Why does tribalism define Kenya’s politics? “Evolutionary mismatch - the whispers of 10,000 generations”

Why do many people make the political decisions they take at elections and referendums and seconds later come to regret such decisions?

Why do we make bad personal and political decisions? Why do many people choose to do things like binge drinking, binge eating, taking drugs and other self-destructive habits that serve a short-term desire but produce long term deadly outcomes?

Within the last two years, many political decisions have been made that will ultimately change the direction of the world. Some people have supported these decisions and backtracked later.

In the US. it is no more news that Donald Trump is in control of one of the world’s biggest democracies.

In Europe, the talk has been Brexit and its impact to almost everything. I have had arguments from various Brexiteers who have even shifted their mind 360?.

This article offers a few reflections on the recently held Kenyan elections. The most divisive elections in Kenya’s History.

Many critics have questioned whether Kenya could be said to have an election at all or whether this is simply a tribal census. This ‘tribal census’ consciousness is a tragedy, no wonder there are ongoing tensions every 5 years whenever elections are held in Kenya, in 2008 alone over 1, 200 people lost their lives and over 350, 000 people were displaced in post-election violence.

Following the August 8th, 2017 polls, already at least 25 people have been killed by armed police, including a 6-month-old child. It is a tragedy that in our day police use live bullets to maim and kill innocent citizens and yet the Kenyan media has generally been quiet on this and the government has even disputed what even the Kindergarten child can see as innocent citizens being butchered by the very police who are meant to protect them.

Many people will struggle to find logical reasons why they vote tribally. Why is tribalism such a strong factor to the extent that some people think Kenyans will always vote along tribal lines? Even some well meaning elite individuals have come out to shun against any tribal sentiments; but still such individuals find it difficult to resist the urge to vote for their tribal kingpins! Among many other answers to this question, there is a response that is generally missing in the discourse on why people vote along tribal lines.

I think people vote for their tribal kingpins mainly because of what has been referred to as “evolutionary mismatch - the whispers of 10,000 generations”. Precisely, there seems to be an evolutionary mismatch between how traditional African societies have evolved and the complexity of the modern world. This is not a scenario that is limited to Africa but I will focus my discussion there for now.

This is a very complex field, so I find it helpful to gain some insights from Wikipedia which explains that: “Evolutionary mismatch, also known as mismatch theory or evolutionary trap, is a concept in evolutionary biology that refers to evolved traits that were once advantageous but became maladaptive due to changes in the environment. This can take place in humans and animals and is often attributed to rapid environmental change.”

In Things Fall Apart, the father of African literature Chinua Achebe (1958) says it all.  “The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.” The message is clear here that, the very foundations of the African world is shaking and everything seems to be in a state of chaos, thus fuelling a scenario of evolutionary mismatch.

10, 000 years ago Africans lived in small communities or societies and given that survival was tough they basically co-depended on each other for survival; to be banished away from the community was basically knocking on death’s door. Fast forward 10, 000 years to today, life has greatly changed with cosmopolitanism; we live in the global world whereas our thinking is still caught up in the whispers of 10, 000 generations. Many Kenyans will spend time discussing global issues such as UK football premiership, Hollywood Blockbuster movies, celebrity gossip and world politics and still vote as they would have 10, 000 years ago.

There is a Cambodian proverb that does seem to reinforce this “whispers of 10,000 generations” mentality. It simply states, “Don't take the straight path or the winding path. Take the path your ancestors have taken."  This partly explains why tribalism is going to be a major factor even for another 10, 000 years unless the young people begin to challenge the tribal sentiments and rise to the politics of policy. The Buddha said it best: "If you want to know the past, look at your present life. If you want to know the future, look at your present."

It is sad that the “politics of patronage” which operated in precolonial Africa still occupies a significant place in Kenyan politics. What do I mean by politics of patronage? This is where in pre-colonial communities: the local ‘big men’ e.g. society elders exercised authority by sharing out their wealth – in exchange the recipients of this redistribution, the less well off or the poor had to render obedience. The current voter bribery phenomena in many African countries is only a refurbished form of this system of political patronage. My paternal grandmother as many other people today bought into this mentality, she used to say, “Whoever gives me something to eat, will have my vote.” What a sorry situation.

This politics of patronage paved way for negative tribalism – many Africans have forgotten that the current form of tribal programming hardly existed a century ago; for Kenya’s case, tribes only become significant during the British colonial era in Kenya. Historians and philosophers point out that the British introduced ethnically defined administrative units in Kenya. Consequently, at independence in the 1950’s and 1960’s what then happened is that these tribes or ethnic groups became the bedrock for ‘political tribes’ or tribal politics.  Kenya’s subsequent presidents and their governments have used these waves to rise into power. So, whoever can’t stomach voting for a member of another tribe simply on the grounds of ethnic differences is only championing the colonial mandate.

Today there is one man who Africa cannot afford to ignore; this is no other than the Pan-Africanist and law Professor, P.L.O Lumumba. There is a major problem not only with the African breed of leaders but with the electorate as well. Professor Lumumba has severally pointed out how the electorate is blameworthy for continuously voting candidates to positions of power based on several wrong reasons instead of competence. Prof Lumumba writes:

“And if the leaders of Africa are guilty, and I want to submit to you that they are guilty, we the population are also in equal guilt because whenever we are given the opportunity to engage in elections, we elect individuals on the basis of the ethnic extraction and on the basis of the depth of their pockets.” 

What is the solution to the negative tribalism? I find no better answer than from one of the most influential women in Africa’s history. Professor Wangari Maathai in the book, The Challenge for Africa proposes that “Africans must make a deliberate choice to move forward together toward more cohesive macro-nations, where all can feel free, secure, and at peace with themselves and others, where there is no need for any group to organize violence against neighbours. Then, everyone would begin to reap the benefits of unity in diversity.” This will turn African countries into beacons of cohesion, harmony, justice and finally genuine peace. This requires a generational leap of faith to shape a different destiny.

To those preaching peace in Africa, think about this, peace does not mean simply accepting the status quo and moving on, peace implies justice, fairness and equal distribution of resources.

Let’s deal with the tribal evolutionary mismatch and fix our continent one step at a time.

Note:  Many thanks for reading this article, this blog is part of my next book: Awakening the African Mindset: How to shift Africa from a sorry state into a success story. To be published in 2018. Please spend 2 minutes to leave a comment – Your comments will greatly enhance this project. To learn more and for my subsequent blogs remember to like my facebook page -  A Winning Character.