Today, older millennials are in their 40s, while the younger millennials are in their 30s. In our 20s, we collectively complained about the political and governance system that most of us are now part of. We dreamt of being the change makers! This is the time to have a little political shame as millennials!
We demanded change, but today the millennials who made it to the parliamentary tables defend stagnation instead of standing on business. They are busy replicating the very systems that have oppressed generations!
We have elected lawmakers who act like “parliament journalists”, instead of doing something in that sitting about the juicy theft gossip they tell us, they come online to rant and report corruption and other vices to the wananchi. They create content pieces instead of proposing a bill or taking an oppressor to court.
These elected leaders are loudly complaining to us, like we are the freaking Hague police, but still protecting the predators. To me, these are just political games to keep the people confused and hopeless. These are people on the fence about justice.
Are We Ignorant?
Our generation is NOT in the dark like Gen X and boomers were. We are educated, connected, and constantly plugged into information. We know what’s happening in this country and in Iran in real time. We dissect local policies, track scandals, and analyze leadership failures even before they become 7 PM news items. Look at Facebook, most people support bad guys to sound politically correct! Wasiambiwe wako tribal
When you lack personal integrity, you lose the ability to say ‘no’ to injustice. Politicians will use you as their henchman, and you’ll hurt your own friends and your villagers – and regret it later. We’ve watched some Millennials help oppress a Gen Z movement fighting for us all. It’s a sad reminder that without moral boundaries, anyone can become a weapon against their own people. – Njoki
Because the reality, as we’ve seen, it doesn’t take much to end up in danger, a mistaken identity, being in a crowd, or simply having the wrong look at the wrong time… that’s all it takes to find yourself in the hands of the police or worse, the “Subarus.”
So, when there’s an unjust arrest and the millennial group of people say “they deserved it,” mara “wako na ujinga” I wonder – how long until it’s someone they love? Or even them?
Meza za serikali hupinduka and no one should think that they’re above the injustices our history has proven.
We’ve seen the millennials in today’s political space support oppressive laws and bills, and support oppressive politicians who clearly steal public funds repeatedly. All because they’re given an envelope with a few thousand notes.
These are the same people who 20 yrs ago believed they’d be “leaders of tomorrow”, and here they are, betraying THAT reality, supporting the very system they dreamt of crashing.
Verily Verily, the monkey at the top of the mango tree forgets that the hard ground still exists.
[Okay, I’ve just tried being a Mhenga there]
Those sitting at the high table need to stop speaking from a place of false safety. The truth is, the system isn’t always protecting you just because you yap for it for pay – it’s just not looking at you yet. How many times have diehards changed stance?!
As millennials, we are STILL victims of bad government, and now most of us are enablers of the very evil.
It’s not that Kenyan millennials don’t want change. It’s that:
We want change without the inconvenience of letting go of the people who give us “free” stuff and their pocket change, the same people who have been bribing our parents with Unga, Mafuta, and Fertilizer for votes since the 90s! We have blatantly refused to notice the patterns!
Na juu mpanda ngazi hushuka, before you get too comfortable at the top, fix the system that will decide how the ground receives you when you fall… because you will.
We must learn from the mistakes we made after the Hague saga, because clearly, it’s been downhill since then. All we have today are promises and shiny objects being dangled in front of us every week.
The Cost Of Blind Loyalty To The Old Politicians:
- Economic stagnation
- Normalised corruption and bribery
- Lack of opportunity for youth leadership today and in the future
- Having our children’s future being toyed with by olds who won’t live it
- Erosion of accountability culture
How Can We Do Better As A Generation Teaming Up With Gen Z:
- Feel uncomfortable supporting failure/s just because they’re familiar
- Have the courage to withdraw loyalty from incompetent people
- Stop electing a “lesser evil.”
- Have the discipline to choose progress over payouts
- Be conscious enough to reject offenders from leadership
- Have the courage to face uncertainty with clean new leaders
- Let go of tribal vote loyalty
- Let go of emotional decision-making when it comes to these leaders
- Pause before defending bills we don’t understand
- By rejecting political handouts disguised as help
Najua kuna njaa but most importantly
- By choosing dignity over desperation
Perhaps, the Kenyan millennial doesn’t need more knowledge, more reading or even outrage; a little shame is enough.
Remember, nowadays, the leader YOU support is a reflection of your judgment, your intelligence, and your line of thought.
It should irritate you to campaign for illiterate folks. We shall know if we can trust you at a personal level or nah‘.
We WILL judge you.
Because, until we learn to feel a little shame about the lousy leaders we are defending, we will keep recycling the very problems Kenyans have complained about one decade after another!