For far too long Kenya has been built on constitutional moments and political winds. In 1992, we thought multi-party democracy would cure all our ills. We changed a line in our constitution, but that change failed to change us. For both leaders and the citizenry nothing much changed.
Tribalism and corruption remained. Multi-partyism gave birth to multiple briefcase parties which are picked and dropped like political clothes that our politicians don every five years.
Multi-partyism was and is still a good idea. The problem we have is that the people we trusted to create and run parties were not futuristic in their thinking. Parties in Kenya are created for elections not for governance and they are for sure not built for the people.
Too many Kenyans are members of political parties by name. They do not contribute to the parties either by ideas or financially.
The second opportunity that came our way was in 2002 in the form of a political tsunami. It carried the hopes of ending corruption and birthing a new nation. But hardly had we celebrated the new beginning than Anglo Leasing scandal sucked the momentum out of the reform bandwagon.
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Blood flowed
In 2005, we rejected a constitutional amendment which quickly ushered in the 2007 elections. Rivers of blood flowed and the Grand Coalition Government was born in the aftermath of the post-election violence.
Contrary to popular belief, Nusu Mkate (half a loaf of bread government as it was known) ushered in two major things. First a stable country and a new constitution.
However, once again, 2013 and 2017 showed us that the years after the PEV we had learnt nothing grown little and changed nothing. We were still the same people with a new Constitution. We had hopes of ethical governance but stuffed leadership positions with people of questionable character. Indeed, we were pouring new wine into old wine skins.
Today, we find ourselves at another watershed moment with the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). We have to agree to do things differently. We must think of it from a very different perspective. This must be a document by the people.
The people must read, understand and debate the issues contained in the report. If the people trust the politicians to read and debate for them, be sure the BBI opportunity will go to waste, just the same way like all the others.
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The BBI is not a launchpad for 2022 and viewing it with such a narrow prism is sure way to keep our nation stuck in the miasma we have wallowed in for years. We will not change because once again we will lend all intelligence to our tribes and all our opinions will be given to us by the chief of our tribe.
We will bicker about who owns BBI and forget that whether we like it or not, we the people own BBI and are the ones who will determine the direction it takes. If you are sitting at home and relying on your favourite politician to show you the way, then you are part of the rot BBI needs to fix.
BBI should be used as a tool to change the people first. We must all take this as an opportunity to "upgrade our personal software". Instead of looking at the document as instructions to the government we need to look at it as instructions to us.
Instead of voting for our person, why don't we vote for ourselves; why don't we choose a better society where you and I can forget a phone in a restaurant and be sure we will find it when we return?
BBI should also be about a fair society. It is about helping those among us who are smarting from past injustices, disability, marginalisation and gender bias, to mention but a few. BBI should be about the weakest in society, not about the strongest.
Let us not think about our large ethnic numbers and instead consider those who need our help in society; those that need a hand. I am sure we can find a space in our hearts to forget about our big tribes and consider the plight of the weak.
Let us create a nation which knows how to vote and not stone their neighbours. A nation that can sign a contract to do business on election day instead of coming to a standstill.
BBI should be about us the people, if not we will all lose.
