By Farah Maalim
There is no denying the fact that Raila Odinga is the best candidate in Cord in terms of experience,the sacrifice made this far and the capacity to lead.
Twice in the last two elections his victory has been stolen. From the way things are shaping UP, I see something similar being worked out if Raila goes to
the ballot one more time.
There is no better person than Raila in the race. But exigencies of time call for sacrifices because, ultimately, this country is bigger than its
constituent parts.
The exigencies demand Cord goes for the second-best candidate to save the country from all thismalaise we are being confronted with. It’s time for
Raila to support somebody else in 2017. It is the only fair thing to do at this time to save our dear country, because the State is more divided and even more bloody minded.
There is fatigue all over. Kenyans are tired and they are about to throw in the towel, literally. Powerful forces in the opposition need to have a rethink. See what is happening in Western Kenya among the Kisii and Luhya and in Eastern, Ukambani land. We are not sure whether the Kamba can vote for Cord if the prevailing mood remains.
The only way to beat this fatigue is to rekindle the hope of the people and change the game plan. This will be some kind of a new deal, new hope that will
reinvigorate the opposition.
In my view, let Raila get somebody else for one term, i.e. the five years between 2017 and 2022. Raila can take the position of Cabinet Secretary in charge of Coordination and Supervision. Together with the President, they can re-start the reform process to revise everything that has been used to rig elections in the last 10 years.
We need to restructure the Central Bank, the
military, the police, Intelligence service, which, in
one way or the other, have been used to siphon off
public funds for the purpose of rigging elections to
protect a minority elite from two tribes. After these
reforms are undertaken Raila can still contest in
2022 and deliver his dream for Kenya.
For Cord to win, we need to win a two-thirds
majority that will make it impossible to lose as was
the case in 2002 and the best way for this to
happen is for Raila to endorse another candidate.
If Raila has been demonised to the extent that
some people are scared of him, he can validate the
situation by repackaging himself.
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