A friend of a friend of mine by the name Ryan Kuja asked me of the recent Kenyan post-election violence what he can do to help.
I was so touched by his offer, and I really was without words on what to tell him, coz
I knew right in my spirit that what the world needs is REAL CHANGE. The whole world needs change and so do Africa & of course Kenya needs real change.
You are probably wondering what I mean by real change.
Let me start by defining it, “Fundamentally, Change denotes the transition that occurs when something goes from being the same to being different”. It is a transformation of something to whole new thing. Back to my friends offer, the reason why I was lost without words is that my friend had a noble intention of helping to create some change in the then current situation. However, since neither I nor he could be able to be there physically to experience what was like on the ground, we both settled to prayer in the hope that things will be better, and so things did change to better, though not permanently at least as for now since there is still some tension.
Like I said on my earliest posting, I believe and truly know that Kenyans love peace and for sure calm has been restored on the affected areas and am optimistic very soon it will be okay.
However, REAL CHANGE needs to happen for such a scenario like this never to repeat itself again. So how can it be achieved?
I think that any system that is vulnerable to manipulation, it doesn’t matter where it is in the world it will always be abused by the incumbent. Why? Coz human beings have a problem with power, as the good Lord Acton in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887 puts it “"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” So the cure of this disease called power is to create systems that cannot be easily corrupted.
This is what I will call real change because when we change our systems and seal all loop holes that can be abused by corrupt men and women we can say that we have achieved “real change”. Am not saying that if the system is well thought and very transparent it can not be abused, even good systems can still be abused but at least the difference is that a good system allows for checks and balances and thus the perpetrators of such systems can be brought to justice. But if the system itself is flawed it becomes a challenge even to use it to seek justice because the system itself is guilty!
So point number 1 is: Transforming systems to encourage transparency will be the starting point for real change.
Point number 2 will be obviously to put to power pro-reformists that will foresee that transformation of the system
If both cannot be achieved at the same time which happens to be the nature of the beast at least in most cases then deliberate efforts should be done to ensure that at least point number one takes effect that way it will pave way for number 2.
The issue of REAL CHANGE is not only an African or Kenyan problem but it’s a world problem and you can hear almost everywhere people desiring for change, I mean real change.
As a matter of fact the USA presidential candidates both democrats and republicans alike in the ongoing presidential primaries in the preparation for the presidential elections in November 2008, are running their elections on the platform of CHANGE. Because we all like change especially when we are faced with some critical moments, we desire for something new that will brake from the norm and usher in anew dispensation of hope.
Again back to my friends offer, my friend and I settled at least at the moment to prayer as consolation to hope for the better. Why? Because I know and believe that for any of us to create real change to the system we have to be in the system to change it from within. We have to be players in the system; otherwise outside the system the best we can do will be to inspire temporary change.
That is why I believe and plan some day I will have to find my way to the corridors of Politics per see in pursuit of REAL CHANGE or sponsor/support someone that i know they believe in real change. You probably wondering why politics?
The answer is the politicians are our Legislators (Law makers), don’t you see it obvious that so many systems of the world are so flawed? Because we allowed the wrong people to make laws that govern our lands. So what do you expect? Your guess is as good as mine, what you get are systems that perpetuate their wicked nature and motives. So it is time for the world to go for real change.
Am not implying that some people are angels, but at least there are those who are conscious and desire for real change and believe in it, and as the great book (The bible) simply puts it “As a man thinketh so is he”.(Proverbs 23:7). If you believe in something deep in your heart of hearts the probability of you pursuing that thing is in the order of at least 90%-99% confidence levels.
This is my take on change, Friends I will be interested to hear your inputs on the same
Thanks
I was so touched by his offer, and I really was without words on what to tell him, coz
I knew right in my spirit that what the world needs is REAL CHANGE. The whole world needs change and so do Africa & of course Kenya needs real change.
You are probably wondering what I mean by real change.
Let me start by defining it, “Fundamentally, Change denotes the transition that occurs when something goes from being the same to being different”. It is a transformation of something to whole new thing. Back to my friends offer, the reason why I was lost without words is that my friend had a noble intention of helping to create some change in the then current situation. However, since neither I nor he could be able to be there physically to experience what was like on the ground, we both settled to prayer in the hope that things will be better, and so things did change to better, though not permanently at least as for now since there is still some tension.
Like I said on my earliest posting, I believe and truly know that Kenyans love peace and for sure calm has been restored on the affected areas and am optimistic very soon it will be okay.
However, REAL CHANGE needs to happen for such a scenario like this never to repeat itself again. So how can it be achieved?
I think that any system that is vulnerable to manipulation, it doesn’t matter where it is in the world it will always be abused by the incumbent. Why? Coz human beings have a problem with power, as the good Lord Acton in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887 puts it “"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” So the cure of this disease called power is to create systems that cannot be easily corrupted.
This is what I will call real change because when we change our systems and seal all loop holes that can be abused by corrupt men and women we can say that we have achieved “real change”. Am not saying that if the system is well thought and very transparent it can not be abused, even good systems can still be abused but at least the difference is that a good system allows for checks and balances and thus the perpetrators of such systems can be brought to justice. But if the system itself is flawed it becomes a challenge even to use it to seek justice because the system itself is guilty!
So point number 1 is: Transforming systems to encourage transparency will be the starting point for real change.
Point number 2 will be obviously to put to power pro-reformists that will foresee that transformation of the system
If both cannot be achieved at the same time which happens to be the nature of the beast at least in most cases then deliberate efforts should be done to ensure that at least point number one takes effect that way it will pave way for number 2.
The issue of REAL CHANGE is not only an African or Kenyan problem but it’s a world problem and you can hear almost everywhere people desiring for change, I mean real change.
As a matter of fact the USA presidential candidates both democrats and republicans alike in the ongoing presidential primaries in the preparation for the presidential elections in November 2008, are running their elections on the platform of CHANGE. Because we all like change especially when we are faced with some critical moments, we desire for something new that will brake from the norm and usher in anew dispensation of hope.
Again back to my friends offer, my friend and I settled at least at the moment to prayer as consolation to hope for the better. Why? Because I know and believe that for any of us to create real change to the system we have to be in the system to change it from within. We have to be players in the system; otherwise outside the system the best we can do will be to inspire temporary change.
That is why I believe and plan some day I will have to find my way to the corridors of Politics per see in pursuit of REAL CHANGE or sponsor/support someone that i know they believe in real change. You probably wondering why politics?
The answer is the politicians are our Legislators (Law makers), don’t you see it obvious that so many systems of the world are so flawed? Because we allowed the wrong people to make laws that govern our lands. So what do you expect? Your guess is as good as mine, what you get are systems that perpetuate their wicked nature and motives. So it is time for the world to go for real change.
Am not implying that some people are angels, but at least there are those who are conscious and desire for real change and believe in it, and as the great book (The bible) simply puts it “As a man thinketh so is he”.(Proverbs 23:7). If you believe in something deep in your heart of hearts the probability of you pursuing that thing is in the order of at least 90%-99% confidence levels.
This is my take on change, Friends I will be interested to hear your inputs on the same
Thanks
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