Oral East Africa
At the 30th Jaramogi Oginga Odinga memorial, Raila Odinga chose a unique topic for which he wished to rewrite, his father’s history.
Mr Odinga drew parallels between post-colonial era Luo politicians’ legacy on education claiming his father supported over 5,000 Kenyans to study abroad as compared to ‘the airlift’ which he says only took 300 Kenyans.
The famous ‘airlift’ which US President Barack Obama’s father was among its benficiaries, was patronized by Tom Mboya, Mr Oginga’s regional rival.
“Through Jaramogi’s programs, there were 5000 Kenyans who went to study in university, that was Jaramogi’s initiative which has never been recognized or appreciated. People only highlight the 300 or so people who were taken by airlift and from Embakasi to New York.
But it is a drop of water in the ocean, by comparison to many Kenyans who studied through Jaramogi’s initiative, first in India, then in those other countries, then in the UK and the United states. People like Hilary Ngweno studied in Harvard and was sponsored by Jaramogi,” Mr Odinga said.
You can ask them
As if to clear doubt Mr Odinga dropped some names, Luo elites who benefitted from his father’s bursaries. People like Odongo Mago, Omollo Kero, Tom Okello odongo, Odero Jowie, Akok Ombuya, Maoro Okeyo
And out there, Joe Karanja, who became the first commissioner in London, the vice chancellor University of Nairobi and vice president; Henry Warigi, the first member of parliament for Mukuruweini, Kalembe Ndile who was MP for Kibwezi, Omoto Masakhalia, SM Otieno.
All those are students who Jaramogi sent to India, this was long before airlift. So the Indian package was much earlier than the airlift, which had only about 300 people, Mr Odinga said.
When everyone is fundraising for burseries
Raila’s choice of speech and its historical context tends to demonstrate how politics intersects with educational aspirations and just why bursaries will mould future leaders
Bursaries have inadvertently become hot topic as tax increases in Kenya hurt education spending increasing the number of needy children at risk of dropping out of school.
Workers have lost their jobs, or large chunks of their pay slips to state taxes; which support large numbers of rural households in the high dependency country like Kenya.
The result has been over 130,000 children who sat the country’s last 8-4-4 system risk being locked out of education opportunities for good as Kenya makes a shift in its education curriculum.
Various scholarship and bursary schemes offered by both the government and corporates have not been enough to cover a rise in number of drop out cases.
WhatsApp groups are fundraising for children who are unable to pay school fees while social media pages are full of minors holding placards asking well-wishers to help them with school fees to continue their education.
Politicians looking for photo ops
The government seems unable to do anything on spending on curbs under the International Monetary Fund programme that has seen a decline in education spending.
In its place politicians are stepping up publicly declaring they would sponsor some of the children through schools. Some are realizing the numbers are overwhelming and resorting to insults to stop the queues outside their offices.
Raila Odinga whose last stab at presidency carried the tag of dynasty- as the children of independence era leaders, wants to shed it off for his cloak as a man of the people.
In his speech he thanked his father for having moved him from Kisumu to the village school. There, despite losing two years of education because the teachers considered him too small, was where he learned the heart of the peasant. The experience also taught him his fathers view on education.
Politics of scholarships
He said when Jaramogi resigned from Maseno he went to set up a business in Kisumu. Jaramogi constructed a building at the center of Kisumu here, called Ramogi house, in 1951. The next year wrote to the Governor through the Provincial Commissioner to come and officially open the building.
While the Europeans refused the invite stating that colonial apartheid policy dictated that the center of town was only for Europeans and Asians races, newly Independent India was too willing to grace the commissioning.
Kisumu the lake side city that grew out of the end of the Lunatic express built by Indian collies has a long running history with India. At one time Asians made up a quarter of its population mostly Indian traders and its name from the local native Luo translates directly from ‘sumo’, barter trade.
The Indian high commissioner in Nairobi who was representing the whole of Eastern Africa, Shri Apa Saheb Pant came to Kisumu to open Ramogi house, and when he looked at it he was so impressed that he said, according to Mr Odinga, ‘People who are still struggling under colonial repression, can put up a building like this’.
He invited Jaramogi to go to India and see how Indians are working to reconstruct their country after independence. It is on this trip that Jaramogi met the Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru and signed an agreement with the Indian government that he will send Kenyan students to go and study in India. So long as they get transport to get to India they will get Indian scholarship to study for free in Indian universities.
As education moves out of the reach of many Kenyans and personal and corporate relief can no longer withstand the waves of poor, talented young Kenyans it maybe time for someone to take our children to India, …or Finland.
Discover more from Oral East Africa
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
