THE AFRICAN SAGE

If there is anything Kenya and Africa may pride in, it is the youthful population. However, is the youthful population a blessing or a curse? It is a curse to the extent unemployment remains high in our nation? It is a blessing to the extent our governments (national and county) are focused on job creation and engaging the youth in meaningful work towards nation building. In the recent past, the government has rolled out a number of initiatives towards youth empowerment         i.             Making education scholarships more accessible       ii.             The youth funds     iii.             Sports tournaments and competitions     iv.             Youth polytechnics       v.             Access to tenders     vi.             Kazi kwa vijana initiative   vii.             Private sector partnerships viii.             The national youth service The number of initiatives rolled out by government is numerous; however, youth empowerment remains elusive. What is t

We arrived at Kangemi social hall early enough. Like many other youths, this was one opportunity I did not want to miss anything; especially registering early enough to be around when tea is served. By ten o’clock the organizers called all to attention and after prayers, the seminar began. The first speaker was the moderator from the NGO that had convened us. She spoke softly but firmly. She started by explaining that they were an NGO keen on empowering youth. In response to this some youths could be heard murmuring “where are the jobs, we have papers”. She continued and pointed out that life is what one makes it and that if we chose to make ours great, it was all within our making. “Normal motivation crap”, I quipped under my breath. She introduced the speaker of the day and as she sat down she added, “I hope our speaker of the day helps you think without a box, all wealth and happiness and freedom awaits you”. “Nature and nurture can be used in the same sentence without contra

At the heart of tribalism in Kenya are two evils; victim mentality and Self Aggrandizement. If there should be any national cohesion minded president or commission in Kenya, these are the issues to work on. These issues are somehow discussed in my book “the spirit of understanding” but for those who may never have the liberty to read my book, here are my opinions on tribalism in Kenya. Self- Aggrandizement We all belong to an ethnic group and naturally we are inclined towards self aggrandizement. This basically means we are inclined towards feeling we are great or better than others. Tribalism in Kenya is accentuated by a certain primitive feeling; remember every child thinks his father or mother is better than all the other fathers or mothers. There are many of us in Kenya who have not accomplished much hence our only sense of pride are primitive attachments to family names, tribal legends or the tribe at large. I have no doubt in my mind, many unexposed Bukusus feel a bukusu