THE BALKANIZATION OF THE KENYAN STATE

I am engaged with much more social media news threads than I watch or listen to mainstream media in Kenya. I mean why listen to Maina Ki’nga’ng’i and Mwalimu Kageni sensationalize sex and sexuality for a living, or watch Kiss Tv cheer-lead for Raila or watch Citizen and K24 blow Uhuru’s trumpet. At times I am just as incensed listening to TV Citizen news anchors repeat media clichés from the last decade over and over again. Besides affiliations within Kenyan Media bar Nation Media have conspired to deny Kenyans objective and unbridled news and information. That’s why for a real time analysis of the ‘state of the nation’
I turn to social media. Twitter and Facebook are a microcosm of the neigh opinions of the Kenya state. Ok, enough bashing of Kenyan media, I have keen interests in media from African media and I have come to the conclusion that Kenya’s media is the second trashiest in the continent, ok no media can be trashier than Tanzania’s media. As I was saying I think our nation is on the brink of an epoch that will not be beautiful going forward. Kenya is balkanizing, and the politicians are to blame for this. They a full list of them all 212 Members of Parliament have worked zealously to ensure that Kenyan’s do not benefit from benefits accruing from a true sense of nationhood. A few marquee politicians; Raila the cog behind ODM, Uhuru the man of the anonymous party, Ruto of the URP stable and Kalonzo who named his party after an automobile accessory stand accused. Non of them stands on a pedestal non of them merits to have the responsibility of taking this nation forward. Uhuru and Ruto have United their ethnic battalions ready for battle, Kalonzo brings his small battalion into the fray, Wamalwa et-al add their small armies ready for Kenya’s Waterloo and Kenya’s waterloo is an ethnic conquest they are Raila who by the way usurps the powers of the ethnic joker card when he thinks it favours him or wails like against ethnicity when he thinks it works for him. Kenya therefore is balkanizing geographically, politically and emotionally. Small bands of Kenyans are seemingly more and more prone to pull away from Kenya’s established fabric. See Mombasa Republic Council, which by the way I think is shenaniganism of the highest order, mungiki seems to be making a comeback. All this are telltale signs that the state of the nation is not well. Let it be known though that I support the constitutional sanctioned right to association, that includes the GEMA, KAMATUSA crap, let us examine ourselves before we criticize because really this groups are carry-overs from the ethnic caucusing that permeates almost all facets of socio-political life in Universities. We need though to proffer solutions, we need to stop cheerleading for war, it is us whose blood will spill first. We need to deny our innocence to power-hungry make believe leaders, we need to force generational change in leadership and that can only happen if we stop clinging on to every word our archaic media industry peddles. We could we are young, we want more. “What ethnicity I am is of no consequence to me, what I am more concerned about is finding my locus in the global environment.” As a young man I would gain more from being globally competitive than I would, clinging to tentacles of an ethnic past.

The Paucity of Thought and Ideology in Africa's Governance

I have myself perusing a commemorative album on Freidrich von Hayek, published by Adam Smith institute. What a treasure trove it is turning out to be. It invokes my thinking it challenges contemporary governance structures and systems in Africa. It challenges us; us who consider themselves repositories of knowledge and ideas to bring ourselves to the fray. As I skim through the commemorative album, I can clearly see what is wrong in African society, like a doctor I have been able to identify the malady that ails us; “Africa has no space for thought.” At its founding Africa was guided through the independence by men who read books, men like Kwameh Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere , Patrice Lumumba and others who could be identified with a distinct ideas, ideologies (all the above were ardent socialists) or others like Houphouët-Boigny and Jomo Kenyatta who had were cautiously capitalistic. Over the ensuing period of time Africa became a crucible of examining the strengths of either capitalism or socialism. Countries such as Kenya and Ivory Coast had favorable economic growth owing in part to high commodity prices but also due to the founding ideologies of the nations while others like Tanzania regressed economically while Ghana choked under massive debts. That notwithstanding a generational buffer of leaders who constantly referred to ideology and thought and thought and those who don’t developed. Successive generations of African leaders did not have a guiding light in terms of what ideology would guide national development in their countries. For example Kenya’s Sessional NO.10 which laid out Kenya’s development path was anchored in an amorphous ideology called ‘Democratic Socialism’ (it was a not so evident ploy of cronies and corrupt officials to extract rent form the state.) The subsequent decades of have seen African leaders guiding their countries without distinct ideologies. Kibaki is an accomplished economist, or say they say, but from what school of thought does he read from? Voodoo economics may be. Bingu wa Mutharika was an accomplished scholar who delivered nothing but misery to his people. African countries have taken to scrapping through the times, with no ideologies, no guiding light just fumbling through to get by. Von Hayek making reference to his long time ideological arch-nemesis; John Maynard Keynes once said, “I do not find myself often agreeing with the late Lord Keynes, but he has never said a truer thing than when he wrote; ‘the ideas of economists and political philosophers, when they are right and when they are wrong are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from academic scribblers of a few years back, so or later it is ideas and not vested which are dangerous for good and for evil.” Well it seems Africa runs short of ideas, and thought. The so called academic scribblers are busy juggling between jobs in a public university, a consultancy and a private institution. The leaders in African university lead their nations like sheep into gullies of oblivion, it must be remembered that these same leaders are the same ones who satiate their thirst with morning dew during the extended months of drought, while the rest of us sheep die along the way. Africa’s problems lie in paucity of ideas, without ideas, trade-offs between choices is impossible.

