[kictanet] When Leaders follow the followers

[Judy Njogu]

Such a shame Daktari (interesting observation though!) Clearly we have a
long way to go. Lord help Kenya.

 

Judy.

@judynjogu

 

-----Original Message-----
From: kictanet-bounces+jgnjogu=safaricom.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+jgnjogu=safaricom.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke]
On Behalf Of lordmwesh
Sent: Friday, November 25, 2011 7:00 PM
To: Judy Njogu
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: Re: [kictanet] When Leaders follow the followers

 

We are pathetic. If technocrats and thinktanks like ab, cd, ef, ...

etal get into politics and wear the politician's coat, it means we are

headed nowhere in a thousand years.

 

On 25/11/2011, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com> wrote:

> Well said Dr. Ndemo, this is what leadership is all about, we must

> shout from the rooftops until tumekemea psycophancy anyway seems like

> a case of old wine in new skins, its going to be a long journey but we

> will get there.

> 

> Best Regards

> 

> On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 4:40 PM,  <bitange at jambo.co.ke> wrote:

>> Listers,

>> I want to start by thanking Andrea Bohnstedt for her last Saturday
article

>> titled, We need Politicians with Economic Policy, The Star on
Saturday

>> 19th 2011.  It raised salient points but it came too early before I
could

>> put my skills to test.  My first encounter with the current
Presidential

>> candidates ended up to be thoroughly frustrating but a good lesson
for all

>> of us to learn from.  Our only way out is to create political, social
and

>> economic transformations through social media.  Here is my argument
for

>> this proposition:

>> 

>> Last week attended Dr. Hezron Nyangito's funeral in Kisii and I had
the

>> chance to test my "political ambition".  I failed.  When time came
for me

>> to speak, I was nervous but gathered myself to make a few remarks.
This

>> was my brief speech:  The family of Nyangito, our leaders Prime
Minister,

>> Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers, members of Parliament, My
colleagues

>> PSs, Senior Civil Servants Ladies and Gentlemen.   It is my singular
honor

>> to speak at the funeral of my great friend and former colleague both
at

>> the University and the Civil Service as Permanent Secretaries.
Nyangito

>> was a gentleman but all through our interactions we argued mostly on
how

>> to eradicate poverty in Kenya and more specifically here in Kisii.
Since

>> the rains are coming (it rains in Kisii every day at 2pm and by the
time I

>> was speaking it was around 1 pm).  I can only promise to put in
writing

>> what his thoughts were and how we can help the people he loved most
moves

>> towards a prosperous future.

>> 

>> I had just been given 2 minutes for my speech and that of my
colleague,

>> Mary Ngari, PS Medical Services.  In Mary's speech, she was to
announce

>> that the Government will undertake to finish the construction of a
health

>> center that Nyangito had started in his home area.  She never got to
the

>> point of saying this since the crowd that numbered about 50,000 was

>> getting restless and wanted to hear from the politician.  Indeed I
was

>> bothered that the crowd was not interested in the issues we were
raising

>> as they would impact on their lives.

>> 

>> The time came for politicians to speak and here I discovered that
indeed

>> we are led by the electorate and any change we must make, it must be
to

>> educate the electorate.  First every Presidential candidate arrived
in

>> their own helicopters.  There were seven helicopters and a quick

>> observation most of the public were bare foot but they liked the

>> excitement of helicopters landing in their villages.  They cheered
for

>> every one that landed and rushed towards the landing area just to
announce

>> Ruto, Kenyatta, Raila etc.  Obviously all the politicians loved this
and

>> being surrounded by people chanting their names.

>> 

>> First to speak was Ruto and had this to say "Mbuya more abanto baito
(How

>> are you our people), Mbuya Mono (Very fine with a big roar).
Nyangito was

>> a great man".  The crowd went quiet and Ruto changed gear "munajua

>> tumekaribia kung'eng'ana (we are nearing political fight)" Here there
were

>> bigger roaring cheers and ululations'.  I must add that Ruto had the

>> correct masterly of Swahili and impeccably dressed in what appeared
to be

>> a Gucci suit (retails for about $4,000). Hon. Nyachae stood and as a

>> clever politician he did not bother with issues but focused on what

>> brought cheers, "sisi wa Kisii ni wanaume (us Kisii's are men) never
mind

>> the majority of the crowd were women.  His statement was met with
even

>> greater roaring, ululations and whistling.

>> 

>> Uhuru's turn came and he had to read the President's speech as the
crowd

>> watched in heavy silence waiting to hear what could excite them.
Being a

>> smart politician he had to make his own remarks at the end at this is
what

>> he said "hii si wakati wa siasa lakini tunakuja, nitarudi"(this not
the

>> time for politics but I will come back) cheers more roars and
ululations.

