Kenyans,

The word Tribalism is the possession of a strong cultural or ethnic identity that separates oneself as a member of one group from the members of another. People have postulated that the human brain is hard-wired towards tribalism due to its evolutionary advantages. But why is tribalism more among Africans than among Europeans?. Is it that the European brain is more brainy than an African brain?. I will leave you to decide yourself; please add your comment. In Africa today we also do see that some tribes are more tribalistic than others. Does it mean that the less tribalistic Africans are more brainy than the tribalistic ones?.

Tribalism is a colonial derivative based on matriarchal or patriarchal relations forged in the distant past and used by an ethnic group as a defensive and an offensive weapon against other groups. Can we call it evolutionary process?. I do not think so, but if you do think so then it is a retrograde evolution. The position of some of those who see tribalism as the main cause of Africa’s present social and economic predicament follows a familiar pattern of thinking. The colonialists, according to them, tried to make a nation-state out of a hotch-potch of antagonistic and uncivilised African peoples but failed in their mission. The various tribes had age-long hatred for one another and as soon as the colonial power went the natives descended into barbarism maiming and killing each other. Or denying others jobs, or positions into the ruling class just as the whites did with slaves. But what the ruling African class has forgotten is this: People I mean human beings do stick together to make common cause against other tribal groups in the struggle for economic survival in the dog-eat-dog environment that has been created in Kenya.

Consequently, post-independence politics in Africa has witnessed the arousal and manipulation of tribal passions and petty differences among ethnic groups, for the same reasons that the bourgeoisie in Europe or USA sometimes find convenient it to use racism.

Kenya as a country is inhabited by almost over 42 different tribes, so in order for this country to move forward it needs a national cohesion. But how do we achieve this?. We do know today that the fact that people are better educated, better informed and healthier does not necessarily mean that they are wiser and you can just see for yourself in Kenya today, where one tribe can fill the whole ministry at a time when a country is having 42 different tribes. So does it mean that an African is supposed to keep on killing each other in order to get the changes?. NO and YES. NO= because it is not right and not human to kill a fellow human being because we do not eat human being flesh anymore (remember cannibalism). But YES, because of evolution and survival for the fittest. In nature we do know that the less adapted will always extinguish, die away and leave the more adapted to live. Resources are also scarce so how can one tribe or two tribes or only 3 tribes dominate the resources in a country with 42 tribes?. This is why Kenya today needs, better, perhaps younger and wiser leaders to lead the country. I do mean genuine leaders who will generate resources for survival. We are tired of begging from Europeans, USA, Chinese etc, the country is living on handouts and loans at a time when African resources are being exploited by a few and mostly by foreigners. We need to generate resources for us and for our future generation. So empty headed tribal leaders are not needed. We should also stop supporting non productive leaders whether he is from your tribe or not. Kenyans have their destiny in their hands and we should not give authority to idiots to spoil the country. GOOD LEADERS WITH STRICT RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY = BETTER FUTURE THAT IS THE KEY: BAD LEADERS WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY YOU GET WHAT YOU SEE IN KENYA TODAY plus their supporters PERIOD!!.

Paul Nyandoto