Can Kenya learn from Obama's victory?

I think that the recently concluded election in the US is a bleak reminder of the democratic inadequacies in Kenya. We are stuck with an outdated constitution, greedy leaders and a political system that rewards individuals based on their ethnicity.

While Kenyans are rightly celebrating Obama’s triumph, we also need to realise that Obama is an American president, raised and educated in America. His priorities and ambitions are therefore American, not Kenyan. While he does acknowledge his Kenyan roots, Kenya really is just another country with its own issues and difficulties. I think it was hilarious that the Kenyan government’s reaction to Obama’s election victory was to declare a national holiday. While the president-elect was going about his business and reading over state briefings, our country was celebrating with the day off. Don’t get me wrong; I think Kenyans and citizens all over the world should be commemorating this great moment in world history and I’ve been smiling all week. America has demonstrated to the world that meritocracy can prevail over racial intolerance.

But if Kenyans are waiting for Obama to provide handouts and come save them, then we need to forget about overcoming our institutional inefficiencies and gaining economic self-sufficiency. Let us shed the dependency disease and seek Kenyan solutions to Kenyan problems. Instead of waiting for Obama to come build hospitals and roads, and boost tourism in Kenya, this is the time to grab the opportunity to transform our country and reject biases that some individuals are unfit to lead our nation because of the color of their skin or their tribal background. Kenya has many young Obamas to offer, with the selflessness, courage and values to defeat racial bigotry and the vision to lead. If we just stand up, we too can have our Obama moment!