>> Then it came the turn of the Prime Minister, "I knew Nyangito ...."
He

>> seemed to have noted that the crowd was getting bored then as any
clever

>> politician he switched gears "Nimetoka Israel na nilipitia Jerusalem
kwa

>> Yesu" (I have just come from Israel and I passed through Jerusalem
where

>> Jesus lived) the crowd responded with roars.  He could intermittently
hold

>> his speech to allow for more ululations, "nikapitia Nazareth bahari
Yesu

>> alizaliwa (I passed through Nazareth where Jesus was born) pause then

>> cheers, hata Galilee nilienda, pause na Bethlehem (even I went to
Galilee

>> and Bethlehem).

>> 

>> This is what the public wanted and the politician gave it.  In
essence it

>> is the public that takes the lead and those we assume to be leaders

>> follow.  I did not want to make that conclusion too early.  After the

>> funeral there was a heavy jam.  Several University students accosted
me.

>> Here I decided to put this new found theory in place.  I told them
that

>> when I came in the morning, I flew into Kisumu and landed in the new

>> airport and not surprisingly they clubbed.  Here I concluded that if
you

>> want to be a politician, you must begin to be irrelevant to issues
that

>> affect the people.  If you really want to be popular, you must have a

>> helicopter since it gets you closer to the people.  The third
variable

>> that will endear you to the people is MONEY.

>> 

>> Among the Kisii culture there is a tendency to raise a bit of money
at a

>> funeral mainly to assist those who may need transport and food as
they go

>> back to their homes.  We simply call it erongori  (porridge).  At
this

>> function former Minister for Planning Henry Obwocha was asked to
request

>> for erongori.  Usually if you gave Ksh. 1,000, it will be considered
too

>> much.  Before Obwocha could finish asking for this, there was a queue
of

>> politicians.  Hon. XXX Ksh.100,0000 and the crowd cheered.  The
cheers

>> stopped at Ksh. 20,000.  This really embarrassed people like me who
could

>> only afford Ksh. 5,000. The more you gave the more they cheered.  Let
us

>> revisit the University student experiment.  Since I was on experiment

>> mode, I decided to give them Ksh. 5,000 for what they called
transport.

>> They were not amused as they pocketed my hard earned money.  They
quickly

>> set their eyes on heavyweights who responded and of course were
treated to

>> cheers.

>> 

>> We have learnt three critical variables that make a successful Kenyan

>> politician.  First get yourself lots of money and buy a helicopter,
then

>> avoid dealing with issues that might impact on the lives of the
public and

>> finally buy your popularity.   This is very similar to Kaletsky's
views in

>> Capitalism 4.0.  It is consistent to Moi's strategy whenever the
public

>> mood was low.  He used to say "nitopoe" (I disclose) followed with an

>> unnecessary pause and here the crowds used to roar with cheers.  Moi
never

>> really disclosed anything in his nitopoe syndrome.  Jacob Zuma in
South

>> Africa results to a jig that tickled South Africans to the extent of

>> removing Thabo Mbeki, an accomplished thoughtful leader.  Zuma is
getting

>> his own medicine from upcoming Malema.  Armed with Bob's script he
has

>> galvanized the public into believing that "killing the Boer" would

>> redistribute Black empowerment resources better.  Mobutu Sese Seko
used to

>> get cheers for simply clearing his throat.

>> 

>> The political pillar of our own vision 2030 requires that we
inculcate

>> issue-based politics.  In crafting this vision we assumed it is the

>> politician we needed to change.  We were wrong.  We must now have

>> strategies to change the public.  They are the ones who have the
power to

>> change things.  I must admit that there is no known community that
has

>> ever leapfrogged social, economic and political development.  In my
view

>> we should have focused on economic development first which has an
impact

>> on social development.  Political development emanates from social

>> consciousness.  We should learn from the Arabs that political
domination

>> has limits.  In Arab countries that focused on economic empowerment,
the

>> impact of political change is or will be less painful than in those

>> countries that they want to see change in all the three aspects of

>> development.

>> 

>> In the state where the electorate is unaware of their inadequacies
with

>> respect to social, political and economic transformation, it is
imperative

>> that rapid disruptive policies such urbanization be implemented.  In
a

>> state of confusion perhaps we may change the society from peasant

>> mentality to a more productive society.  In Kenya technology should
help

>> us.  We have a real chance through social media to start mass social

>> re-engineering with the aim of shortening the learning curve we often
go

>> through in socio political transformation.  This cannot be done by

>> politicians since they have already subordinated themselves into the

>> followership mentality.  We shall then strengthen these networks to

>> creating a robust information platform that will enhance intra Africa

>> trade which will have a great impact on Africa's economic progress
and

>> sustainability.

>> 

>> 

>> Regards

>> 

>> 

>> Ndemo

>> 

>> 

>> 

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> 

> 

> 

> --

> Barrack O. Otieno

> +254721325277

> +254-20-2498789

> Skype: barrack.otieno

> 

> _______________________________________________

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> 

> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder
platform for

> people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and

> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the
ICT

> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and
development.

> 

> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors

> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and
bandwidth,

> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy,
do

> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.

> 

 

 

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