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Monday, July 4, 2011

Uneducated Ogadenis

It turns out that Kenya is run by insufficiently educated batshit civil servants. But more worrying is the fact that there are only four (yes, 4) Ogadenians with University degrees in the civil service making for a whopping 0.00000921% of the entire body according to an audit done by the government.

The main take away from the audit is that Kenya is a mafia state where cronyism and nepotism pervade all facets of life and commerce. This is illustrated by the sheer dominance of Kikuyus and Kalenjins in public sector empoyment and the cyclical rise in their hiring as the presidency changed hands between men with allegiance to these two tribes.

Garissa's  lack of  marquee schools, assiduous students and politicians eager to promote education makes me all the more skeptical that this trend will self correct in the long run. For all its new found 'wealth,' Garissa has never been synonymous with producing scholars, public thinkers or political heavy weights. Most influential Somali Kenyans mainly hail from Mandera and to a lesser extent Wajir.

We on other hand are famous for sending an illiterate snake-oil-salesman and a self-promoting gangster to parliament for the last three and half decades.

That said, what needs greater discussion is whether this points to a disinterest in education by Ogadenians or a disinclination towards seeking employment in the public sector? Is the representation of educated Garissians in the private sector greater than in the PSC? These are questions that need your input..(i.e the reader) but I personally have a hard time coming up with names of  successful businessmen whose roots are in Garissa and whose wealth is not tainted by corruption and crony capitalism.

Oh, and don't mention Mahat Kunow...He is illiterate and his philanthropy, while admirable, is deeply flawed because it entirely focuses on missionary style Madrassas and completely sidelines formal education.

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