It’s amazing how sports unite Kenyans despite their
political affiliation and ethnic grouping. Whenever our very own Harambee Stars
are hosting a foreign team or are on the road for a qualifying tie or friendly
match, the support handed to them is tremendous. This is surprising as the
Kenyan soccer team has not been delivering in the recent past. Game after game,
hundreds and perhaps thousands of patriots match to the stadiums or are glued
to their television sets, hoping their team will make them proud. However, the
players do not seem to be aware of this and find a way of performing dismally
and breaking the hearts of Kenyans, who still give them a chance after every
game, hoping the next game will be the one. This portrays Kenyans as
nationalists who are willing to give up personal or group interests, in order
to prioritize national pride. This desired unity however vanishes into thin air
especially during heightened political campaign seasons.
The recent 2012 Olympic Games in London also proved
how our nation can bond when the interests of the country are at stake. In this
particular case, Kenya’s interests are winning, and emerging on top for the
gold medal is preferred by most if not all. It’s worth mentioning that during
the time when the games were being held, that is between July 29 and August 12,
2012, the political tension and election fever that embraces the nation on a
regular day, was set aside and not given much attention. Just like their
football counterparts, our athletes’ performance was below par this time round.
The nation watched their representatives lose an opportunity to win medals on
the last stretch of the stadium and in some instances the athletes shockingly
came last. That aside, the next event involving Kenyans gave those back home and
all over the world reason to unite.
The most outstanding and remarkable trait observed
when the Olympics were taking place, is the ability of Kenyans to unite. I
remember once, when I was in an entertainment joint, the DJ actually stopped
the music when David Rudisha was on his way to break the 800 meter record.
After he did it, the atmosphere was dreamy because screams, cheers and toasts
amongst strangers filled the room. The friendly surrounding was contributed to
by only one factor: everyone celebrating was a Kenyan citizen. I was probably
the only one puzzled by this reaction as in my mind I questioned whether the
same could be replicated in other events, not involving sports.
Relating it to the 2007-2008 Post Election Violence,
I wonder what went wrong? The same people who once resorted to animosity, be it
physical or verbal as a result of differing political affiliations can actually
stand each other, where the nation’s interests are greater than those of
individuals. No doubt that pride through sports such as football, athletics and
volleyball among others shows us how much our country is important to us. Our
athletes serve as ambassadors and reflect Kenya’s position in international
competitions. When our national anthem plays in international arenas, citizens
from other states stand and respect the brilliance of our athletes and our
country as a whole.
If we can all extend such an attitude beyond sports,
and in the same spirit unite in harmony whenever our country needs us most,
we’ll have a bright future as a nation. This means that political and ethnic
differences will never come in the way to ruin our nation through unreasonable
conflict and wrangles. Currently Kenya needs peace, unity and cohesion as these
are key conditions that will make the nation work towards reaching set
developmental standards. A country full of opportunity is what we need, thus we
ought to get rid of ills such as bad governance, negative ethnicity, and
corruption. I am quite sure that once Kenyans are aware of the factors that
serve as setbacks, they will defer from them and focus on how the country can
move forward and succeed.
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