OUR MEDITATION

Good morning, true Kenyans will always embrace the words of the national anthem:

 

1. Ooh God Of All Creation, Bless This Our Land And Nation, Justice Be Our Shield and Defender, May We Dwell In Unity, Peace and Liberty, Plenty Be Found Within Our Borders.

2. Let One And All Arise, With Hearts Both Strong And True, Service Be Our Earnest Endeavour, And The Homeland Of Kenya, Heritage Of Splendour, Firm May We Stand To Defend!

3. Let All With One Accord In Common Bond United, Build This Our Nation Together and the Glory of Kenya, The Fruit Of Our Labour Fill Every Heart With Thanksgiving.

The words if mediated upon will surely take us to our desired haven

THE STORY OF INDEPENDENCE

Last Sunday I had a serious chat with my grandfather who has been here for a long time.He revealed that the only way we can heal this nation from tribalism is to identify when it all begun and who were the initiators of this vice. He also told me that they were united until they were divided by the colonialist. As I listened, he passionately explained how they were divided yet they fought the colonialist together. When you listen to these stories our grandparents enjoy giving them. We can bring them together to bring the feeling of comradeship in the country...food for thought.

I HAVE A DREAM

THE HAVEN

“Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were the whole world looking at you and act accordingly.” LETTER THOMAS JEFFERSON 1785

This is one of the greatest quote I have come across on motivation and behaviour. The quote suggests a world where, every one of our actions are driven by an internal motivation. It outlines the belief that what you do every day is for your good in the near future. You do all things in the same way as if the whole world is watching. It also supports an attitude of doing and being good anytime. This quote reveals a world where individuals are held responsible of their behaviour, accountable and morally upright. This is the haven we want to live in. A haven where discrimination (racial, tribal and social), social injustices, bias, corruption, abortion, mass action, eviction, theft (robbery and vandalism), domestic violence, inequitable distribution of resources, ignorance, HIV and AIDS, immorality, idleness, police brutality, taking advantage of others, selfishness, jealousy, pride, vengeance, condemnation, accidents, irresponsibility, judgment, greed, fear and suspicion among other words will not be in the nation’s dictionary.

When all the vices are dealt with, virtues manifest. This is the haven. Comradeship is the haven that the world desires. This is a place of mutual agreement. The haven will only come when all of us take responsibility of human maladies and stop blaming others. The haven is a world of integrity.

Blamelessness, innocence, perfect, incorruptible, responsibility and merciful, will form the vocabularies of the haven.

In regards to the haven we shall delve into several issues that are to be addressed before arriving here. These issues include but not limited to:

                    i.            Promotion of a reading culture - read until you read. I will quote William Channing on reading and its benefits. “It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse with superior minds…in the books, great men talk to us, give us their most precious thoughts and pour their souls in ours. God be thanked for books. They are the voices of the distant and the dead and make us heirs of the spiritual life of past ages. Books are true levellers. They give to all, who will faithfully use them, the society, the spiritual presence of the best and greatest of our race. Reading activates and exercises the mind. It forces the mind to discriminate. From the beginning, readers have to recognize letters printed on the page; make into words, the words into sentences and the sentences into concepts. Reading pushes us to use our imagination and makes us more creatively inclined. It activates the mind as muscles are activated by weight lifting. The more active our minds are, the more agile they become, which results in higher levels of creativity”. Reading and only reading of relevant materials will free us from the captivity of poverty. The country must invest purely in sophisticated systems of information provision and dissemination. Information that is applied becomes power.

                  ii.            Promoting a Purpose Driven Living - raising a generation that understands their place in the development of a nation. Each individual realising his role and performing it. A talent based academic system will ensure efficiency and effectiveness in careers and professions. Energy will be channelled through the right structures thus creating a strong nation. Creativity will be ensured because everyone seeks to remain in his/her area of calling.

                iii.            Promoting Practical Leadership (Centurion leadership) - leadership by example is a principle that will forever bring people together. Election of leaders who have in the past made contributions in boosting community welfare must be enhanced. A record of past victories, contribution, solutions and development, should be a platform on which leaders give their promises. This kind of leadership will be an antidote to selfishness, pride and malice. Leading as an example can only be enhanced by reprogramming our minds. “Weighing the promises made versus past development,” should be the philosophy adopted in order to avoid being cheated and wrongly influenced.

                 iv.            Raising a Patient Generation - Rome was not built in a day is a famous English sayings that calls for patience. It takes time to breach the gap between a chronic problem and providing a lasting solution. Strategies that fail should be set aside paving way for productive ones. You don’t fight corruption for example by killing all corrupt individuals; you raise a generation that upholds integrity. This kind of generation allows everyone to demonstrate their thoughts. The thoughts are weighed against the desired outcome. After weighing, logic and practicality of the thought are used as a benchmark. If it is logical or practical, it is absorbed, if not it is discarded. Strategic planning will be one of the greatest tools of a firm nation. This will involve counting all the costs before building. Having a blueprint of the desired haven.

