Canaan is within our grasp, we can rely on Uhuru to lead way

It is clear to anyone who knows their Bible that the road to Canaan was an extremely difficult one.

It involved traversing a barren desert, enemies waiting to pounce at every corner and an unrelenting minority which constantly complained and wanted to take the people backwards.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga invoked the Canaan analogy frequently during the 2017 elections and recently explained that it symbolises the first stanza of the national anthem.

Our anthem begins, “Oh God of all creation, bless this our land and nation, justice be our shield and defender. May we dwell in unity, peace and liberty, plenty be found within our borders.”

It is a good analogy and works well in our Bible-loving country.

However, while the analogy still stands, perhaps the identities of some of the major players involved are slightly different.

Just as in the Bible, there is a need for a strong leader who keeps their focus regardless of the challenges they face and the complaints they hear. This role is clearly being played by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

President Kenyatta has remained focused on taking the people to Canaan. He has a roadmap of how to get there.

Whether it is the war on corruption or the Big Four Agenda of food security, affordable housing, manufacturing, and universal healthcare.

We see the buds of growth all around us, and if we nurture them, they will grow into flowering achievements and progress.

Near future

Without a commitment to deal with these issues, there is little chance of meeting Vision 2030 and the hope of Kenya becoming an upper middle-income nation in the near future.

President Kenyatta has decided that to achieve these things, he needs unity and his outstretched hand to Raila has made the ODM leader his erstwhile Aaron. Just like the Biblical Moses, President Kenyatta knows he can take the nation to Canaan, but most probably, he will not be the one to enter as he has to relinquish his post in 2022.

We hope that a new leader, dedicated like his predecessor, will be able to pick up the mantle and carry on his work.

Nevertheless, the greatest threats on the path to Canaan are some of the people and the leaders who wish to take us off course.

In the Bible, there was the rebellion early on in the desert when the people asked to be taken back to Egypt; there was the mutiny with false idols at the base of Mount Sinai when Moses ascended the mountain to receive the tablets; there were the ‘doubting Thomases’ among the spies who reported that Canaan could not be conquered, and a number of other occasions.

The journey

We hear these kind of rebellions against President Kenyatta’s revolutionary plans almost every day.

The complaints are about his leadership, the path he has taken and his ability to see the journey through to the end.

However, Uhuru has, on the whole, kept his calm and focus. He has shown humility like the biblical Moses and knows that good things are coming to this people, even if some are “stiff-necked”.

We know who these rebellious leaders are, even if we do not have to name them. It is clear that they will try and deceive us and thereby ruin our journey.

We, the people, must not let them.

If they had been the leaders of the Israelites, not a person would have reached the promised land, and the people would have suffered and died in the desert.

We should support President Kenyatta and give him the chance to show us the way to Canaan.

He is facing the right direction and, while there may be challenges along the way, let’s believe that we will get there in the end.

Moreover, just like in the Bible, God has showed who is fit to be a leader and who is trying to steer us astray.

We know that the Bible teaches us how to live our lives every day, so we look for these signs around us.

To those with a neutral eye, it is clear who is leading us to Canaan, and who is letting us rot in the desert.

Mr Temba is a communication consultant