We take pride in anything and everything Kenyan; from the paunch enhancing diet of ‘nyama choma’ washed down with a pint of our finest export – Tusker, to the occasional frenzied 14-minute breakaway from our addiction to EPL soccer matches on TV to rout for Shujaa - our Sevens Rugby national team - whenever they are doing their rounds in the IRB Sevens Circuits, to those dizzying moments of glory when our world beating athletes show clean pairs of heels to the competition on track; such are the moments that defines Kenya as a nation.
It is worth recalling the euphoric outpouring of emotions that greeted the election and inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States as Kenya basked in the reflected glory of ‘one of our own’ taking the charge of the ‘most powerful nation on earth’. Ironically, this came closely in the wake of the infamous post-election violence that rocked the country following the disputed 2007 President Election. No wonder then now the ‘proud’ people of Kenya and their leaders feel slighted that President Obama has snubbed ‘land of his people’ in his forthcoming first official tour of Africa as President of the United States.
But as much as we relish those few memorable moments that temporarily give us a sense of nationhood, there is indeed very little from our multicultural social fabric to our diverse and breathtaking flora and fauna that really identifies Kenyans as a people. So much so that we continue to grapple with the one question of our ‘Kenyaness’ to the extent of that the ‘Kenyan Dream’ has turned out into the biggest lie ever told.
Renowned Nairobi lawyer and human rights activist, Njonjo Mue, perfectly captures this false sense of Kenyaness that every average Kenyan off the streets portends to subscribe to. In his article titled ‘Bless this our land nation’, published on 22nd January 2009, he wrote in part:
“….For in Kenya, we have loved lies more than truth. We have embraced the lie of individual prosperity and the lie of our tribal identities. And we have invented and believed in the lie of our greatness as a nation, while denying our state of terminal decay, or merely moaning endlessly about it without lifting a finger to address it….”
It is with this in mind that the recent launch of Brand Kenya came as a fresh breath of air to the many disillusioned patriotic citizens. Curiously, the venue of the launch was Nairobi’s Serena Hotel. This is the same place, where at the height Kenya’s worst ever national crisis in the early days of 2008, former United Nations boss Koffi Annan literally arm twisted representatives of the ‘warring’ political parties into signing an National Accord Agreement that gave way to the formation of the Grand Coalition Government that is presently in office. That the well attended occasion was given great publicity through live coverage by all the leading broadcasting houses in town was good thing in itself.
Brand Kenya - a well thought of and long overdue idea - is an initiative of the Ministry of Information and Communication. A reawakening of some sort to reevaluate our long lost sense nationhood, the venture also aims at positively marketing Kenya as a brand in itself. Recognizing the role and power of the media in our modern society, Brand Kenya’s flagship approach has been the airing of local programs in all the major TV channels aimed at sensitizing the public on the things that bind us together with a common purpose as a nation. Acknowledgement and appreciation of innovation from our players in both the public and private sector seems to be the underlying message here.
Though all the programs (Zinduka airing every Wednesday at 9:35pm on Citizen TV and Unfinished airing every Monday at 7:35pm on KBC) run under the same signature tag line, ‘Wakati ni Sasa’ (Now is the Time) one in particular, Kenya (which premiered last Tuesday at 9:35pm on KTN), embodies the essence of the Brand Kenya campaign. The show is fashioned in the form an outdoor corporate team building exercise with the eight participants representing the country’s eight Provinces. Short on talk and bereft of interviews, the show is purely a fun activity to the participants and viewers alike. What better way to promote the spirit national cohesion! Forget about that old and tired ‘Najivunia kuwa Mkenya’ (Am Proud to be Kenyan) campaign launched a couple of years ago by Dr. Alfred Mutua, that irksome Government Spokesperson who loves to pull goofy public stunts with his comical and often erratic weekly press releases. It’s a pity the poor fellow seems to find immense gratification in stating the ‘Government’s Official Position’ on anything and everything; even on the little matter of ownership of a tiny rocky acre of an obscure and remote island.
Just to revisit the things that we take pride in again, as our Sevens Rugby team Shujaa (Kiswahili word for Hero) jetted back last Tuesday to a low key reception, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), from their eight leg IRB Sevens Series one thing was clear though. After taking the scalp of all the big boys of Sevens Ruby this season, (South Africa, Fiji, England, New Zealand Australia and Argentina were all humbled by Shujaa) it’s undeniable that these are our best ambassadors. Such an irony that as Benjamin Ayimba’s boys were checking in on a chilly morning in Nairobi, only a few miles away across town, our national soccer team, the Harambee Stars, were staging a sit in at their Moi International Sports Centre (Kasarani) training camp over unpaid allowances. What apathy! With all these happenings barely 5 days before our epic clash with Nigeria in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier, I cringe at every thought of the heavy spanking that awaits our boys on Sunday in Abuja at the hands of the high flying Super Eagles.
But I digress, all my conversations always tend to gravitate towards and around football - even when am speaking outside the confines of shabik. My apologies. So what need to be done now? Njonjo Mue summaries his article thus:
“….What are the dreams we have for this nation? What is our role in fulfilling these dreams? What can we do? In a very real way, recording these dreams, praying about them, preparing for them to come to pass is something we need to do individually and as a nation. These dreams are in every area of our lives – our families, our schools, our jobs, our courts, and our communities. Instead of seeking false comfort in the fact that ‘our own’ has become the President of the World, we should dream our own dreams and work to bring them to pass.…”
Perhaps the Brand Kenya Initiative is just one of the many ways that we can finally realize our long held dreams as a nation. Maybe that’s what the doctor just ordered for – just maybe.
PS: Wassup Redondo! This is meant to be your platform; kimya chako chatutia wasisi…. What’s cookin’ man?
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