NRM leader Raila Odinga. [Photo/zipo.co.ke]
After losing elections two times to President Uhuru Kenyatta, NASA leader Raila Odinga now appears keen with a futile attempt to tear the country apart. Raila, now the leader of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), has sponsored a Bill in the National Assembly that calls for secession of 40 counties from the country. The Bill, by Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma, is likely to be rejected in the National Assembly, as the country can’t afford to be torn into pieces for the sake of satisfying the selfish ambitions of one man. Members of a typical Kenyan family live in different parts of the country, and if the push to break up the country was to be successful, that would be tantamount to splitting families, as one will need a passport to see their brother, sister or parent. Kenyans, who are represented by MPs at the national level, will reject this ridiculous proposal with totality. Political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi has argued that Raila, who has no solid plan on what to do in the current situation in the country, is a gambler who is testing different ideas to see which one will work. The ODM leader, who dropped out of the presidential race at the last minute in what analysts saw as an attempt to avoid a humiliating defeat by President Kenyatta, started with masterminding a judicial coupe to get to State House through the back door, using his NRM militia to stop the October 26 elections, suggesting fresh elections within 90 days, boycott of key products, formation of people’s assemblies and now secession. He hopes one of these plans will somehow get him to State House.He seems to have fully given up on winning any electoral contest against President Kenyatta, who has been beating him by a wider margin every time a new poll is held. By calling for the formation of a new country, which he hopes to rule considering President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will not be there, it is now clear Raila is determined to do anything — even at the expense of Kenyan families staying together— to ascend to power. Unfortunately for him, his plan has no path to success. It will die on arrival at the floor of the national assembly. Kenyans have remained one people for many decades. The ambitions of one politician will not tear the country apart.