By NelsonGuga
MY LUO NATION: People who understand theLuo Nation’s psychopolitical structure know thatDr. Miguna Miguna, theNRM General, is inthe making. Well, theunfolding political development and endless controversies surrounding Dr. Miguna are not good news for individuals, mainly political leaders and their followers, keen on maintaining thestatus quo and the political establishment inODM. It cannot be loston observers thatthere is no chemistry between Raila Odinga, theODM leader and arguably thelatest defector to theJubilee Government, and Dr. Miguna. The badblood between the twoisthe result of latter’s scathing attack on theformer Prime Minister in histell-it-all book: Peeling Back the Mask.
Be that as it may, theLuo Nation isfacing interesting times goingforward. First, Raila Odinga who has been at thecenterof the community’s political formation for over three decades isfacing his sunset. His advancing age, though anatural process, has erasedhis chances of ever becoming Kenya’s president. The sacrifices and theemotional investment thatthe community has put in the making of President Raila have notpaid off norhas Mr. Odinga’s historic handshake on March 9 showed any promise. It is undoubtedly anagonizing moment forthe community.
Secondly, there are no clear signs of apolitical heir apparent within the Odinga familyhierarchy. The scionsof both Mr. Odinga and hiselder brother Dr. Oburu Oginga have notexpressed overt interest in thecommunity’s politics let alone the country’s, and it isunlikely that they will command any considerable influence in the community’s politics even if they debuted. Unlike hisscions, Mr. Odinga had taken an active role in thecountry’s politics when he was hardly 40.The lackof a clear successor within the rank of the Odinga family may not beagood thing for aman who has straddled Kenya’s political landscape like a colossus and fordecades.
Third, thecurrent crop of Luo politicians appearsto lack vision and an understanding of what post-Odinga political dispensation mayoffer. They also seem tobe ignorant of theLuo political psyche. It is unlikely thatthe Luo community will cease to identify with leaders who exhibit courage, might, and exuberance. AsMr. Odinga takes hisquietexit, there is talkabout the community rallying behind Deputy President William Ruto’s quest for the highest office on the land or Mombasa Governor’s Hassan Joho’s possible presidential bid. Like Odinga, thetwo politicians possess what the Luo believes isthe essential quality of agood leader: Courage!
But something ismissing! Kenya’s politicsis ethnocentric. There will be a local gap in the community’s leadership when Mr. Odinga bowsand whoever will replace him will have toembody that fundamental quality of courage. The Luo community won’t allowa ‘coward’ (Idon’t know what thatword means in the political context it has been used lately) to fillMr. Odinga’s ‘holy’ shoes. Cowardice isnot Luoism. Too much humility is not Luoism even though history has rewardedit. In this context, I hypothesize that Dr. Miguna Miguna is a potential Luoethnic kingpin in thepost-Odinga era.
Dr. Miguna casts arare image of what constitutes the Kenyanpolitician. In fact, he isa significant departure from the quintessential Kenyan politician. Unlike any politician inrecent history, Dr. Miguna has exhibited unusual couragethatis primary in challenging the status quo. Hehas aclear conviction of thekindof a nation he wants. Onmany occasions, he has been an unapologetic critic of electoral and social injustice. Unlike many Kenyans, Dr. Miguna is, arguably, the only remaining vocalKenyan who believesthat the Kenyan dreamcan stillbe reclaimed. These audacious qualities have earnedhim both friends and foes, but have identified himwith the Luopolitical psyche.
Dr. Miguna’s brazen and bare-knuckled approach to political eventsputs him on ahigherpedestal to take the Luoleadership mantle. But this is hypothetical. How he achieves this dreamwill depend on how he plays his cards goingforward. As they say, the best soldier is he who knows when to retreat. With apeerless intellectual acumen, reckless audacity, clarityof thought, and apenchant for political utopianism, I hope Dr. Miguna lives to become thebuilding stone that thebuilders rejected.
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