Turkana cultural fete a perfect development foundation

Turkana dancers. Photo courtesy @ North Link Productions

It is a matter of fact that culture and people are one, and that for progress to get the right footing it must be mixed with elements of culture. That is, the said progress must appeal to the social makeup of the people. Another fact: progress and peace go hand in hand. Put another way, until peace becomes acceptable to the people, and stability is felt by everybody, any move to develop them will go nowhere. Hence the question: how can development agencies – governments included – invest in communities when peace remains a mirage?

What is my point? The just ended third edition of the annual Turkana cultural fete, dubbed Tobong'u Lore (Come Back Home) which was held in Lodwar has resurrected that old debate on whether culture – specifically African culture – merits to be listed as a useful resource which can be used to economically uplift our people.

There exists two sides. One for, and another against. There is this loud group that thinks that any investment in promoting culture is akin to misusing public wealth. Their reasoning is one-sided and built on one factor. Budgets. They assert that allocating millions of shillings in organizing an annual event like Tobong'u Lore is wrong because such allocations should have been directed to other “noble” projects like drilling boreholes and building schools.

They are wholly wrong and intellectually weak. I do not underrate issues like water scarcity but I know why this route sells to those with ulterior motives. One reason. Easy money involves little mental gymnastics. And politicians who rubbish public interests will definitely adopt it. This is why a certain section of Turkana politicos found it easy to badmouth a cultural fete of their own people – their principle employers!

A critical question pops up: where will an overloaded government like Turkana County Government get those billions of shillings to supply water to the people, build schools, expand healthcare services and so on, if its leaders won't think outside the box? Will budgetary portions from the national government be sufficient to bridge the development gap that has crippled this county for ages?

Perhaps they need light to see the import of Tobong'u Lore. The Kingdom of Morocco is, in terms of natural endowments, no better than Kenya. In fact, Kenya is a world on its own. It has mountains, deserts, wildlife, beautiful cultures, hardworking people... but it economically performs no better than Morocco. Morocco is running. Kenya is walking. Reason being? Morocco knew – long time ago – that cultural tourism yields huge returns. And this is why Mawazine Festival, Morocco's annual cultural bonanza has won its place internationally; pouring in billions of dollars, creating millions of jobs and building an economic edifice that isn't dependent on weather patterns or poachers' mercies.

Another solid reason: the historical context that led to the creation of Tobong'u Lore can never be wished away. Ethnographers rightly claim that while the Turkana, Karamojong, Toposas, Jie, Teso and Nyangatom ethnic groups live separately and independent of each other, at their core rests a deep connection. They belong to the Ateker family. They exhibit commonness that go beyond languages and dress codes. They are one. They are victims of those colonial boundaries that ignored their natural and unbreakable bond.

Ironically, these peoples (with the exception of the Teso) have been fighting – a war that has for long been reduced to a contest for cows and goats. Families have been wiped out. Schools have been closed. Roads rendered impassable. Poverty reigning supreme. And communities adopting slave-like life to survive. Hence the questions: How can these peoples be brought together if not by appealing to their cultural commonness? Could opponents of such initiatives be profiting from the disintegration of these people?

Political opportunism is a sin against God and His people. Political opportunism masks people’s eyes from seeing far. It cripples their minds from thinking big. Political opportunism is anti-progress. It is a child of intellectual hollowness. And this is why I find opponents of Tobong’u Lore a sinful lot that should be thrown away.

Long live our people’s culture!

Lemukol Ng’asike is an Architect. Email: lemoseh89@gmail.com . Twitter: @mlemukol

Turkana's economy can't be built on contracts alone

I have always thought that to infiltrate the mind of a pastoralist with a view to introducing therein other profitable economic ventures is the hardest challenge pro-empowerment champions face. With time, and more so with County Governments in place, I have come to realize that my earlier judgment was wrongly placed, and that, the real obstacle rests not in active pastoralists but in the hearts, minds and spirits of those who abandoned pastoralism – those people occupying public offices, in business or in high-paying NGO bodies.

                                                         

Let's take Turkana County as our specimen. For everyone but the classes of persons I have mentioned above, the economy of Turkana is broken, premised on sandy foundation and in need of renewal – serious renewal.

This is why. One thing: The fallacy that doing business with the Turkana County Government spreads benefits across all social classes in the county must be ventilated. For without this step, our empowerment evangelism won't go far.

There is something horribly unpleasant when county government contracts become the bedrock of the economy. That it is normal to have lobbyists and political go-betweens cashing in for ensuring that contracts go to their sponsors, then you get to know that the connection between poverty economy and political domination is alive. And majority of innocent Turkana people are victims of this dominance.