I Give it Up for The Maina Obed, The Most Honest of beings I have Come Across.

I went to so nondescript High School, Leshau Boy's School in Nyahuru. The School though helped shape the not so nondescript me and many others who went through the School. We were as small District school, we could hit above our weight also. I have nostalgic memories of the school, the meals, the community, but above all what rings and lingers in my mind was the constant hope that was in abundance in the school. The belief that 'Tomorrow was always going to be a better day.' The belief in our abilities as men, the belief that we could posses the world if we wanted to. The belief that we would be what we were destined to be in society. Yet a much more colossal figure than Maina Obed (MO) teacher for history and geography could can never be found. Once punished me for telling a lie, that i had placed a notice to all the form 4 classes while i had posted it only two. what he told me that day lingers in my mind since today. "Alex you are going to become an important man in society," he started, "a lawyer perhaps, i shall have failed in my duty as teacher if i let someone who'll shape society leave school with a dishonest soul." Needless to say he proceeded to proffer a punishing under which i was supposed to weed the academic quadrangle with nothing more than a pair of shorts and a vest in broad daylight. Yet today more than i ever i know i am turning into the man he wanted me to become, i am not a lawyer nor an important man but i will be at least of these things. for the constancy of hope still lingers in me all the years through. Today more than ever I know that I will be the man he wanted me (us) to be. I will impact society, i shall not the faith he had in me (us) down. Rest in Eternal Peace, Maina Obed.

Africa Needs Trade, Entreprenuers, not Philantropy

Here is a post I did, as an antithesis to a post I came about "Where thou Oh African Philantopists?" on okwarohztake.blogspot.com. I will go with 'anonymous april 15 2012' lets face it Africa needs more and more rich men and just a wee bit of philanthripy. Whereas we might allude to the fact that Bill Gates through his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation makes handsome donations to the African causes, does he really give back to the African continent and its people. Lets do a little fact checker. #1 Africa provides a very small percentage of Microsoft's global profits. #2 Microsoft is primary a Softwares business so no African Earth or African Village could, nor a single stone turned in the creation of a single Microsoft product. Question? Does Microsoft or Bill Gates owe Africa, a dime or a thing? In humble opinion he does not his is just a generous man constantly chooses to identify with causes that are further apart from his world like heaven and earth. The fact of the matter is that men and women in Africa's rich list have created empires in murky and feeble micro-economic and political environments. What we need in Africa is not philanthropy but rather and evening out of the economic opportunities to all. The rule and equity of law is much more paramount than a few billionaires sharing some paltry fortunes with the poor. Lets face Africa's men in the rich list create Value; Merali creates value in the Manfucturing busines, he turns raw materials (non of which could have been useful to the Africa people) into things like Iron sheets, he employees a sizable number of employees, he contributes massively to the tax pool, Wale Adenoga creates value in the telecommunications business, he Glo provides competition to foreign telecommunication companies in Africa. Lets no chide our big men for giving more. Lets chide ourselves for allowing our governments to continually enfeeble our capacities. Let us pinch ourselves for not being vigilant enough, for allowing corruption to incapacitate the ease of dong business in Africa. And that my dear friends is how we shall escape the cycle of poverty.

Africa’s Governance Problems lie in the Lack of Political Subjectivity.