As children of God, arriving at the desired haven will take our initiative. A lot of time spent meditating on comradeship will see us as this haven. We are children of God. We must remain united, peaceful and loving for us to inherit our Canaan (a land full of milk and honey). That land is available. If we decide to inherit it, we have it.

My conclusion is simple, “You are a social organism. You cannot do without others.”  Imagine this scenario; you wake up one morning and you find all people gone. How will it be, what will you do?

We are Children of God, we need each other.

Club Tribeless

THE TRIBELESS NATION INITIATIVE (Club Tribeless)

September 21, 2017

Dear Kenyans,

While we spend time discussing the events of the full judgment presented to us yesterday (20^th September 2017), by the supreme-court, we need to remember that we live in Kenya and are therefore Kenyans. We can make or break our beloved nation. My view is, whichever political divide you come from, we can speak in one voice and address our Kenyan problems without killing each other and dividing the country further.   Prevention is better than cure, a stitch in time saves nine are a few proverbs that call for timeliness.

Tribe less nation initiative came to me in a dream where behold I saw a united country where peace prevailed. It was brought by Kenyans doing those things that make them forget their tribes. During these occasions Kenyans speak in unison. The events include but not limited to:

1.      Drinking together for the lovers of the bottle- every time we have drinks together with friends and or strangers unless otherwise we drink, dance and celebrate the contents of our wallets without remembering our tribe.

2.      Goat Eating- many of us love meat, we flock nyama choma joints to only consume meat, celebrate and have a tribe less moment

3.      Religious events- when people meet to pray, listen to the word being divided both in churches and mosques, we speak in one voice. We sing songs together, pay tithes and offerings without complains.

4.       Drama Festivals- as students gather for these festivals held once a year, they speak in one voice. They present coro-verses, poems, dances, solo verses e. t. c. here they forget their tribes and focus on competing to win these festivals.

5.      Catastrophes and major accidents- great among them are serious catastrophes such as bomb blasts, accidents on our major roads, school fires, building collapse, here the nation mourns together regardless of their tribes. We see volunteers go to the extremes of saving lives without minding their own.

6.      The Laugh industry- whenever we are watching rib cracking jokes such as those in Churchill shows, Dr. Ofwenikes, Jalangos, 1000 laughs at Bomas, we forget ethnicity and laugh together

7.      Common problem shows- great among them are the classic 105 show by Maina Kageni and Kingangi that unites all Kenyans. Tribe here is not a matter. Women and men speak in one voice.

8.      Rallies- while watching rallies such as those sponsored by Kenya Commercial Bank, we see Kenyans united and cheering the Kenyan drivers.

9.      Sports- watching our athletics teams brings us together. We cheer these teams without ethnicity. We are proud that our Kenyan team represented us.

10.  Singing the national anthem- the anthem unites all Kenyans

11.  Weddings and bashes- we forget our tribe and enjoy the moment

12.  Demonstrations on poor infrastructure- whenever roads are in critical condition, we chant together and critic the governments responsible.

13.  Safaricom Twaweza Initiatives- we have seen a lot of such initiatives e. g. bring Zac Home, Major surgeries, harambees, get immense support. In such initiatives we forget our tribes.

14.  The Githeri Man- sharing fabricated photos made this man, a celeb.

Things that bring Kenyans together

These events or activities can be used to bring together Kenyans thus countering the negative ethnicity.

What divides Kenyans

1.       The social media- negative comments & rumors

2.       Political differences and opinions

3.       Religious dogmas and inclinations

4.       Elections

Why then don’t we learn

1.       In 1992, we lost our properties in Rift valley. The post-election violence displaced many families living in Rift Valley.

2.       In 1994, while in High school inter-tribal clashes rocked us when in school and we were displaced again.

3.       In 1997 mild tribal post-election rocked our country again

4.       In  2002 we saw the repeat of post- election clashes

5.       In 2007 many lives were lost, property destroyed and just to highlight a case in point, “The Kiambaa Massacre”.

6.       In 2013, there were no notable post-election clashes. The warring functions merged to form what is currently called Jubilee Party.

7.       In 2017, the demos, death of fellow Kenyans in parts of Kisumu, Kibera, Mathare and other areas is an indication of a serious clashes eruption in an event of election results.

What then

It is time we come together and speak in one voice before and after the repeat of these presidential elections.

By use of opinion leaders, celebs and media, let us shout our voices to the political class that we are united.

While media has played the role in disseminating hate speech, why can’t it spread the good news of UNITY?

Bring all the 47 counties together in activities that bind us together.

Rwanda Learnt the hard way

We can learn from them before we get there. Let us curse negative ethnicity and be ambassadors of peace…..

Yours truly,

Kiago Wangunyu

ekiago@gmail.com

www.kiagomotivation.blogspot.com