• President Uhuru Kenyatta to receive the Building Bridges Initiative report and has promised to make it public.
• This is a very critical moment for Kenya, given how we go to the handshake and the formation of the BBI task force.
An old lion pretended that he was sick and when other animals came to offer him their sympathy, he ate them up one by one.
The Fox, standing at a safe distance from the cave, inquired politely after Lion’s health. The lion replied that he was very ill indeed, and asked the Fox to step in for a moment. The Fox, however, very wisely stayed outside, thanking the Lion very kindly for the invitation.
“I have noticed that there are many footprints leading into your cave and none coming out. Pray, tell me, how do your visitors find their way out again?”
Like the Fox, it is important to learn from the past to avoid pitfalls that lead to our destruction.
Kenya has had its share of conflicts that have resulted from historical mistakes we keep making now and again. And this is because we have failed to deal with all the historical injustices that have divided us along tribal lines.
President Uhuru Kenyatta will receive the Building Bridges Initiative report tomorrow and has promised to make it public so that Kenyans can read it. This is a very critical moment for the country, given how we go to the handshake and the formation of the BBI task force.
The country was heading to the brink when Uhuru reached out to opposition leader Raila Odinga to not only cool down the political temperature but set the tone for future politics.
Do not blindly follow your tribal chieftain waiting for them to read the BBI and advise on the best way forward
But even before the BBI report is out, we have all manner of opinions being thrown at the public by politicians who have no idea what it contains.
Spinsters, strategists from smoke-filled boardrooms and all politicians from every nook and cranny that want to jumpstart their careers will jump at the opportunity to either support the BBI, or reject it based purely on selfish interests.
As the President said, read the report for yourself and make a decision if you, as a voter, believe that the report will transform this country and make life better for you.
To recap, the handshake was a result of a very divisive twin presidential election that almost pushed this country back to where we were 10 years ago. The handshake cooled down the political temperature and the country was ready to focus on moving forward.
This is the importance of the BBI report. Even if it suggests to alter our political system, it is critical that we remember that it aims at ensuring that we continue uniting the country.
And a change of the political system as we know it may be part of the solution we need to ensure the country moves through this unity path successfully. BBI should, therefore, be taken as a bridge towards our country’s unity and prosperity.
The report we are getting today will shape the conversations we will have in the coming days. However, we should not allow it to divide Kenyans, especially by the politicians.
If there are issues that are in the BBI that we do not agree with, we should strive to create consensus on them. We have done this before as a country and this time should not be an exemption.
BBI report is not the ultimate solution but an ingredient that will help the country reset itself and continue taking the path of economic prosperity and development. And so as it comes today, we must be focused on putting food on the table and money in the pocket for all Kenyans.
Do not blindly follow your tribal chieftain waiting for them to read the BBI and advise on the best way forward. You must read the report and see it meets your aspirations and those of the future of this country.
Let’s use the report to build on where we have come from in terms of pushing the country into prosperity. If we turn the report into a tool for us versus them contest, we will have ourselves to blame if we push the country into the brink once again.