- The irony is that this politician who has rubber-stamped his name on our lives is the cause of our problems.
- There's no future in Kenya, especially if you are not from the immediate family circle of this politician.
Image: JOHN CHESOLI
The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam results were released recently, with top candidates celebrating their good performance. The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam results will be released soon. Once again some students will rejoice as others grieve.
The truth is if all these young people knew what awaited them, they would all be crying. Once they complete secondary school they will head to university. Some of our public universities are named after politicians. It is not that these politicians have contributed tremendously to academia to warrant such recognition.
Once these students graduate from university, they will start to look for jobs and will be hit by the hard truth that companies in Kenya are owned by a few individuals. They will start ‘tarmacking’ the city streets. Their shoes will wear out. The streets are also named after politicians.
In summary, the college degree awarded has the name of a politician on it because the university is named after that politician; the street you are walking on in search of a job is named after a politician; and, in case you get depression because no job is forthcoming and are hospitalised, the hospital too is named after a politician.
Our graduate’s children will probably end up in the same school their father went to, which is named after the politician. After all, is there an alternative? The cycle will continue, the misery passed on to a different generation.
The irony is that this politician who has rubber-stamped his name on our lives is the cause of our problems. He has decided to use his position of power to make decisions that suit his private interests. This is what economist David Ndii calls ‘State capture’. I prefer to call it ‘daily life capture’—you can feel the impact of this politician right from school to the roads and hospitals.
The KCPE and KCSE candidates need to realise that there is no future in Kenya. This is especially if you are not from the immediate family circle of this politician who continues to dominate the daily lives of everyone.
After tarmacking for ages a harassed graduate finally gets lucky and lands a job. He will then save for more than 15 years to get enough money to buy an eighth of an acre to build a house and settle his young family. But who’s to say that his employer will be generous enough to allow him to work for straight 15 years in the first place? Again, who’s to say that our graduate will be rational enough to prioritise his personal development?
Our graduate’s children will probably end up in the same school their father went to, which is named after the politician. After all, is there an alternative? The cycle will continue, the misery passed on to a different generation.
Should our graduate catch a bad break, it will not matter which tribe he and his children belong to. If he does not have money his family will starve and miss opportunities. Our society, after all, is divided into just two tribes: The rich and the poor.
If you thought only the economy has been captured by cartels, think again. Our very lives have been captured. Very soon we may have to pay for the very air we breathe.