? Someone has lied and the politicians need to be awoken to that fact. people are dying of starvation and yet they are increasing the salaries. they take us to be kubaffs and bongolalas
June 27, 2006 at 9:24 am
@One Mic: so just how do we get down to making meaningful noise? Do you have any ideas coz my mind is blank at the moment.
June 29, 2006 at 1:57 pm
Well, we have the internet. Here in states we have an organisation called KENYANS ABROAD with different chapters in several states. One way is to make noise through there.
Another thing we need to do is have the a program like Jimmy Gathu had raising concerns about the youth and the future.
Kalonzo Musyoka had kujad overhere off course to campaign. Of course I did not go but some of the people who went were given a rivetting speech which made them say that he has vision, he has a prupose. How many politicians have we heard say things that made us say the same thing? Plenty. Elections are up and coming and trust there will be an influx of politicians on the campaign trail. I AM TELLING YOU NOW THE ONLY MAN I AM VOTING FOR IS KIBAKI. We have had several discussions and the elders say that Kibaki is the only one who has done something but the likes of akina Odinga are trying to bring him down. tell you wot, ama try and do a documentary about next years elections and wot the pple want. KENYA HAS POTENTIAL BUT UNTIL THIS OLD JAMAAS BOUNCE, EXCEPT FOR KIBAKI WHO CAN STAY FOR ANOTHER TERM, WE SHALL HAVE THE SAME NONSENSE CIRCULATING.
July 5, 2006 at 3:01 am
I think many of us just feel powerless when it comes to any changes in the political arena at home. Being the so-called dotcom generation, we keep up with news and events online and talking to family in Kenya. You are so right about the septuagenarians–they don’t want any changes in the system coz they’re at the top of the food chain. We (youth) need leaders and representatives from our ranks to guide us to a hopeful future. I’d say this involves building a solid power base and having some kind of cash flow to maintain everyday operations.
July 5, 2006 at 11:16 am
@archer,
Nice ideas
here come the but…BUT as you can see from the response from one mic..when push comes to shove…we all default back to our bases… better the devil you know kind of thing. No offence one mic.
Please see my blog…what we need is not a party but a movement or forum.
I have also noticied that younger kenyans are blissfully ignorant about the kind of BS going on back home.
In their defence, they are on point about the prevailing issues in their current residences