A legend was told circa 1587 about a German alchemist called Johan Georg Faust.
Faust became disillusioned with his limits to knowledge and power to the extent that he became suicidal. As custom would have it, the devil Mephistopheles was prowling around looking for whom to devour. And it wasn’t long before Faust became the devil’s target.
Mephistopheles promised Faust that he could satisfy his bottomless desire. He promised him not only all knowledge, but also youthfulness, pleasures of the flesh, riches and most importantly, power. In exchange, what Mephistopheles wanted from Faust was to forever enslave his soul. This was the tradeoff. And Faust agreed.
Since then, this has become known as the Faustian Bargain. It is a pact whereby a person trades something of supreme moral or spiritual importance for some worldly or material benefit such as knowledge, power or riches.
A Faustian bargain is made with a power that the bargainer recognises as evil or amoral. By their nature, Faustian bargains are tragic and self-defeating for the person who makes them, because what is surrendered is ultimately far more valuable than what is obtained, whether or not the bargainer appreciates this fact.
Faustian bargains bring rich fruits, but exact a high price in the end. They bring short term gains, but longer term pains.
The nation has been confronting an unprecedented crisis that appears to worsen with every waking day. Reports of a deadly Covid-19 variant called Delta keeps flooding every device in our possession that transmits news. And every day, the Ministry of Health keeps updating us on the numbers and reminding us of what we should do to keep safe. Meanwhile, our economy has collapsed; and the epidemic’s draconian restrictions have destroyed our liberties.
This week alone, the seven-day average of daily Covid 19 cases was 1,200 with 32 new deaths. There have been numerous anecdotal personal accounts of people seeking hospital admissions for their loved ones only to be turned away because the hospitals are at full capacity.
Some health facilities have pitched additional temporary tents to accommodate the many cases that seek their services daily. Other harrowing accounts have been told of people seeking certain medication prescribed for their patients. And even with the requisite cash at hand, the medication is out of stock. And where it is scarcely available, it costs upwards ofS h150,000 per dose. And all this increased health burden has been without a commensurate increase in the health workforce.
Other socioeconomic effects of this pandemic has been the falling of the ratio of active members to dependents when an income earner in the household becomes ill, earnings are lost to take care of the ill family members, or funeral costs upon death.
The bans imposed as prevention measures have also led to the loss of jobs and wages, which has exacerbated the impoverishment and reinforced existing vulnerabilities of households to escape from, and stay out of poverty.
Almost every Kenyan has a harrowing story to narrate. But the horror stories are only whispered within the circles of those who are equally helpless, powerless and hapless to cause any seismic change, and the much-needed assistance.
If we were a national choir, our melody would be somewhere between a drunkard’s apology and a plumbing problem. This is because the hushed exchanges of these horror stories as told by we who hold the sovereign power are in sharp contrast to the screaming news headlines of the actions of those we have commissioned to manage the affairs of this nation.
The crisis is clearly an irritant to the politicos who unashamedly are wearing political blinkers that have restricted their field of vision. All they see, hear and conspire is who will be, and should not be, the next President of this country in a year’s time.
Begs the question, what is the Faustian Bargain that our politicians entered into to clinch and retain political power at all costs, and by all means, in spite of the sufferings Kenyans are undergoing?
What did they surrender in the trade-off for pursuit of, and holding onto power and riches, that completely blinds them to the afflictions that Kenyans are undergoing? And like Faust, when will the bill from their rendition of Mephistopheles come due?
Our politicos have deluded us with crusades against imaginary enemies to gain more control over us, to deflect us from uniting against taking actions that would solve our immediate and common problems.
They have diverted our energies from challenging them to take responsibility of the manner in which they have responded to the seemingly never ending Covid 19 crisis, and other social ills such as corruption, nepotism and tribalism.
I submit that most of the change, if it is to come, will not come from the politicos. They have made their Faustian Bargain. They cannot back away from it now. Like Faust, their souls are enslaved.
So if change will come, it will have to come from individuals who will say enough of the hushed exchange of these horror stories. People who will boldly and loudly ask the uncomfortable, the unfashionable, and the hitherto unspeakable questions. People who will have the courage to stop pandering to those who have the keys to the political and government tenders gravy train; and who will have the mettle to firmly demand for the provision of affordable, accessible and available health services and consumables for the prevention and management of Covid 19.
The ravages meted out by this pandemic is the perfect storm that should trigger us into becoming active citizens. We must deliberately take charge of our future and become the agents of the change we want to happen in this country. We should not shy away from respectfully demanding and asserting our rights, particularly to health care. Our collective voices on public accountability needs to be amplified.
And we have the social platforms to cause this change, which if we use responsibly, devoid of tribal slurs, insults and cyber bullying, can be the most effective fourth arm of government.
We have often prided ourselves in being lethal mchongoano champions through the #KOT. Imagine if we could harness, redirect and sustain that zeal and passion towards those that we have delegated our sovereign power, to voice our collective discontent on patronage politics, demand accountability and implementation of fiscal austerity policies, efficient and effective delivery of improved services, promotion of a virtuous cycle of institutional change towards better governance, and equitable access to public resources.
Over time, we are guaranteed to see change where political, administrative and economic reforms will increasingly reduce the politicos opportunities to capture state resources for private purposes. This pressure will make our politicos more responsive to our needs and open up opportunities for sustainable change.
Finally, my unsolicited advice is to Wanjiku; when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is not to buy a newer stronger whip; or harness several dead horses together to increase the speed.
The best strategy is to dismount. Likewise, we have discovered that our politicos have a Faustian bargain which has short term gains and long term pains. Hence we should not be lured with promises of newer stronger political outfits; neither the need to be united under several political factions with the intention of increasing their political speed.
We need to dismount these political horses and become active citizens. Because if there is anything Covid-19 crisis has underscored, is that it is not a respecter of political affiliations, tribal caucuses or social status.
If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools - Plato
