A once in a generation Window of Opportunity is now open to Luo Nyanza due to President Obama’s historic election victory.
Where is the strategy for our region to benefit from this?
Where are our intellectuals, visionaries and capitalists to promote the region, our culture and the region’s (potential) products and services?
What vehicle/s will we use to fine tune the strategy?
Are we going to let American & European intellectuals and even professional charlattan tourists come and write best selling histories and socio-economic tomes about us as we just gape idly by marveling for four years at President Obama “our son’s”achievements?
That indeed will be the joke of the millenium!
Are we just going to sit there as they make photo journals of Nyanza/Kenya again? As if we have no qualified photography journalists who could fashion lovely travelogues on Luo Nyanza/Kenya/Africa?
Come on Luos we talk too much!
Who is organizing strategy for Luoland to really manifest itself as the (potential) intellectual and cultural powerhouse it must be to benefit and uplift our people from poverty, disease and ignorance?
Who will link the above aims to the Kenyan national strategy (for this is a Kenyan Pride) and African strategy for Africa to reap concrete benefits from President Obama’s time in office?
We must not be shy about these things. We must hurry! Or you will find our story being reaped by foreigners to ad nauseam.
This is a window of opportunity to for example:
a) Revamp sales of books on Luo culture eg Paul Mboya’s Kitwa gi Timbewa ( and Jane Achieng translation of it)
b) Music-Nyatiti, orutu, benga, traditonal cuisine (its time for mor nyaluo to come back!)
c) New deeper research into our history from Sudan to Eastern and Western Africa
d) Documentaries, films on events achievements of the Luo and Kenyans in general
e) Setting firm targets to ensure our fishermen are not exploited by middlemen-provision of credit for refegeration facilities via strengthenned cooperatives
Essentially targeting at economic freedom for Nyanza, Kenyans and Africans. The above is not to alienate non-Luos-on the contrary, the above goals must be fashioned in a complementary, synchronized manner within the framework of Kenyans’ & Africa’s aspirations for Mr. Obama’s Presidency.I see it as another window of opportunity to scrap petty and dangerous/hateful tribalism from Kenyan minds as Obama is a symbol for Africa.
The Kenya Government and other bodies and wealthy individuals (like our untaxed MPs) can fund some of the above activities or facilitate them.
Let our visionaries come forward like Obama has done. We can do it. There is no time to waste!
Erokamano
– – –
thu.13nov.2008;
From: Mboya Ogutu
Subject: President Obama, Luo Nyanza, Kenya & Africa
Bright ideas but can only be achieved if we had our priorities right.
Empirical studies have shown that our people are only good at making noise and politicking.
Can someone explain to me why only 10% of the population in Kisumu can access clean piped water yet the town sits on a fresh water lake?.
Alot of funding has been released by donors to improve water supply in the town. Can anyone account for this money?.The towns’ bus park and the estates are filthy due to inadequate supply of clean water and poor sanitary conditions. I am shocked that even the prime minister and the Minister for health have not had the courage to help resolve the water problem in Kisumu.
Right now people are still celebrating Obama’s victory yet in the USA nobody has gone on holiday. where are our priorities.
I really feel ashamed and disgusted when I see moving around town on Friday’s displaying corpses!
If you move around the town you will see alot of stalled projects which have resulted from disputes over ownership. I have lived in Nairobi , Mombasa and Eldoret but they do not have as many stalled projects as Kisumu. There is so much corruption in the town and conmen have taken advantage of the confusion.
If you travel through Milimani and Tom Mboya estates( the prime estates of Kisumu) there too many idle plots which should re allotted or sold to investors…otherwise i do not see how the town will develop.
On the topic of the Obama victory and opportunity, is there anyone out there who would like to get some signs, posters etc from the election. I might be able to get some and I would be happy to give it to anyone who is interested.
Obama stands for hard work….he has already rolled up his sleeves. Time for celebration is over! Why are some Kenyans still celebrating when in the US even the voting day was not a public holiday? I am told in Kogelo some people have stopped working in their shambas as they are still in celebration mood! They are hoping that Obama will bring them manner!
Misawa Omera
I like Erokamano’s comments on the Luo making the best of Obama’s election. What is wrong with the idea? Nothing. I saw a blog online which described the Luo as another tall thin people like the Masaii. Bah. You Luo are getting a lot of stupid bad press, and you need to get your men of intellect and business sense to set things straight.
Your PM is Luo, and who knows where his future may lead. Some people old enough, like me, remember the suspicious terminating of Tom Mboya’s life long ago. Times have changed. Kibaki gave in and made a compromise. Long ago, Odinga would have had “an unfortunate auto accident”. Life is now better than it may seem to you.
Leave the bitterness behind, grab the moment, and help Kenya find higher ground in the world community, from Kisumu to Mombasa. Someone needs to find a way to get Obama, or his people, to make a better connection between the Luo, and all of Kenya, with the USA. Obama may not pay much attention until someone in Kenya gives him a reason to make better links with Kenya.
For whoever is curious, I grew up in a boarding school in Kiambu. We were guarded day and night during the Mau Mau by a small company of King’s Afrian Rifles, most of them had fought in WWII. And, most of them were Luo. I may very well owe my life to those Luo soldiers and the mercy of God. And, they did NOT look like Masaii
They looked more like a big New York City Irish cop.
Best wishes from a Mzungu who grew up in Kenya.