M’IRUCHU: The problem with Kenyans and the rational way in which Uhuru is tackling Covid-19 crisis

The late Nigeria writer, Chinua Achebe, wrote a small book called The Trouble with Nigeria.

In this book, he articulated the problems that faced Nigeria. A reading of the book gives you the impression that Nigeria's problems are a copy of Kenya's tribalism, indiscipline, corruption, poor leadership, general disorganization, etc.

But there is one problem that is uniquely Kenyan, or at least some Kenyans - the irrational opposition to anything their President says or does.

On Monday, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced a range of measures meant to curb the spread of COVID-19. They included stiffer measures such as restricting movement into and out of the four counties of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi, which are the epicenter of the virus in Kenya.

The measures also included allocating Ksh2 billion of monies recovered from corruption and the re-allocation of all travel budgets towards fighting COVID-19.

These measures were in addition to other measures the government had announced earlier, such as a raft of tax incentives never before witnessed in Kenya, allocating KSh. 7 billion saved from his government's demonetization last year to COVID-19 efforts and setting up a COVID-19 Emergency Fund that is already mobilizing resources that will be used in mitigating the effects of the pandemic on Kenyans.

Together with other African leaders, President Kenyatta is pushing for a debt repayment moratorium and has already appealed to both bilateral and multilateral sources for further assistance.

More significantly, the President is coming out as firm, focused and deliberative.

While other presidents like Rodrigo Roa Duterte of the Philippines are ordering that their citizens be shot dead for flouting lockdown regulations, President Kenyatta is apologizing for police excesses.

While Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame, both with a guerilla background, have announced highly inconveniencing impromptu lockdowns and poured their armies into the streets, President Kenyatta has kept the army in the barracks but told them to prepare fully in case they are needed.

While President Donald Trump has been dilly-dallying, President Kenyatta is tightening the noose around the neck of this pandemic - announcing stiffer but considered measures every other day while being careful not to leave people locked down in complete helplessness.

The rational way in which the President is tackling the crisis has won the admiration of Tanzanians, who are now saying that they want Uhuru as their president.

But some Kenyans are inexplicably livid and are up in arms against their President, sponsoring hashtags like #Uhurumustgo and #LockDownEffect

They are conveniently overlooking all necessary measures the President has taken to protect Kenyans and instead attacking him for any initiative that he is taking to give hope to Kenya and to show that life must go on and that there will be life after COVD-19.

For instance, the President announced an initiative his government has started in collaboration with Google to enhance broadband connectivity in Kenya using balloons high up in the sky.

Negative propaganda against this initiative focused on the balloons, which were equated with birthday balloons for kids, with their purpose being completely ignored.

Yet every projection of the during-COVID and post-COVID era shows that the one thing that will be required in all countries is a robust internet as this pandemic forces us to work from home and, more significantly, our kids to be educated online.

Then the President had a video conference with Brenda and Brian, the first survivors of the disease in Kenya. Again, this was turned into a major issue yet offering hope is what Presidents do all the time. Some Kenyans are the type of people who would attack the Pope for kissing a baby.

In Monday's speech, detractors identified one thing - the allocation of Ksh100 million to musicians. The narrative has now been twisted to appear as if the President is bribing musicians yet all that he is doing is ensuring that they get their dues, which corrupt people have been stealing from them.

It is interesting that some of those who are pushing this line are linked to an ambitious politician who has been paying musicians in the Mt. Kenya region to compose music for his political campaigns. They see the elimination of exploitation of musicians as a scheme to remove their dependence on political handouts.

This is the point - most of the negative propaganda opposing the president's initiative against COVID-19 is sponsored by politicians who think that if Uhuru looks effective in combating this pandemic, it will affect their fortunes in the 2022 succession. It has not occurred to them that the President could actually be focused on saving Kenyans.