Anonymous

The world has always been the playing field for empires and emperors who yearn for control of large swathes of land and their numerous inhabitants since time immemorial. Every continent has seen it’s plethora of distinct empires built by different leaders with a knack for power and control rise and fall. No empire that exists actually last forever, each one falls at its own preordained time. These empires vary in time and size according to different time periods. Some tend to be extensively large and prosperous such as the Roman empire, British empire and others smaller like the Aztecs or Incas in South America. The size is affected by the urge to conquer new large lands and increase boundaries. While some emperors had large appetite for conquering new territories like the Romans others were contented with their tiny kingdoms.

A great number of people are abhor imperialism and shun even the slightest thought of it. apparently,it has escaped them that imperialism is part of their political life. Its meaning might be changed with time but it is always there with us like a shadow. It has come to the limelight the degree to which imperialism is considered evil and attacked to every corner. During the death of queen Elizabeth II,many black, Irish and indigenous people took to twitter to protest the role of the monarch in the forceful subjugation of the local populations and the atrocious treatment of their ancestors spanning across two centuries. Their arguments included the fact that the British empire was among the worst in the history of empires. Some of the hashtags trending included the call to end the monarchy. They wanted the longstanding monarchy to be abolished. The logic here is that the empires are bad should be dealt with ruthlessly. It is always the habit of human beings to consider their era as peaceful and better than the centuries before. Modern day imperialism will only be thoroughly studied by the future generations and maybe found worse than the victorian age.

If the empires are so much bad and cruel,then what does make us, humanity,who are a product of empires? Empires existed as early as the Sassanid dynasty and continue to flourish and are moving at a frantic pace towards a global empire. Actually,the global empire arrived sometimes back and we have just not realized it. Leaders of individual countries don’t have the power to work independently for the benefit of their people. Uganda and Tanzania cannot build a pipeline to help their own people since some other leaders think it’s not good, Ethiopian government had to persuade other powers to allow them to build the Grand Renaissance Dam. It’s true that that empires history are marked with atrocities like murder, genocide, looting and slavery but one thing is certain it’s almost impossible to do away with it. It was created centuries ago and it is here to stay. Countries like Russia and China are trying to wrest the global power out of the hands of the USA and stop their imperialism but everyone already knows the end result. If they were to succeed then another empire will be created and continue the unending legacy of empires. The indigenous people especially the black race have to stop complaining about their position in the world but unite and form an empire which will give them power over their own fate and that of others. Racism, financial aid conditionality and oppression of black will only end when they have secured their position in the global arena. Daylight murder of Africans like that which happened at Melilla can be stopped and others in European nations will also be stopped.The world economy and politics is shaped in such a way that it only benefits those people with power. The powerless are left to languish in their pitiful state. When will this state of lamenting end so that Africans can work for their own dignity? The unity of the black people is needed for economic growth otherwise when the status quo continues to remain as it is then the black man will be a subjugated people eternally. The past and the future of imperialism is the same. The more it changes the more it remains the same. Names and meanings might change though.

The eternal dream of a utopian society has been hampered at every step by a myriad of obstacles. The dream has always been there but achieving it has proven to be an uphill task. Some of the stumbling blocks it has met include incurable diseases such as cancer,poverty,war,crime and violence. Achieving general utopia in the entire world has always been a long shot but one cannot stop humanity from dreaming. Some of the top advocates for a utopia society have given up on that dream out of sheer despondency. Apparently,it might be one of those dreams man will never achieve no matter how hard he strives. Today we will delve deeper into one of the impediments of the utopian dream which is violence or we can christen it as war. Apparently,wars have been around from time immemorial and stories of wars have been extensively recorded in historical books. The old testament of the bible is awash with stories of battle won and lost. It is imperative to vanquish war to achieve even an iota of the dreamt world. On the contrary, however,war and state of pandemonium has increased considerably and almost virtually engulfed the whole world. Our efforts have achieved exactly what was not required. My focus will be directed towards violence in specific areas. In large cities and towns in almost all countries there is occasional violence or insecurity certain areas not particularly all around the towns. These places are always characterised as backward, middle and low income areas with poor infrastructure and facilities such as hospitals,schools,roads and sometimes lack of electricity. Open stinking sewers snake around the areas filling them with a terrible stench and diseases. These areas are always designated to the poor, the Wretched of the earth. It’s quite interesting that every big city in the world has such areas with similar qualities, maybe under different names as some are referred to as slums while others are honourable called ghettos. The only different thing is the names all the other things are similar. Perhaps,the poor people are same everywhere. Another notorious aspect of these areas is crime and violence. The governments all over the world have failed to solve these issues. Everytime there is an outbreak of violence,all they do is send security reinforcements which only worsen the already tense situation. It’s like pouring petrol on a burning fire,all one gets is a bigger fire. It becomes mutually destructive. It’s clear that the governments don’t know the real issues at work here. If only they knew violence would be avoided. According to Frantz Fanon in his book The Wretched of the Earth, violence is as a result of age long neglect by those in power and creation of a state of hopelessness and desperation in these settlements. Fanon explains that this state of pandemonium first manifests as internecine chaos between members of the same community possible neighbors in response to trivial issues. A neighbour might kill another neighbour’s child for just making noise. Considering they lived together and have been friends ever since this is considered a psychological problem of neglect. The psychological breakdown increases the frequency of death, crime and overreaction to petty issues. However,after a while this anger is directed towards the direction of those in power and things will certainly get pretty out hand. It might eventually lead to overthrow of the government. Fanon’s main example is the colonial era and the fight for independence in Algeria. It can be argued that Fanon lived and died long ago and this conditions do not work in the modern world. However,let it be known that Fanon was a psychiatrist and his study was from firsthand experience, furthermore these things continue to happen because time and time again we have continued disregard his findings and blind to history. Most terrorists operate from bases deep in the jungle and wilderness which have been perennially neglected by the governments. People majorly involved in crime do so because they have no other option to survive since they are not provided with all the requirements to be nurtured in the upright manner. Its a reaction to the pathetic living conditions they have been subjected to all along. Nobody is born a criminal, criminals are made just as racist and terrorists. The best reaction from authorities is to provide these people with the appropriate resources for efficient self development. In Kenya for instance, it’s awfully absurd to compare children from Kibera to those from Runda or Karen. They can never be the same. The chance of children from Kibera are slim. A big majority of them never make it. In European nations, black people and Muslims are treated with contempt even with quality education. They can’t get good jobs just because of their religion or skin colour. Just try to imagine their frustration. That’s why majority of terrorists are graduates from top schools. Mandela once said that when a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in,he has no choice but to become an outlaw. Treason is a crime of the state.

