I recently attended a film conference where several panel
discussions about Kenyan showbiz took place. As is customary, towards the end
of the discussion the floor was opened to questions from the audience. One man wanted
to know why it was so difficult to get a local production accepted by a T.V
station. The response from one of the panel member who was a TV show producer was both encouraging and
disheartening. She emphasized with the man’s situation claiming that her own
productions had been rejected severally in the past. Her statement was
encouraging because she was willing to meet the man who raised the question
afterwards. It was however disheartening because the started from the bottom
story she gave was a familiar one that I had heard from many personalities in
showbiz. The only thing that bugged me was the question I later asked myself “When
will this bottom to top approach stop?”
Most people who make it in Kenya through their own sweat
have to grab success the hard way. We are made to believe that there is no
other way. But truly there must be. Those that face it rough simply don’t want
to see you get it easy when they themselves hustled to succeed. They come up
with reasons like, ‘It will help you build character’ and ‘It will teach you
important lessons’. For instance, a company director who worked himself up the
corporate ladder in a Kenyan firm will rarely find time to reply to emails from
job seekers. Is it because, he doesn’t have the time? No. It would only take
five minutes to read and reply simple email asking if there is any opportunity
for fresh graduates in the firm. It is simply because, he thinks he does not
owe anyone anything since no one gave him the same assistance when he struggled
to make it.
The problem with this kind of thinking is that it helps to
keep the problem alive. Therefore the next generation of company leaders will
do the same thing to the next generation of job seekers and so on.
In Kenya, many people cry for change yet they are unwilling
to change anything themselves. People will cry foul over corruption but will
hesitate to blow whistles when they spot an incidence of corruption happening
right in front of their faces. Many people will complain about badly driven
matatus and reckless drivers when they themselves cannot obey a simple traffic
light. Most people will complain about how bogus our leaders are yet they have
never bothered to find out what their local MPs background is let alone trying
to get in contact with them in order to present their problems.
I have come to learn that Kenyans are often very quick to
complain but slow to act. No one will be brave enough to create change but
everyone is patient enough to wait for it to appear from thin air. And because
of this complacent attitude, development is always a continuing process for us
and never a final destination. We are just a developing nation.
