OO
Below is what I had to say a few months ago when we were being promised the same thing as today - namely the eminent death ODM. I like the debate that came out of the piece and to some extent the developments that took place within the ODM as a result of some of these discussions.
here it is.
jukwaa.proboards58.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1153856694The way I see it, I think there has been some considerable progress int he ODM since then but they still have a lot of work, particularly when one looks at the underlying issues surrounding the London fiasco.
What the ODM has managed to do in a very short time is put in place some structures like the interim leadership co-chaired by Kilonzo Mutula and Henry Kosgei with Prof. Anyang' Nyong'o as the Secretary General. These folks have done a remarkable job in being some of the sober voices of the ODM. I am personally appalled that the Muysoka team even tried to throw out Kosgei and Nyong'o out of office even after ODM leaders had indicated they would meet to resolve the issues. That must go down as one of the dumbest moves.
Kosgei has really surprised me. I didn't think much of him before, but I am very impressed with his work. He is always calm and very thoughtful about what he says. He is a low volume leader, but always on top of his docket. He is a great asset to the ODM and the little nonentities in ODM trying to muddy him should really double check their political IQ. Nyong'o has been equally impressive. He has great credentials in policy development on economic issues and I am sure he is doing a lot more behind the scenes to do some of the things you had suggested. There is more to building a political party and movement than holding rallies and calling the media 24/7.
The other thing the ODM has done very sucesfully since we blasted them other time around is to really take their agenda to the masses. These folks are in every corner of the nation talking to Kenyans. Even as the London meeting and its fallout was consuming the media, ODM candidates were being very well received in different parts of the country. Kalonzo was in Nairobi and Mudavadi at the coast whereboth of them were well recieved.
Third the ODM has also been good in building coalitions with other social forces even their political rivals like Paul Muite. Through this method they have put the minimum reform agenda into the limelight and battle is ongoing as we speak.
I have many problems with the ODM and I often use this forum, which I know is accessed by all sorts of people including ODMers to air them. The current debacle brings forth some issues the ODM has to deal with pronto.
The first one is the Kalonzo factor. It is NO secret that Kalonzo has been mad with Raila for sometime, actually since Raila declared his candidacy. Many people within the Kalonzo orbit and I am sure Kalonzo himself saw this as " a betrayal". They wanted "Kalonzo Tosha", even thought they keep talking about the members being the ones to elect their candidate. The attempt to throw out Kosgei and Nyong'o is part of the same nonsense of weeding out so called "Raila supporters" from the secretariat.
I don't want to waste time with the silly games, but I will say this. There is a sense among some ODM supporters like myself that some people in the Kalonzo camp think the whole business of ODM is to make Kalonzo Musyoka the president of Kenya. That is it for them. All the work people are doing, most of it with their own resources is just to put Kalonzo in State House and then we can shut up for another five years. It is coming to a point where even if Kalonzo was to win the ODM candidacy in a democratic manner a lot of us are willing and ready to just walk away from the ODM. A lot of us are veterans and we are very patient people, if they want to screw up ODM we will join hands with others in smaller outfits and fight the Narc loonies from another angle. The funny thing is that Kalonzo looked like a good candidate to me not so long ago. He is beginning to get into a lot of people's nerves.
This looks very much like the Uhuru Kenyatta hustle of 2002. Many of us including OO were pretty prepared to accommodate Mr. Kenyatta as Kanu candidate but when they tried to push the whole thing down people's throats everything changed.
There is a very high chance that if Uhuru and Moi played within the rules, Mr. Kenyatta would be our president today with Raila probably his PM. I will say what I have said many times before, nobody in the ODM can beat Kibaki on their own. If the ODM want to win they need to come together be honest with each other and with Kenyans. We do not need a team that needs babysitters every week to keep them calm.
Bottom line is we need a fair and democratic elections to choose the ODM candidate and move on. May be the idea of waiting longer to do so is not good for the party. Nobody is going to run from ODM, they have nowhere to go. Lets have elections and get this thing over with. We don't want another madness of ODM Asili, ODM People and ODM Kenya.
Kenyans need the ODM to really work as a team and stop holding rallies preaching about teamwork. Unity in the ODM cannot be an end in itself. Kenyans are more interested in what the ODM will do to salvage the nation from the grips of the vicious and arrogant Narc crew.
To me the historic mission of ODM remains the same. Facilitate the completion of our constitutional journey, bring a new constitutional order in the country anchored on devolution, equitable utilization of resources and greater rights and freedoms for the people of Kenya. I have no illusions about the ODM transforming into a great social justice movement, but Kenyans will continue pushing them in that direction because that is where the heart and soul o fthe nation lies.
I wish I could say more but I just don't have the time. It is something called March break in Canada, and those of us with kids who also have to go to work are really getting their behinds kicked in all directions.
Adongo.