Allow me to rip my beloved continent bare, to unravel the not so cryptic governance of poor governance in the continent. I have been inspired to write this for so long a time but ensuing the last few have spurred me to dip my feather in ink and scribble reservations with a flawed political culture that ‘is the bane of our (Africa’s) governance problems’ as I perceive them. A few days ago I commented on a status update on one of the major social media platforms. The ensuing comments thread was interesting to say the least and an unbridled revealer of the state of the continent, well at least when it comes to Africa’s social-economic and political state. To begin with I voiced my reservations explicitly about a presidential aspirant my friend was supporting (Raila Odinga). My Facebook friend call him John replied, stating that he could decipher from what part of Kenya I came from and thus I could not support his preferred presidential aspirant. He continued ranting about how his preferred presidential aspirant had acted as king maker and installed our current President (Kibaki) as the country’s head of state. I replied in kind stating in no uncertain terms that Raila was not the only major political leader that endorsed Kibaki’s election for the 2002 elections. Kijana Wamalwa and Charity Ngilu had trooped in with their endorsements before Raila. I challenged my friend to moot out the merits of a Raila presidency on a purely ideological/policy basis as I would counter his arguments, but he was not forthcoming. Anyway I found the idea that my friend could decipher my political preferences from my ethnic name a little unnerving and disconcerting, but hello this is Africa and at times in Africa truth might be stranger than fiction. Whereas the above social media encounter might be so small an encounter to make sufficient inference on the state of affairs in Africa, I am afraid it is a microcosm of the state of Africa. In Africa ethno-religoius jingoism is a big determinant political decision making. In the USA and other developed lands election season attracts phrases like; neo-conservative, liberal, conservative, social democracy and what a view in Africa key determinants of electability include; which region does he come from, what tribe does he come from, from which family/tribe/ clan has he married into, how/where does he worship. For evidence you could always refer to the profanities and hate mongering on social media. Apart from a few upwardly mobile urban middle class who have a real grasp of the real issues that beleaguer the African continent, myriads of mass populations in Africa are in the dark as to what the panacea of; socio-political, and economic limbo is. Unless we take steps to; educate, re-educate ourselves and our brothers and sisters we shall forever remain shackled. For the single magic bullet that we so much for is plain and simple; ‘Political Subjectivity.

Unbridled freedom: The Benefits of Getting Your Master’s Degree in a Foreign Country

Unbridled freedom: The Benefits of Getting Your Master’s Degree in a Foreign CountryMasters In international Business

The Benefits of Getting Your Master’s Degree in a Foreign Country

The Benefits of Getting Your Master’s Degree in a Foreign Country When you decide to go back to school to get your master’s degree, you should first think about where you will get the most out of your time. You will want to find the school that will benefit you most and give you the education and experience you need to meet your personal career goals. Sometimes, this school will be close to your home, but you should also consider those schools that are far away. Your ultimate goal should be to get the most out of your courses, and if that means going to a school abroad, there are a lot of other benefits that will come along with the great education. Specific Educational Experiences When you go abroad to get your education, you will have many educational opportunities that you would never get at a school in your own country. This is especially true if you are interested in a research project going on in a particular country. If you are able to study and get your degree in a country where you can learn more about a field you are interested in, you will be able to gain a deeper understanding of that field, which will give you an upper hand when it comes time for you to interview for a job. If the field you are interested in requires research of specific materials or locations, you will definitely benefit from actually being in that place rather than reading about them. It will be easier for you to explain and conduct your research when you can see these things first hand. You will also find that your professors are more knowledgeable because they have been able to study in the right place as well. They may try new or different approaches to the subject that you wouldn’t be able to experience at another school. Expense and Time Commitment Some graduate programs abroad only require one year to complete, which probably means a lower total cost for your degree. Even if the currency exchange isn’t working in your favor, you will only have one year of tuition and fees to worry about. There are also many foreign schools that cost much less than schools in the United States. Some don’t even charge tuition fees at all. If you still don’t feel like you can afford to go to school abroad, many foreign schools are approved for US financial aid as well. Another way you may be able to save money while abroad is with your healthcare. Many countries around the world offer free national healthcare to students who aren’t from that county. This means that you won’t have to worry about paying for an insurance plan. Opportunity to Experience a Different Culture Taking this time to live and study in a different country will give you the opportunity to experience a different culture and learn about yourself in the process. You can learn how you interact with different people and if you are able to adapt to a new environment. People in other countries have different values and customs, views on education and government, communicate in a different way, and treat one another differently than you do, so you can take advantage of this experience and observe these differences first hand. Also, because graduate programs tend to attract students from around the world, you will be able to interact with students from other cultures as well. If you are nervous because the people in the country you are considering speak a different language, take it as a learning opportunity. One of the best ways to learn a new language is to immerse yourself in the culture. It may be intimidating at first, but you will slowly improve until you don’t even have to think about it. Amy Griffin is a guest post author who enjoys writing posts about getting an education, small business, and finance. She also created a site that tries to help readers learn how and where they should get a Masters Degree; http://www.www.mastersininternationalbusiness.org