Sir M

Kenya and Nigeria are chronically dumbed down and drowning in identity politics. When African countries are negotiating in Russia for monetary liberation from the dollar, security and weapons, you know what the Kenya media is celebrating? 70 scholarships. Yes, scholarships for 70 people. And you know what? Those Kenyans won't be allowed to work here. Since the colonial times, Russian certificates have meant no employment and constant surveillance by the NIS, propelled by the CIA. But most of all, what are 70 scholarships in a country where millions of children can't complete school? The pettiness of Kenyan public discourse needs to be studied. We are chronically unable to understand ourselves beyond our families and ethnic group, now gender is being noisily added to the mix. My specialization is in Africa beyond Kenya, and students are told by each other, their parents and even the faculty that that knowledge is "useless to the market." And mark you, many of those students are studying international relations. You can't make this up. There is a dissonance in Kenyan public life that defies common sense. That's why it's not spoken about. It's too fantastic to be real. And yet it is a lived reality in Kenya. Complete contradiction to reality made to look normal.