These points don't just highlight the issues of inequality and the diminishing influence of the citizens. They bring to the fore the reasons with which to attack the very heart of this poverty business. They also indicate the birthplace of county elitist mindsets and how they shape political thinking and control of the masses at the grassroots.

Besides, they push us to ask questions such as: Why should ordinary persons permanently close their businesses in favour of county government contracts if they aren't assured that they will secure them? What materializes this kind of hope? What impact does this kind of engagement bring to the quality of works or services rendered by the said persons? And crucially, how do we assess that public largess isn't reduced to private wealth to be doled out to those deemed to be in the "correct books"?

The story goes that in Lodwar town, to be a millionaire (at least by meeting local standards) one must "work" with county government. And to know who "works" with the county government, take a look at their private projects and the duration in which it took to bring them up.

Of greater scrutiny here is how this contract thing will kill democracy. It is common knowledge that political freedom backed not by economic growth is a farce – a deadly one. For real pro-people democracy finds it fit to demolish any thoughts that give rise to groupings whose interest is to accumulate power and economic dominance so as to pursue the interests of the plutocracy.

Turkana County is no different from this. It is crystal clear that poverty in connection with political generosity have dominated rulers-wananchi dialogue in this part of the world. Now the question is, how worse will this be if this contract thing takes root? Will the populace be liberated from the control of pro-poverty honchos?

Again, won't banking on contracts as the only means of subsistence create a conditioned class of citizens who will rather ignore the faults of their leaders so as to not jeopardize their chances of getting contracts? Aren't we already on the path of this self-backed destruction?

My message to all those who love Turkana and its humongous mass of poor, ill-informed people: Turkana's economy can't be built on contracts alone. We must get it right from now henceforth.

Lemukol Ng'asike is an Architect. Email: lemoseh89@gmail.com. Twitter: @mlemukol.

Lodwar town is symbolic of only-for-the-rich urbanisation

What devolution has done to promote urban growth is good. However, for emerging towns like Lodwar a new breed of thoughts and actions remain the only way possible to ensure that this devolution-induced urban growth isn't a replica of the same errors that have rendered urban areas a preserve of the moneyed. 

One of these errors revolves around the real meaning of urban growth. For the case of Lodwar, growth (which is actually taken to mean urbanisation) is represented by how parcels of land along roads, rivers or other strategic positions are privately developed. One may be excused to believe that these listed points reflect the potential of the town hence necessitating the current high-powered scramble for land.

Yes, this may be the case. But there is also another scenario that I think will be worth examining. What is important here is not the fact that people are crowding in certain places that are perceived to be the economic mainstays of our towns. It is why authorities do not see it fit to open up all corners of our towns. 

I refuse to believe that revenue shortfall has hampered urban policy implementation. Quite a number of solid reasons exist. One is official laziness. This flows from the very thinking that officials need not “interrupt” what the public believes is good even when studies or other credible evidence prove otherwise. A case in point is when people build haphazardly despite the fact that building standards are well documented. In other cases, officials employ a wait-and-see mentality. They intervene only when a member of the society walks to their offices.

The resultant effect is that town planning is reduced to a product of individual demands with the main objective being to ensure that any official step rhymes with what particular members of the public want to achieve. Not what furthers the interests of the public. Not what is spelt out in law or other government regulations. Of course this is the reason why even footpaths (corridors) are a rarity in Lodwar.

Again, it is becoming difficult to separate town planning from town building. The few encounters I have had with the public and Lodwar officialdom have brought me to the confusion that is Lodwar urbanisation. People, especially the influential, have this thinking that separating themselves from this other mass of inhabitants insulates them from the inefficiencies that have crippled Lodwar town.  

The general public too is of the view that structures popping up around town contribute to that pool of qualifications that Lodwar needs to be graded as a growing urban center.

Now, this is what is happening. Poor people occupying places that are deemed to be “prime” are easily convinced that disposing off their lands and thereafter relocating to the peripheries of the town will cushion them from the “ridicule” of owning a manyatta in a “modern” walled neighbourhood.

Though these transactions may sound voluntary, their repercussions make it important to regulate them. Lodwar town is trying to give life to this theory that slums are not always a result of land scarcity but self-induced greed powered by ignorance and government's stand-and-watch sort of interventions. 

Hence begging the questions: Why is planning of this town not prioritised to save it from being a hub of slums and social inequality? If poor people have voluntarily decided to sell their prime plots in order to move to the peripheries of the town, why not follow them with the basics like water, schools and security? 

Finally, urban growth is not always about tall buildings and beautiful roads. It is also about clean air and presence of public parks. Lodwar has no clean air because its natural environment is under threat from a few land-thirsty people. The Turkana County Government must protect and develop these public spaces for the safety of all.

Lemukol Ng'asike is an architect. Email: lemoseh89@gmail.com. Twitter: @mlemukol.