THE (ILLETERATE) ELLITE SOCIETY, OF SOUTHERN OF SAHARA DESERT

“Remember you have to submit your article today for editing. I know at times writers feel like they can’t do it but you can’t afford to let yourself feel that. You have to come up with this week’s article for editing before evening”. That was the text I received from my editor this morning at around nine o’clock. I was still in bed and it’s like she read my feelings, I didn’t even have an idea on what to write on my column this week.  The whole of Kenya has been talking about the “afro cinema” drama of “come baby come” as directed by one Miguna Miguna. From mainstream media to social networks, this has been the talk.  It is time to tackle other issues.

 Lately I have been asking myself, “Why should I write? After all they say “if you want to hide something from Africans put it in books.” Yet my main target audience is Africans. Then on the same line of thought, I got an idea. This week I’m going to discuss the other side of that old phrase.

 Today I want to prove to the entire world that it was not meant to say that Africans don’t love books. Primarily that could have been the meaning, but my far searching eyes show me a dipper meaning; after all phrases have an outer and inner meaning. This phrase has for a long time been misunderstood by students, scholars and professionals alike in Kenya. They knew that this was the best way to trick and put Africans in the dark, and yes they succeeded.

The developer of this phrase was so smart. It served two purposes. The first was to get Africans to read the books and develop the reading culture. Secondly it was to hide the truth from the Africans after developing the reading culture. They knew Africans don’t read between the lines, they don’t ask questions, they hardly criticise and if they do it, they do it to a minimal extent, not the mano a mano thing that the Arab Pangaea does. I think this has been the weapon of many African scholars to manipulate their people in politics and development.

As the Miguna afro cinema was going on last week, I was arguing with some fellow learning friends during a meal. They said that they had read Sarah Elderkin’s response to Janyando’s book. One of my friends is a strict book by book word by word reader “cross the t and dot the i” kind of person. This day he was supported by many other except one of my mentors whom we often share many opinions. Now let me prove to you how this phrase works superbly. First they did not even know who the author of the article was; they did not know her background, who she worked for and why she was writing that rebuttal. Yet they claimed that they had new knowledge, which I don’t dispute. What they didn’t know is that it was false and vendetta knowledge.

 They went on to argue on the Justice Warsame’s judgement in the same article that was filled with what i would call sarcasm. They claimed Warsame was a good judge and couldn’t give a “bad” judgment. When i went back to research on the judgement it was replete with numerous Grammatical, typographical, factual, logical and legal errors. I would be forgiven if I said that it was written by an intern student. It portrayed what I said on my previous article on the judiciary; we have a long way to go. This just proved to me the African reading culture. What I call learned, misguided, nincompoops’ elites. Yet to them this was their best argument.

 Kenyans have a trend of following our columnist especially political columnist blindly. We never want to know the true argument or why they do it. For instance, someone came and told me that Makau Mutua is one of the best columnists because he says it as it is. People who know Mutua and have been keen followers of his articles might not agree with this statement. Mutua is turning out to be a psychofant, an attention seeker. In 2003, he categorically stated that he did not believe in Raila what makes him believe in him now? Just two weeks ago I found it impossible to read his article because he portrayed a different picture of the same Raila he had portrayed before. Professor, are you feeling pity for Jakom after his votes were” stolen”? Why don’t you stick to your strong opinions anymore? Why don’t your articles claim that what you write are your personal views? Do you represent other people’s views in your letters and columns?

 Sarah Elderkin is on Raila’s payroll. She is currently the writer of his speeches and all communication items. On May 19, 2011 she wrote of Miguna: “But first I need to say that I know Miguna and I have worked with him. I have found him intelligent, well-read, well-prepared, honest, stalwart, upright, hardworking and supremely committed to what is good, proper, right and just. I also know he is impatient and highly vocal about anything that contravenes these values, and that he does not suffer fools gladly. About his style of operation (never the substance), he and I have in the past had rather lively discussions. But I have learned to respect Miguna.” Is this not her? Why has she changed her mind now? Would she have done it hadn’t the book been published? Sarah is a puppet!

Ahmednassir Abdullahi, the Holier than though advocate, famous for uncovering “rumours”. One of his good friends is Caroli Omondi, are those people who represent change? How many times has he been sued by people like Janyando and paid them due to defamation? Arrogance and vendetta is always the motive of his articles. Look at Kwendo Opanga, Vincent Makali, caroline Mutoko, Clay Muganda and Mutahi Ngunyi who make themselves look like “fathers” of political science but is what they say mostly true. Don’t you guys sense an arrow of falseness in their columns? Don’t you sense biasness?

"The press as a player in the field of democracy has a responsibility to convey truthful information about candidates and their policies to enable citizens make informed choices." So says P.L.O.Lumumba and I agree in totality. Most of our columnists are quacks, bloviating, shambolic, wobbly, cowards, confused, opportunistic and deceitful. They take advantage of our poor reading culture to twist our minds to believing what they want us to believe. They are paid to deliver what is not there, we must take preternatural circumspection while reading and digesting what is there. We may end up making uninformed decisions that we will regret in future. Our columnist must be like Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. But this is the direct opposite, our columnist suffer from amnesia and change views like they do their shirts. We must be very careful with our columnist.

 I may not agree with Joseph Momoh of Sierra Leone on many things, but I do on one thing, that a Journalist with a pen in hand is like a soldier with a Kalashnikov in hand, he can use it to defend or to destroy. If this columnists and analysts are the opinion shapers, then Kenyans need to start reading between the lines and not nodding their heads to everything said like its gospel truth. We need to grow to a point on independent mindedness where we rely on no one but self to make critical decisions about our country.

 Let us stop behaving sheepishly because we were told it is hidden in the books. Let me solve this puzzle, I now have the missing piece. The book is the first piece, logic and criticisms are the missing pieces. Try it and you shall see, isn’t the cross word done. Yes you just won it. I think I deserve a “Nobel” for this “invention” to Africans. I have nothing new to teach the world. All I have done is to try experiments in both on as vast a scale as I could.

The columnist S.N.John; is a student of law at Africa Nazarene university, the vice chair of LAANU, a prospectus columnist and political analyst. The opinions written in this column are for the writer himself and not in anyhow that of Africa Nazarene University or LAANU, if they are it is a mere coincidence. The opinions given are impartial and no personal vendetta has been expressed. The writer has proof of the facts given and is ready to adduce any evidence if required to do so.