BY COLLINS MABINDA
Let’s face it, the opposition as we know it today would never have been had it not been for Raila Odinga. He is the political gravitas of Kenya, and the fulcrum upon which the whole Kenyan political discourse revolves.
Make no mistake, he makes the news. I would even dare say he is more influential than President Uhuru Kenyatta. Which is why, journalists always seek his opinion on any issue of the day.
There have been suggestions that Cord is having a nightmare in selecting its Presidential flag bearer for the next election. The crux of the matter is that since Raila odinga ran in 2013, he should allow someone else among the Cord principals to run this time. Some of the names being propped up include that of Moses Wetang'ula, Kalonzo Musyoka, and lately, Ababu Namwamba.
However, here is the simple fact. None of the Cord principals is as steadfast in his opinions, as committed to the country’s liberation, as willful in his quest to keep the government in check as Raila Odinga is.
Yes, we often say parties should be about ideas and not personalities. But, make no mistake, parties are all about individuals – even in advanced Western democracies.
Think about the way Donald Trump is increasingly turning out to be the fulcrum of the Republican Party, or as Barack Obama and Bill Clinton were instrumental in reviving the fortunes of the Democratic Party.
Think of Britain’s Labour party’s spectacular collapse after the exiting from the stage of Tony Blair. So, yes, all these Western parties are all about ideals, but the parties only succeeded when the chief bearers of these ideals were able to bestride the electorate like a colossus.
Which is why, Raila is Cord and Cord is Raila. It is true Raila should at least groom some other people to take up the Cord leadership, but as things stand now, he best represents the vision of the party, and at the very least, an alternative vision of how the country should be governed.
In simple terms, Cord should let Raila Odinga run again in 2017. Ignoring this plain fact will once again consign the party to another long spell in the cold.
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