What I think of the Concluded National Youth Forum

For those of us who have read Chinua Achebe's Things fall apart, you will agree with that Ibo's saying that if you see a tod hopping in broad daylight then behind it there must be a snake chasing after it. A few days before the National Youth Forum descended on Nairobi swearing under their breath to teach the current political class a lesson they will never forget, I had submitted here that whatever they were going to discuss was in vain. I said it would be in vain not because I am a pessimist but because, already I could correctly guess what it is that the forum would say. I knew that the forum would begin by introductions of those in attendance, ostensibly to prove to the world that the forum was not only national but that it also comprised of people who were respected leaders from wherever they came from. Then the programme would be read and prayers said. Then various speakers would be invited to speak on various topics and of course as if cut from the same piece of cloth they would repeatedly curse the current political leaders, shout at the top of their voices how those leaders have failed young people and then proceed to vow that come the next elections young people were going to vote them out and bring to power leaders who were credible, accountable, corruption free, morally upright and leaders who cared about the plight of young people. After the declarations the young people would then be led into adopting resolutions arrived at and warned that this time round the resolutions were not going to be left gathering dust on shelves of NGOs offices. Above all young people would be asked never to be violent because violence is the worst enemy! After the meeting people would be reimbursed their transport expenses to go back to their homes as they hope to be called again. Of course that will be the end of the story. The next time there is such a meeting another group of ''leaders'' will be called to attend and make the same declarations.

How true these predictions came to pass! That is why I could very easily understand the frustrations that people led by Sande Oyolo had before resolving to disrupting the forum. But what shocked me most was when the members of the diplomatic coup arrived led by non other than Michael Rannenberger, a man I admire for his courage against the hostile politicians of our country. Of course I am aware that the reason the ambassador is normally bitter with the coalition government is not because he really cares for Kenyans but because the coalition government has decided to play hard ball against USA investment interests such as the Oil drilling in Isiolo.

The entrance of the US ambassador elicited excitement which quickly reminded me that the interests of the people I was representing were at risk. Of course several young people who asked the ambassadors questions did so out of an innocent mind not really knowing what was at stake. They thought that the ambassadors were really interested in helping solve the problems of young people in Kenya. Some even attempted to ''inform'' the ambassadors what problems the young people were going through! Little did they know that those ambassadors know those problems more than we even know. They know that they are part and parcel of the problem. In fact one person who to me asked a critical question was the gentleman from Mandera who told the British High Commissioner, Rob Maclare to his face that the problems being faced in Mandera were a creation of the British colonialists. I felt like jumping up! Those are the kind of young men we need in this country. If we get about ten of them then we can begin talking of liberation.

It is my humble submission that young people did not achieve anything worth talking of. I remember us endorsing some resolutions such as that ''from now onwards young people shall participate actively in politics at all levels!'' At some point I even told the man who was seated next to me that we did not have to spend all our time and money just to come and make such an obvious declaration. After all, this is something we have always shouted around. But my greatest interesting moment was when one of the conveners (who seemed to understand why we were there) asked the US ambassador whether the US was going to assist young people in rolling down to the villages to take to the people the same message that had been arrived at while in this forum. I quickly asked myself what type of assistance the young people required in order to go to Nyamtiro village where I come from to tell my people that it was important to participate in politics or constitutional matters. I asked myself why they had never asked me to assist them but the anxious and serious look on their faces told me that the assistance that they were talking about was different. Of course the ambassador agreed to ''assist'' and I saw the sigh of relief on their faces. It was accompanied by a round of applauding claps.

Back to my argument. We must begin to ask ourselves whether this is really what we need. We must ask ourselves whether the change we seek is the same for all of us. We must ask ourselves whether the motives in the song of change we have joined is the same and whether those motives are inspired by the sincere need to liberate us from the our captivity. We must ask ourselves whether we are all faced by the same enemy and whether the methodology we talk of in our bid to confront the enemy is agreeable and workable across the board.

Our country is faced with serious challenges that must be confronted now or we shall all sink. Boardroom forums that continue to enrich a few people are constructing sliding terrains for our country. As I have always said, we need sincere diagnosis of the malady that threatens to sink us. When we do this we shall then be able to identify correctly the therapeutic and prophylactic measures that shall pull us from drifting into the sweltering morass of political quagmire and eons of socio-economic ''Mal aire''!