THE DREAM OF OUR FOREFATHERS

Someone has to pay homage to the people who fought for our freedom, our independence. To this generation, freedom may just be a word but to the people who stuck their necks out for it, the people who shed their blood and even sacrificed their lives for it and ended up not witnessing it themselves, it meant a great deal. They must have anticipated the day we gained our independence almost like the second coming of the Messiah! The white man goes home and governance is left for us natives. We were born in a free state so we might not fully understand, they were not. How ironic that we- a free nation, now run back to the white man begging for aid, asking them to charge our ‘guilty’ citizens because we don’t trust the system that we set up ourselves. Asking for help isn’t a crime, it’s the reason behind it. Its commensurate with admission of failure on our part as a free nation. It’s like admitting to the whole world that we are corrupt and its beyond our help as a people. It is spitting huge sputum from the deepest part of our throats to the ‘freedom’ that our forefathers died for, the freedom that we now enjoy and take for granted.

This is not what freedom meant for them, I would like to imagine. How many things are you willing to die for in your life? That’s how important it was for them. Even during the colonial times, there were Africans who collaborated with the colonialists. They signed deals and made agreements with the colonialists. They held the argument that as much as the white man was oppressive, he built houses and roads and the black man had food to eat, were they the wise ones among the populous foolish ones who yearned for independence? But they were detested by fellow Africans and were considered traitors. How things change! Now, we reject our own government and trust the white man with our affairs and look with contempt anyone against letting the white man into our internal affairs. The white man speaks and we say yes. A fellow black man speaks and we can’t go without questioning his authenticity.

See, I have had this thought in my head long enough but I didn’t say anything until I had enough of it when a senior person in age, one that was born before independence commented upon hearing the news of Michael Joseph’s (a white person) appointment to the Kenya Tourism Board, he said that it made sense because ‘we’ wouldn’t trust a black person. He went ahead to say the colonial government was better. I’m not against the appointment of white people I’m just concerned about the reason behind it, the reason being that we either consciously or subconsciously worship the white man. We place the white man above us. By doing this we insult the efforts of the ‘stupid’ men and women who stayed up all night scheming and plotting to fight and bring to an end the rule of the white man over us as a people and a nation. Its telling them in their grave that they should have quit their barbaric plans and actions and stayed in their houses with their wives and kids, probably earn a living working in the farms of white men to feed their families. I think not. I honour those brave men and women! I salute them for their efforts and passionate desire for freedom, its because of that I’m able to be who I am now and who I can become tomorrow. They laid down the foundation for all the things that are possible for us today. Let us honour the freedom fighters in deeds. Let’s honour them by taking our freedom seriously as long as we have our own government in office.

Yes, we have corrupt leaders but they are our leaders, lets deal with them! We voted them in anyway. I can’t help but wonder, how can a foreigner have the best interest of another country in their heart. Ivory Coast is in turmoil, do you care? I don’t. Well, not so much. Its just something I hear on the news. Only them can save themselves. Only us can save ourselves from ourselves. I don’t expect any foreigner to care about us so much, unless there is something in it for them. But if they genuinely do, that’s great! God bless them… and us. God bless our country Kenya.