By MURITHI MUTIGA
In Summary
- In the event, Raila gave a sparkling performance offering a peek into what a success he can be if he decides to join the club of grandees of African politics such as Mbeki, Mogae and Rawlings and moves away from active politics.
- In his heart of hearts and as one of the most astute students of Kenyan politics, Raila must know he lost the election.
The two sides of Raila Odinga were on display this past week. The first was at a dinner organised by The Times newspaper, which was hosting a summit on Africa’s economic prospects.
Raila was the main speaker and there was a great sense of anticipation among the audience in London.
What kind of speech would he give? Would he emerge as a bitter, resentful figure and urge investors to stay away from Kenya?
Or would he rise above the disappointment of
defeat and, like the Ghanaian, South African and Nigerian political and
business leaders present, put forward the case that with its strikingly
young population, expanding middle class and improving macro-economic
situation, Africa was the place for smart business people to take their
money?
In the event, Raila gave a sparkling performance
offering a peek into what a success he can be if he decides to join the
club of grandees of African politics such as Mbeki, Mogae and Rawlings
and moves away from active politics.
Hold the attention
He opened with a joke. It is not easy, he said, to
hold the attention of an audience which was being treated to such a
sumptuous dinner.
He went on to make a forceful pitch for investors
to take their money to Kenya and laid out an elaborate case for the Lamu
port project in particular.
The next day, the other Raila – the partisan
rabble-rouser – was on display. He met a group of Cord supporters at a
hotel and railed against the election result.
Not content with disputing the legal basis for the
decision of the Supreme Court, he questioned the integrity of the
judges. And he followed that up with a call for the disbandment of the
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. He also suggested he
may soon make his way back to Parliament.
His advisers should counsel against taking that option. He would gain little by being a backbencher.
Play the role
By contrast, Raila would be a giant among men if
he decided to play the role of international statesman by, say, starting
an institute to study the role of ethnicity in African politics and
proposing a new type of politics.
The role of oppositionist makes him look like a
small, insignificant man. His recent attacks on the Supreme Court and
the IEBC are particularly ill-judged.
In his heart of hearts and as one of the most astute students of Kenyan politics, Raila must know he lost the election.
The Kalenjin Nation was the Ohio state of the 2013
presidential election. Every serious ODM strategist knew Odinga needed
to win at least 40 per cent of the vote there to stand a chance of
victory. When Uhuru polled 90 per cent in most Rift Valley polling
stations, the game was up.
Supreme Court
All the rest of the talk about EVIDs, BVRs and
other equipment is just baseless navel gazing. The Supreme Court was not
presented with anything close to a case which would have prompted them
to take the unprecedented decision of overturning the result of a
presidential election.
That notwithstanding, Raila can go down in history as a truly great African.
His efforts have helped Kenya make dramatic
democratic gains and emerge today as one of the most advanced and
respected nations on the continent.
If the country meets its Vision 2030 goals, it
will be as much because of Raila as anyone else and because of his role
in averting civil war in 2007/8 in particular.
The alternative is for Raila to go back to the
opposition benches and become known to history as an eternal
oppositionist and perennial loser in the mould of the DRC’s Étienne
Tshisekedi.
Murithi Mutiga is the Special Projects Editor, Sunday Nation mmutiga@ke.nationmedia.com
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