Comments on: Obama only saying what we know to be true

By: Washington

Washington — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:48:43 +0000

It is time we stop being arrogant and face facts.The Rainbergers of this world will never stop short of critising us.We must be diplomatic at all times.

By: Boniface kabochi

Boniface kabochi — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 05:55:08 +0000

I agree with sunny.Our country is in a mess because of failed sytems which is secondary to ineffective leadership.However I believe the change we desperately need in our country will begin from the people going up to the leaders not vice versa.If we were to regain our morals and not condone corruption then corrupt leaders won’t find themselves in parliament and if they do they would find it impossible to cope.We have corrupt leaders and institutions beacause we have tolerated corruption for long until our conscience has become desensitized and Its no longer a big deal to us.

By: Sunny Bindra

Sunny Bindra — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:45:33 +0000

Kofi

No problem with Facebook posting, as long as the source is attributed and a link to this website included.

In Kenya’s case, Obama knows our obstinacy. He knows that only intense international pressure gets us to budge at all. This pressure may be humiliating for us, but it is through our own misgovernance that we have handed over this power to others.

Paul Kagame, for instance, is able to tell international busybodies to take a hike, simply because he is achieving big things in his country in his own way. He is able to dismiss Western thinking on Africa as shallow and hypocritical, and for him it works.

This was actually in accord with Obama’s speech, which emphasised self-determination repeatedly. We are only going to ever do this by ourselves. But the point is, we must DO it ourselves. In Kenya, we are numbed by our daily rottenness. We regard corruption not as an abomination, but as business as usual.

By: Sunny Bindra

Sunny Bindra — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:37:45 +0000

Elizabeth, Constant:

As you rightly observe, we are like frogs being boiled in our own juices. Because things get slightly worse every year, we fail to realise how bad they actually are. So we need someone to shout: “People, you’re boiling in there!”

By: Kofi Blankson Ocansey

Kofi Blankson Ocansey — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:04:53 +0000

Overall, I found Obama’s message to Africa to be shallow (a view supported by articles by Caplan and Cockburn in The Nation – the US left political magazine), although many more have praised him for telling Africa the “truth”.

Your perspective as it relates to Kenya is very interesting. It gives me a different view of the matter, that we shouldn’t accept the current state of affairs to be the norm, which our silence seems to indicate. So, instead of stating the obvious, which is how I felt initially, you seem to believe that Obama is trying to jolt us out of our stupor.

I think I have to weigh this view of the matter. I hope you don’t mind my posting your piece on my Facebook page.

By: Constant Cap

Constant Cap — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:15:40 +0000

There seems to be a high degree of selfishness and self seeking within the society. E.g. you go to a restaurant and they have cut all the serviettes in half to ‘save money’ (plus tomato sauce full of water); a driver thinks that he is in more of a hurry than other drivers so he drives on the wrong side of the road and blocks all the smooth -flowing on-coming traffic! shop keepers think that it is not their obligation to smile at customers; an ordinary person is treated like he or she does not exist but a VIP! (I once witnessed an assistant minister being allowed to park his car at the space for disabled people at Uchumi Langata – because the basement was too far!); traffic cops think that its their job to stop traffic not to let it flow; the only department that seems to work in the city-council is the inspectorate unit… and the list goes on.

So long as people do things always with their personal needs in mind first, do not expect anything good.

By: Elizabeth Muthuma

Elizabeth Muthuma — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:40:44 +0000

Spot on, Sunny!
I also noted with disappointment the waning of admiration for Obama because of his repeated harping about our corruption-infested country. I agree that the REAL problem is that we seem content to accept it as a usual occurrence: the inevitable hurdles and obstacles that come from living in Kenya. Instead of becoming tired of the Obama talk, why don’t we raise the notch even higher and ask ourselves if we are not indeed genetically predisposed to corruption?!
The point is that as long as we don’t talk, question, debate why things are the way they are in Kenya, we will not more forward. There is a certain ‘numbing’ effect when we are in our comfort zone, surrounded by people who think just like us or probably don’t even care to question the status quo. But when we begin to appreciate how others perceive the country (with well-founded facts), it should be enough shock therapy to want us to aspire to be better.