Why Kenyans Need President
Raila, not Uhuru
1.
Raila was not born with a silver plate
Unlike Uhuru Kenyatta who was born and raised using wealth
that was wrongfully acquired through land grabbing and wanton looting of state
coffers, Raila Odinga led a life of an average Kenyan struggling against a
corrupt system. Though being a son of the Vice President, his father quit the
government when it became apparent that the Kenyatta Government was hell-bent on
grabbing any single piece of land that was left behind by the Colonial Masters.
In order to silence dissent led by Jaramogi Oginga, Kenyatta confined him to
several years of house arrest such that he could not get out and make his own
money. It is true that Jaramogi was only big in the political sense, but
remained a peasant for the better part of his life. If not for his Russian
friends who also helped him build Kisumu’s Russia Hospital, Jaramogi would not
have been able to educate his kids. As a young man interested in politics, I
had the privilege of seeing Jaramogi in 1992. The Man was only Big in the
Political Sense! In essence, the Odinga family grew up lacking most of the
luxuries that most of us only wish to give our children.
2.
Raila knows Kenyan’s matter too
It is safe to bet that Raila is not an angel and has made
his share of mistakes, like all of us have. However, all these mistakes point
to a man who is struggling to better the nature of humanity. Remember the Mau
Saga, a mistake was made in leaving displaced persons to sleep in the rain.
This was in pursuit of a greener environment and sustainable climate for the
Kenyan people. Looking at their manifestos, Uhuru promises to give every kid a
laptop while Raila promises to empower parents to take their kids to school and
reform the education sector to be responsive of academic needs. The question
is, is Uhuru going to use his huge resources to buy the laptops? If that is the
case, why is he reluctant to give land to squatters in Mombasa? Methinks Raila
is genuine. On the other side, Uhuru is not only out of touch with the reality,
but is also taking Kenyans for a ride. For instance, nursery kids in Turkana
lack school facilities and food to keep them comfortable while at school. And
there comes a presidential candidate with a promise to give them laptops. What
went wrong with priorities in political leadership? Is someone saying it just
because it sounds sweet to see kids with laptops? Raila is right, Uhuru is
Vague!
Kenn Odida, UoN