The new president has been confronted with the issue of subsidy immediately he assumed office. He made the tough decision to abolish subsidies on different commodities leaving only the fertilizer subsidy aiming to subsidize production rather than consumption. The government of former president Uhuru Kenyatta used subsidy to cushion Kenyans from the high cost of unga and fuel, however,the whole subsidy program was purported to be marred with massive corruption all the better reason to abolish it. The price of unga, which is a staple food, has remained steadily above two hundred Kenya shillings while that of fuel has risen to 180 Kenyan shillings from 150 Kenyan shillings. As one would have imagine in a country of about fifty million people,most people are surprised. These are not the campaign promises issued just a few weeks back. The new president had frequently blamed the old government of the high cost of living and promise to make things better immediately after ascending to power. He said that unga would retail at seventy shillings while fuel at one hundred shillings. However,the tune has changed.

The abolition of the subsidy program has already received backlash from a section of the population. The government has been on the receiving end of the high cost of living further driven up by the abolition of the subsidy program. While abolishing the subsidy program,the head of state stated that the program has been distorting markets and was full of corruption. From his statements it is evident that the plan of the government is to leave it to the forces of the market to bring the prices such as that of fuel down. Only time will tell if that will happen. Some people in the higher echelons of power are purporting that government is hoping for the upcoming harvesting seasons mostly in the North Rift to flood the market with maize and consequently lower the prices of unga. It remains to be seen whether that will happen but most people are not optimistic the situation will turn around. The argument is that the prices of fuel might not come down anytime soon since the global prices are above the roof. The prices have been skyrocketing since the Russian invasion of Ukraine back in February. The war and the subsequent sanctions that followed further pushed the prices up. The lack of optimism is reinforced by the fact that the country depends on imported fuel which is affected by geopolitical turbulence. It might not come down until the geopolitical turbulence is calmed and no one knows when this might be. The government might have to rethink it’s stance on the whole subsidy issue.

The International Monetary Fund has been for the past few months pilling pressure on the government to abolish the subsidy program so as to be given another loan to prop it up. Apparently,the government is broke and the economic situation is dire ana financial bailout is urgently needed. The constant pressure from the IMF might have been the main reason why the government abolished it’s subsidy program. The debt crisis is already choking the country and it will be harmful to the economy if more loans are to be taken. However,the quandary here is where the government will get funds for day to day operations. The government is already between a rock and a hard place. It will be seen how the political and economic think tanks will come up with viable programs to help move the country forward economically.

Many might have ignored it while others might not have noticed it but congratulatory messages to the president elect William Ruto from two world leaders were significant. The first message was from the president of the Russian Federation His Excellency Vladimir Putin while the other was from his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky,the Ukrainian president. The significance of these two cannot be vaguely ignored considering the current situation in Ukraine. They thus serve a purpose to both countries to be accepted by a new head of state. Putin and Zelensky are in a rat race to garner support for the war in Ukraine between their two countries. Russia has been engaged in a military offensive in Ukraine since February. Seven months later and the war is still protracting and Ukraine is still holding out. This against the expectations of many who thought Ukraine would be conquered in a matter of days if not hours considering the military might of Russia. The events happening in the backdrop of this avoidable war grant these congratulatory messages their significance. It would have been very nice to know what was said in these messages. Obviously,both countries would like the new president to back them. Previously,African heads of States avoided chiding Russia for the war as most countries were doing even after being cajoled. Instead,they called for peaceful negotiations and urgent cessation of hostilities. It has been debated whether it was their experiences that guided them or friendship with Russia. Both can be true. Many African states are economically indebted to Russia in terms of energy products,grains,military equipment and other goods found mostly in Russia. African states history of post colonial epoch are dotted with numerous wars, clashes and internecine feuds. Maybe they understood clearly that there are no victors in war.When the Ukrainian president requested for a meeting with the African Union, he was rebuffed for the first time and when he at last got the chance, only a handful of leaders were present. A significant majority boycotted while others sent Representatives. The message was clear for everyone. However, Kenya currently occupies the temporary seat at the United Nations security council and has been consistently voting against Russia. Will the new president maintain this position? Only time will tell. Right now everyone is trying to woo Kenya to their side,this explains the large contingent of foreign leaders at tomorrow’s swearing in event. In a past interview with CNN,the new president stated categorically that this was not the time to apportion blame, further affirming that he will work with both parties to find amicable solutions to bring the war to a speedy end. Starting on a right footing it is. Kenyans are hoping that our foreign policies will grant us favour with both sides. However,history of the cold war reminds us that sitting on the fence is as detrimental as taking sides. Both countries suffered regardless of their stance.