Three years ago,while attending the wedding of BishopMagarrette Wanjiru’s son, Prime Minister Raila Odinga urged the youth to intermarry in order to eradicate tribalism. Further more, the parliment is set to introduce a bill that seeks to criminalize discrimination along ethnic lines by banning use of mother tongue in government offices. On face value, these concepts may seem noble, but how practical are they?
Intermarriage is not a new phenomenon in Kenya as historians attribute it to the emergence of some cultures. The Swahili, for instance, is said to be a hybrid community brought about by the intermarriage between the Bantu and the Arabs. Most African societies practised endogamy but exogamy was also permitted. Despite all this tribalism still continues to thrive.
Picture this, a man born of a Kisii mother and a Luo father marries a daughter of a Kikuyu mother and Kalenjin father. What do their offspring become? Kenyans. Cool. But where does this leave our culture, our languages and or diversity which we so highly value? If this goes on for some time one can’t tell your tribe from your name, home district or physical features. In fact the current tribes shall cease to exist.
This argument, however candid it sounds, fails to address the underlying issues. There is no evidence to prove that that our current problems are caused by the multi-ethnic nature of our country. Some nations are composed of one ethnic group but they are no better. Somalia for example. In any case, it will take more than four generations of strict intermarriage to wipe out the existing tribes. In the meantime tribal animosity shall still persist.
They say that love conquers all but in this case, it is bound to fail if the seeds of negative ethnicity still flourish in society. How will communities that that have for ages held a high degree of mistrust for each other be expected to inter marry? During the post election skirmishes some women who were married into communities other than their own reportedly fled their homes as they were all of sudden branded ‘enemies’.
The ethnic relations bill on the other hand is well intended but loses touch with reality. No matter the details in a piece of legislation, you can not force people to co exist. It will be hard to implement as each Kenyan shall be found to be guilty in one way or the other. We all entertain stereotypes and pass harsh judgments on others based on their tribes but we may not act or say it loudly. It is all in our minds. Then how will the law enforcers determine how the perceived offenders think? What type of evidence shall be presented before a court of law to convict the law breaker?
We all agree that in tribalism we have a problem, and a big one at that. But neither intermarriage nor stringent laws, or the two combined provide the ultimate solution. What we need is an honest leadership that is determined to face the challenges of our time without hiding behind their tribes when the fear of failure sets in. We also require an informed citizenry that is able to discern priorities of a society from the greedy aspirations of individuals.
It all boils down to a personal level; look at where you’ve come from and where you desire to be, and determine whether your tribe alone can provide favourable results for you and future generations.
No comments:
Post a Comment