Are you a global citizen? Here is the checklist

The 2010 Constitution ushered in the age of dual citizenship. It’s a privilege enjoyed by a few though with restrictions.

In most countries dual citizens cannot hold State jobs. Needless to say, dual citizenship was driven by a bigger issue, global citizenship. Lots of Kenyans have children born in other countries or have foreign spouses. In addition, there are Kenyans who for historical reasons have strong ties to their mother countries such as UK or India.

Dual citizenship keeps such links alive. Some argue that dual citizenship makes economic sense; it gives you choices on where to live or invest. Others argue it has disadvantages, you can’t get it all, and divided loyal loyalties lead to sub optimisation of opportunities. My hunch tells me that dual citizenship is one the hottest status symbols in Kenya.

The end of the cold war, the advent of the internet and good transport network ensured that travelling from one country to another is no longer a big deal. When did you last see a bus adorned with banana leaves going to the airport? Such changes ushered in the golden age of global citizenship, for which dual citizenship is a subset.

Are you a global citizen? Here is the checklist? Do you watch other channels beyond free to air like Zuku or DstV? Most likely you know what happens beyond the borders of the country; it does not matter if it’s peaceful or violent.

Do you have relatives beyond the Kenyan borders? They could be siblings, parents, children or other close relatives. They may include in laws, meaning that your family may have married beyond the borders. If the family has “browned” in recent times, you are showing full blown symptoms of being a global citizen.

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Multiple entry visa

Have you taken a trip outside the country in the last five years without being sponsored by your company or government? Do you occasionally get visitors from outside the country? Are your children or relatives holding certificates from schools or universities beyond the borders? Do their names reflect recent cultural trends? I recently came across a kid called Beyonce in a Kenyan nursery school.

Do you take holidays beyond the borders or do you wait for Christmas to intimidate villagers? Do you need a visa every time you visit abroad or do you have a multiple entry visa or dual citizenship? Do you have hosts and rarely stay in a hotel?

Do you trade with other countries? Importing or exporting goods and services? Do you have a dollar or any other currency account? Do you speak another language beyond the local ones and English? Do you frown (or used to frown) upon your kids talking their mother tongue?

Have you jettisoned popular stereotypes based on tribes and regions? Does religion play a lesser role in your life with wells of tears dry when someone close dies? Do you interact with citizens from other parts of the world in schools, in churches, in shopping, in parties and in other unofficial events? What products are found in your houses from French wine to Turkish Carpets to American movies?

Are you bothered by events from elsewhere such as Trump, Clinton presidential elections? Rise of Vietnam, violence in Syria, falling oil prices, rising Chinese affluence, or rising economic clout of Ethiopia? Do you seek opportunities beyond the borders, and see the world as your play ground?

If you identify with most of these observations, you are either a global citizen or on the way to become one. We hope global citizenship will drown local citizenship and in Kenya, tribalism. Some fear the global citizens are too few to have an impact on the local forces that threaten nationhood. Majority of us are happy to be associated with Kenya, their county, tribe, village, clan or even chama.

We look forward to the day; more Kenyans will become global citizens, and leave behind their parochialism. Global citizens drive the world, through immigration and seeking opportunities wherever they can be found. Getting uhuru did not stop the need for global citizenship. Countries like Japan saw the need for global citizenship after World War II thrived. We are late comers.

Milky Way

Globalists navigate the constraints imposed by nations and leverage on enablers such as the internet and trade. They are cheered on by nations that value their boldness, entrepreneurial spirit and dynamism. Incidentally, there is already talk of the universal citizens who in our life time could one day colonise nearby planets like Mars and habitable exoplanets that keep popping up in outer space.

Any time I look at the heavens at night and see the Milky Way and other constellations, I get more convinced that we are not alone in the endless universe. We could be among the many citizens who inhabit the universe.

Before we confirm that, why not make Planet Earth borderless a home for all of us? Will the passport one day become extinct, uberlised by the global citizenship? Just because Esperanto did not become as widespread as envisaged is no excuse to try global citizenship.