Raila should change from reggae to benga to win over Mt Kenya

Raila Odinga had a briefing with media stations that focused on languages spoken in the Mt Kenya region. It is interesting that Raila reinforced the words of his handshake partner, President Uhuru Kenyatta, and told Deputy President William Ruto to resign if he is dissatisfied with the current arrangement in government.

Faced with a similar situation, he never resigned when he was told to do so as the Prime Minister.

By insinuating that Uhuru and Ruto are like siamese twins joined at the hip, it follows that any attempted separation can be fatal to either or both. One wonders why Raila talks of uniting the nation yet on the same breath asks Ruto to leave government. Anybody talking of uniting the country should start by bringing Uhuru and Ruto back together.

The much-hyped unity based on tokenism will be short-lived once the goodies promised in the BBI  fail to materialise. Furthermore, how do you unite by castigating the DP? It appears that the heart of the handshake was to remove obstacles for Uhuru to complete his five-year term. 

One achievement of the handshake was to remove Raila from the streets to ensure that businesses operated as usual. It also removed Ruto from the political kitchen and relegated him to the servant quarters.

When Ruto started ‘tangatangaring’ inspecting government projects, the ODM brigade hurled torrents of insults at him calling him a supervisor. 

The ODM leader knows that after the BBI debacle, the next roadblock he faces in his bid to State House is the looming voter apathy in Mt Kenya, hence, the press briefing with vernacular radio stations.

To woo Central, Raila should switch to a new genre of music since reggae has been stopped. The highly marketable one is the Kikuyu benga, which resonates well in this region.

When our leaders talk of uniting the country, they mean consolidating all the voters to push them to the political peak. When voters heed the unity call, they are seeking a problem solver who can make their lives comfortable.

Paradoxically, the voter is always cheated and lives on hope till the next general election. Keep hoping.