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Of Uhuru And The Hustler Generation

Posted on April 10, 2013April 10, 2013 by OP

For the longest we heard the phrase,’ The youth are leaders of tomorrow’ was replayed like a radio station jingle. In primary school it held a lot of promise. By high school we had gotten cynical and at college it was out rightly mocked. Tomorrow did arrive but all that remained was the same old and conservative political class. The face of Kenyan leadership has always been somewhat grandfatherly. A career in Kenyan politics began right after retirement from civil service in your mid fifties, matured in one’s 60s and with a little persistence and lots of luck, presidency would be deemed possible in your 70s. The Young Turks were men in their late 50s, many who had grandchildren.

Therefore to finally see a younger man sitting at the helm of the state is going to take some adjustment. President Uhuru Kenyatta is 51 and that is young comparatively. Kenya’s founding president Jomo Kenyatta was 71 when assumed office. Daniel Moi was 54 but he had being in the ranks for so long he had developed that conservative mzee’persona. The symbolic rungu he carried had old order written all over it. Mwai Kibaki was 71 and he looked very much his age. President Uhuru comes across as sharing the same youthful swag as world’s new crop of young leaders. Barrack Obama is 51, UK’s David Cameron is 46, Dmitry Medvedev the current Prime Minister of Russia is 47. In Africa, the youngest president so far is Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo who turns 42 in June, followed by Gambia’s AIDS curing Yahya Jammeh  who is 47. Burundi’s Pierre Nkurunziza is 49. That makes President Uhuru Kenyatta the fourth youngest president in the continent.

Generally young leaders are always admired because they embody hope and represent radical change which is not necessarily a factor of age. Joseph Kabila has not revolutionised the DRC. Kim Jong-un of North Korea is 28 years old and his youthful trigger-happy antics are already a cause for concern. But having a youngish leader means that they can relate to majority concerns or so we hope. However, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s personal rise to prominence changes the ambition script and places a lot of performance pressure on youngsters busy goal setting. For all his enviable personal attributes, we cannot escape the fact that Uhuru Kenyatta is extremely wealthy and the closest thing we have to royal pedigree. Absolute wealth could absurdly become an imperative criterion for success and money, the reigning value standard for our young citizens.  Suddenly merely owning two cars, a house in suburbs and a college fund for the tots will seem so mundane. To be taken seriously you may probably need to descend in a helicopter.

The high achiever standard in Kenya is way up there and it not enough to hold a prestigious office, you have to flash serious money to boot. It is the new leadership narrative in town. Call it the hustler generation if you will and the clarion call to leadership is wealth.  Deputy President William Ruto, the self declared hustler is young and rich. Nairobi’s first senator Mike Mbuvi aka Sonko has risen to become the poster child of this new posse’ of the young, powerful and loaded. It does not seem as important to question what one has done to get rich. In the national psyche, if one does not have money, they cannot be of much use to the deprived masses. In the past, people expected leaders to accumulate wealth overtime but nowadays we are part of a generation that is more impressed by overnight sensations. Young people want it all and the means always justify the ends.

Therefore, Kenyan fourth president, his Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta has big role in managing this lopsided expectation.  I sincerely hope he will find the wisdom needed to keep the country’s restless youth grounded. Time will tell.

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12 thoughts on “Of Uhuru And The Hustler Generation”

  1. laughton says:
    April 10, 2013 at 6:58 am

    Very insightful Oyunga especially the age breakdown…………………thanks .

    Reply
  2. laughton says:
    April 10, 2013 at 7:22 am

    well and kabila I think is the youngest 1971 June 4th

    Reply
    1. OP says:
      April 10, 2013 at 10:52 am

      Obviously. You are right Laughton and I have updated the article to reflect that, thanks.

      Reply
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  6. saraswati tara says:
    April 12, 2013 at 10:21 pm

    Fifties these days is the new thirties as no one wants to age. The youth categorically are still infants and will maybe gain prominence by mid life if lucky. There is no retirement age for a president in our constitution plus you need to be 35 years old – way past the youthful stage we so chirp about.

    Reply
  7. Eddy Nyachwaya says:
    April 15, 2013 at 6:57 pm

    Yes,Uhuru is 50+, but to me he comes across as a guy who’ll sit and watch a series if he has time. Did you see the bloopers of him and Ruto doing an ad? Just check it out if you haven’t. Anyway,compared to other 40-53yr old presidents, I find his character/persona the youngest. Even,dare i say, younger compared to Peter Kenneth.

    Reply
    1. OP says:
      April 15, 2013 at 10:04 pm

      I saw the bloopers and I kind of liked the ease on that shoot. The stiff big man was shattered there for awhile. Connects with the youth but after all our older people guys in charge, it will take some adjustment. My aunt commented that she cannot still see him as president, the old Uhuru keeps creeping back. Give them a few months but it is going to be an interesting run.

      Reply
  8. Eddy Nyachwaya says:
    April 18, 2013 at 10:40 am

    Bro,you brought me back to reality with, ”give them a few months.”
    My mother refuses to watch the first news segment because,most,if not all the time it’ll cover what the president did.But she’s accepting Ruto albeit with a caution. Maybe your aunt should compare notes with her 🙂

    Reply
    1. OP says:
      April 19, 2013 at 7:48 am

      There are many people still in denial. The elections are over. Jubilee runs the show now, that’s the way democracy works.

      Reply
  9. Sarah U. Clay says:
    May 4, 2013 at 11:25 am

    Kenyatta, 51, is the son of Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta. His March 4 election victory, with 50.07 percent of the vote, was upheld by the country’s Supreme Court after an election challenge from outgoing Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

    Reply

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Oyunga Pala is a pioneering satirist and columnist. He remains one of the most impactful, Kenyan columnists of his generation. He examines the texture of everyday life, moving away from the traditional idea of African men as victims of modernity and disillusion. His writings commonly feature the struggles of African men to maintain integrity as they navigate the pathways of power, fatherhood, memory, and existence.

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Oyunga Pala is a pioneering satirist and columnist. He remains one of the most impactful, Kenyan columnists of his generation. He examines the texture of everyday life, moving away from the traditional idea of African men as victims of modernity and disillusion. His writings commonly feature the struggles of African men to maintain integrity as they navigate the pathways of power, fatherhood, memory, and existence.

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