YVONNE’S TAKE: What a Bangladesh! Fellow Kenyans, we are not special

Over the years, some Kenyans have developed some sense of exceptionalism. “It could never happen here”, we say. “Could never be us,” and perhaps this is also a stance adopted by our leaders. That is why, it would seem they have moved on from the events of the last two months or so. But we are not special. What is happening elsewhere, could very well happen here.

When protestors burned down the Parliament in Burkina Faso 10 years ago in 2014, I doubt that anyone there could have anticipated that event that changed the country’s future. You see, the people went out on the street because of the President’s attempt to remove constitutional term limits. Burkina Faso, just like Kenya, had been known as a relatively stable country economically. The protestors there termed it a constitutional coup. Urging the leaders to follow the Constitution. Sounds familiar?

In Sri Lanka, in 2022, protests broke out precipitated by an economic crisis. Inflation, cost of living and cost of food and fuel products were at the heart of the protests. Members of Cabinet resigned. The President told the nation that the protests had been infiltrated by extremist forces. Sounds similar?

And then there is Bangladesh; international media termed the protests there as a Gen-Z revolution. A protest triggered by civil service quotas which became much bigger in the end. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina, even after surviving previous protests, surprisingly resigned and fled the country with some members of her family. An Associate Professor of government from Cornell University, Sabrina Karim, said; “It might very well be the first ever successful Gen Z-led revolution”

Why am I highlighting these examples? Well, I am no fear monger. But the similarities exist. What is happening in Kenya is not unique. The issues facing the young people and indeed entire populations here are no different from around the world. The economy, unemployment, cost of living are as much a concern here as anywhere else. The lesson? Ignore these issues and the people at your own peril.

Our leaders would do well to watch and learn. So, as they seemingly move on, claim to have solved the problem with all manner of terms such as inclusive, broad-based government, the one question they need to keep asking themselves is, have they really solved the problem? Even if they claim that the more recent protests have not been as prominent as they were in June, question is do the young people feel like their needs have been addressed?

The people express their views. When they don’t feel heard, they will find a way to make themselves heard. The echo chamber that politicians and leaders continue to create for themselves where they are their own cheerleaders is no longer tenable. Leadership is a social contract with the people, and the people know it. The more aware they are of this, the more difficult it becomes for government to do things its own way. Leaders with deaf ears are facing extinction. Citizens are more demanding, more enlightened. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso all learned this the hard way. If we ignore June 25th and the events before and after that, then Kenya could be headed the same way. We are not special.