I speak for the African..

I have tried to describe myself in parameters that the world has set but none comes close to fully describe who I a am. The conclusion I have arrived at is that I am not a conservative, because I am open minded though I do not adopt new trends for the sake of it. I will say I am just not conventional, I will adopt a trend only if I am satisfied that it is for my good or the good of man kind.

I do not see why Africans, especially the youth should adopt and copy the trends in the West just to look cool. That the parametres of coolness or 'being there' are measured by how Western you are or rather by how much you can copy the styles of the West.

I appreciate beauty, even the subtle beauty that does not scream. I know African women are beautiful; who said that they have to put on hipsters to look cool. Not every hip looks good in a hipster, or even a trouser so it is better for some ladies to stick to skirts. It is prudent for people to understand their physique and dress them accordingly. Again, not every lady looks elegant in heels, some can save themselves from the torture.

What we fail to understand is that the masters of capitalism, which is also a western ideology spring up this trends to rip us of our cash. They know some copy cat cannot wait for what is next in line to buy. We roll over each other to catch what ends up to make the West more rich.

The lingo, oh my! we have our sheng they have their slung. Yet we cause our tongue mayhem just to adopt the lingo that suits a specific Harlem neighbour-hood. The biggest mistake was for our people to work so hard to be like the British. So much so that my people the Luo, who are known to adore their culture would discard the removal of six lower teeth as a way of initiation because the uninitiated  spoke 'better' English.

This has killed our creativity. You cannot express yourself artistically in a language you have not mastered. At the moment, our Kapuka music will never hit it big simply because our youth cannot express themselves fully in either English, Kiswahili or their mother tongue. They end up singing songs that cannot rule the airwaves for long. On the contrary, South Africans will sing and act in any of their Bantu languages and move the world.

This is the same misconception that rules our media houses. That one must have a certain twang to get the opportunity to go on air. The twang will have to be imposed if it does not come naturally. No wonder radio has become very boring.

To all this I say, we will remain the second best, we shall never compete with other people in their culture, what comes naturally to them. We can learn from them, and domesticate it, then grow it in our culture. Ask, Nigeria and South Africans. They have learned from the West but have come up with their own versions, that suits them in film and music.

We missed the boat a while back. The shift will have to be generational, so we have to nurture the younger generation to appreciate Kenyanese. That is the only way we will discover the KENYAN DREAM.