Level 3: Contemporary Culture affecting Mavoko

Corruption and poor leadership take us to the third level of problem:

The way we as a group collectively think. Our collective way of thinking has been corrupted by poor and corrupt leaders who are bankrupt of any decency. Corruption is now our culture and is responsible for our poor status. There are elements in our way of thinking and doing things that pull us backwards. As a man thinketh, so is he.

Think about this: why are we Africans the poorest on earth, yet we live in the best continent. Why does Africa wallow in poverty, ignorance, and disease whenever we are, whether we are minority of the majority, whether we lead the country or we are refugees or immigrant? Why does the African church preach a Great Almighty God and preside over poor parishioners? Why are we hungry, fighting to just stay alive, while other people have surplus resources to waste? Tell me why a Singaporean on average is over 30 times richer than a Kenyan? Tell me why we walk backwards: why was education, health and security, and job opportunities better in the 1970s and 1980s than now? Tell me why!

Is this honorable in sight of God?

Do you know why we cannot help ourselves? Because we Kenyans, we Africans, we are damaged goods. Damaged by the corrupt leadership we have had for a long time. It corrupted our thinking. And because we are damaged, that is why we do what we don't want to do. We vote in the wrong people, even though we know we shouldn't.

When we are alone in our closets, we know what to do. But when we come together in the marketplace, collectively thinking, we do what we don't want to do.

Look at us! We clean our houses … but litter our streets! Our so-called leaders wrecked our hospitals, then spend more money to fly their patients abroad. And when they die, they spend more during their funeral than on their hospital beds. Our leaders ruined the education system and then spend fortunes to educate their children abroad! What a tragedy!

We are damaged! Our soul as a nation is broken. Our bankrupt-corrupt-demon-possessed leaders have created in us a monster of a culture that makes us do what we know we should not do. We are hostages of this demonic value system that steals and destroys and kills everything in its wake! A culture of corruption and decay. Everything we touch stinks!

But … can we change! We can lift ourselves from the bottom of the pile, from the ash heap, and rise up to sit at the table with other princes? Yes, we can. We can change our collective psyche and transform our culture.

That's my call – to change the way we think and act to better ways. This will solve the third level problem.