One gets the impression that our country is akin to a big theatre. Those observant will have noticed some humbling contradictions.
They offer sharp lessons, away from the refined business and political treatises in libraries. These lessons ought to jolt, inform and influence us.
With some introspection, many of us would realise that we continue lamenting about the rot within the larger realm in vain, if we aren’t dedicated to be models of virtue wherever we hold office.
Let me use a few incidents to illustrate. We have witnessed some megastores collapse in Kenya. I watched the middle and junior level staff in action in one of the branches to a chain that collapsed.
They were pillaging. They resorted to raw, petty and crude methods. They literally kept moving stock out and trading it or diverting hard cash.
Ultimately, the giant business collapsed. I later found some of the thieving culprits on the streets hunting for employment. Naïve, and pitiably unconscious that they had contributed to their own joblessness.
Here in Nairobi, I patronise some four-star hotel which has great ambience. I am, however, afraid that unless the management takes quick action, it too may collapse. Why?
I have observed a trend similar to what bedevilled the collapsed megastore. On one account, an attendant tried to sweet-talk us into paying hard and not mobile cash through their paybill. That it would be faster so.
How ludicrous! Recently, a different attendant offered to receive half the value of the bill, provided we paid in cash. Meaning, he would actually pocket the money.
Much as we told him off, one gets the impression that some patrons perhaps play along. I hope that these attendants won’t soon be walking the city streets jobless.
In the finance sector, we have many cases of “smart” folks who “hack” the very institutions that they serve, and upon which their career trajectories depend. Consequently, some have had to flee and remain fugitives on the run.
Others have lost jobs, or been apprehended and prosecuted, prematurely killing their careers! In our political space, the theatre is even more intense.
No one seems to understand what happens when people cross over into this space. Be they relatives or colleagues, something seems to give, and any sense of shame and proportion melts away. I am sure readers can relate, with anecdotes of friends who totally changed on migrating to the space.
It’s perhaps polite to observe that many of those playing in this space have often been perceived not to show fidelity to their roles.
The country reeks with incidents of unwarranted power play, unscrupulous waste and the blind pursuit of illicit wealth by many. Deep introspection begs here.
Those keen on honest opinions may submit and listen to their sincere friends. We cannot progress and prosper Kenya with such contradictions.
While we must institutionalise monitoring and supervision mechanisms, the success of our nation hangs on the personal integrity of actors at every level.
