Nasa leader Raila Odinga is welcomed in Jersey City, New Jersey, on November 11, 2017. [Photo/nation.co.ke]National Resistance Leader Raila Odinga has said that he does not support secession calls being fronted by some key members of his coalition.Odinga, however, says he understands why some are calling for the move."I’ve said it in another forum that we are for a strong unitary nation of Kenya. The reasons why you see people talk about the possibility of secession are signs or symptoms of frustrations," he said in New Jersey, US last weekend.But why will Raila not just support secession while it seems his supporters are fired up and are ready to embrace this option?First, according to him, Kenyans have a clear sense of their destiny with history and understand the role they have played in bringing about a more tolerant united society through the decades-long struggle for justice.
This, he says, is why NRM's leadership is centered on a campaign of peaceful resistance to an unlawfully constituted authority.
Second, secession isn't an easier option. It is good to note that this is not the first time secession calls are dominating the national conversation. After independence, the North Eastern Kenya wanted to secede and join Somalia. This, however, ended in a bloody crackdown led by Kenyan soldiers. So was the case with the Coast region secessionist movement, MRC.Finally, failing secessionist movements elsewhere. In Europe, the Catalan region of Spain declaration of independence was quashed and the secessionist leader fled to exile. In the Middle East, Kurdistan region of Iraq leader was forced to resign after his secession agenda failed. In Africa, Nigeria's Biafra region and Cameroon's English-speaking region secession dreams remain untenable, at least for now.