Tribe is a very critical element when it comes to politics. To succeed in politics you must have a backing of a community and a tribe can be described as a community. In other parts of the world we have races, familial linkages or other cliques to support a politician.
Tribe can be good or bad depending on how we utilize it. Tribalism can catalyze development or hinder it. We can use our tribes to promote national unity and peace. We can use our cultural practices as a tribe to preserve our heritage and promote the economy through tourism and other economic avenues. The Maasai community for example has used its cultural practices to advertise Kenya internationally, promote tourism and preserve their own heritage. Tribes are actually part of our heritage in which everyone should be proud of.
But tribalism on the other hand can be used to promote negativity. We can use our tribe as a basis to fight other tribes. We can use tribe to promote discrimination where resources are distributed according to tribes. We can use tribalism to look down upon others. We can use tribe to cause violence which will in turn lead economic sabotage.
As Kenyans we have majorly used tribalism to promote this negativity when it is at our responsibility to use our tribe to promote positivity. It costs nothing to use your tribe positively. All we need is determination to do so.
When I see our politicians spouting tribal vitriol I get worried. Much worried. Have we forgotten what happened in 2007/2008? Have we forgotten the people who died due to the post-election violence? Have we forgotten the people who have been staying in camps up to recent who were displaced due to that violence? Have we forgotten how that violence affected our economy negatively? We must be smoking something illegal. Do we need to learn from our own experiences always? Why do we let politicians mislead us when we can reason and know what is right and wrong? Any person who cannot promote national unity is not worthy of being a leader.
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Let us shun tribalism and work towards a national unit. We need each other. When we get displaced and go to refugee camp in Uganda (or wherever) we will go there as individuals not as Luos, Luhyas, Kambas, Kikuyus or Somalis. When the economy is affected negatively, we will suffer as Kenyans not on basis of tribe.
Let us shun negative tribalism and take it as our personal responsibility to maintain peace and promote national cohesion and unity.
