Tupo katika wakati mgumu ambapo nafasi za ubunge zinageuka kuwa njia ya kupima bahati badala ya ujuzi na uwezo wa kiuongozi. Vigezo vya msingi kama “kujua kusoma na kuandika” haviwezi kuwa kipimo sahihi cha mtu anayepewa dhamana ya kutunga sheria, kusimamia rasilimali za taifa, na kuwakilisha wananchi kimataifa.
Leo hii, tunashuhudia watu wasiokuwa na weledi, maadili wala maono wakichukua fomu za kugombea wengine wakiwa ni wahuni wa mitandaoni, madalali wa siasa, au watu waliofungiwa kwenye sekta nyingine wakikimbilia ulingo wa siasa kama njia ya mwisho ya kusafisha majina yao. Hawa si viongozi, hawa ni political liabilities kwa taifa letu.
Kuwapitisha watu hawa ni kuitia doa heshima ya Bunge. Wataharibu hadhi ya taifa, watawakilisha ujinga na mihemko badala ya hoja na busara. Tukikubali mwelekeo huu, tutazidi kuzaa bunge lililojaa kelele, vijembe na migogoro badala ya mijadala ya kitaifa yenye tija.
Ushauri kwa Taifa:
Ni wakati wa kurekebisha vigezo vya ustahiki wa ubunge. Tunahitaji mchakato unaopima zaidi ya uwezo wa kusoma—tuangalie uwezo wa kufikiri kimkakati, maadili, historia ya uwajibikaji, na mchango kwa jamii. Taifa haliwezi kukombolewa kwa kukumbatia watu waliokosa misingi ya uongozi bora.
Heshima ya Bunge ni heshima ya wananchi. Tuikatae hadithi ya kwamba kila mtu anaweza kuongoza, leadership is not default, it is earned.
Katika mfumo wa demokrasia, vigezo vya elimu rasmi vinatakiwa viwe vidogo kabisa, kama hicho cha kujua kusoma na kuandika.
Sababu ni kwamba, kila unavyozidi kuongeza viunzi vya elimu rasmi kama sifa za kustahili kupigiwa kura, ndivyo unavyoipunguza haki ya watu kumchagua mtu wanayemtaka.
Suppose mnaweka kigezo cha degree kwenye ubunge, halafu watu wa kijijini matatizo yao wana mtu wao ambaye wanamtaka, wanamuamini, wanajua anayajua matatizo yao, huyo ndiye chaguo lao. Lakini hana degree, hapo utakuwa umewanyima watu hao demokrasia ya kumchagua mtu wanayemtaka wao.
Katika nchi ambayo miongoni mwa watu wake wenye sifa za kupiga na kupigiwa kura, ni chini ya 10% tu wana degree, ukiweka kiwango cha degree kama sifa ya kupigiwa kura, kimsingi hapo umewakata watu 90% wasipate haki ya kikatiba ya kugombea uongozi.
Sasa demokrasia inayowachuja 90% ya watu kabla uchaguzi haujaanza ni demokrasia gani hiyo?
Kwa kutambua hili jambo, nchi ambazo zimefanya demokrasia kwa muda mrefu kulinganisha na sisi, mfano nchi kama Uingereza na Marekani, hazina kiwango cha elimu kwa wawakilishi. In fa t Matekani wana historia ndefu yenye controversy kubwa kuhusu kuwapa watu mitigani kabla ya kupiga kura, jambo ambalo lilionekana kugubikwa na tuhuma za ubaguzi wa rangi.
Watu kama rais Harry Truman, Mawaziri Wakuu kama Winston Churchill na John Major wa UK hawakuwa na degree, lakini waliongoza nchi vizuri yu.
Mtu kama rais wa Brazil wa leo, Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva, hana degree, lakini amefanya kazi kubwa sana kwenye vyama vya wafanyakazi kiasi wa Brazil wamempigia kura awe rais wao mara tatu, na amefanya vizuri.
More than someone having a degree, I think the reason why one or doesn't have a degree is equally interesting. Kuna watu hawajasoma si kwa sababu hawana akiki, ila kwa sababu hawakuwa na nafasi tu.
Kuna arrogance fulabi ya kisomi inayotaka kutuambia kuwa usomi wa darasani ndio utatupa ufanisi katika uongozi. Katika nchi yetu tumeona wasomi wengi wakifanya mambo ya kijinga. Andrew Chenge amesoma mpaka Harvard lakini katupiga pesa bila maadili, kisha alivyofumwa katuambia hivi ni vijisenti tu. Prof. Tibaijuka alituambia hizi ni hela za mboga tu. Pius Msekwa, a constitutional lawyer, alivyohojiwa na kubanwa alisema watu waache wivu wa kike. Mkapa kasoma mpaka Columbia, kaja kuuza mashirika ya umma kijinga na kula pesa za EPA mpaka katubu kwenye kitabu chake.
Hao ndio wasomi tunaotaka wawe na monopoly ya kuongiza nchi bila common sense ya wasio wasomi?
Ukichunguza sana kwetu utaona hata hao wanaoitwa wasomi usomi wao hauwasaidii, sanasana unawajengea arrogance na kuwafanya wajinga tu.
Now don't get me wrong, Ia m not anti intellectual by any chance. I respect intellectuallism. But I want to stress the importance of democracy, as well as stress that what we need to do is educate a large part of the population, by doing so, parliamentary entrance standards automatically will go up. Raising this artificially will be very undemocratic and will potentially rob us of unconventionally educated people like Lula da Silva.
We like shortcuts. This business of raising MPs education is a shortcut. Because if the masses are not educated, raising MPs education is worthless. MPs need to know they are accountable to an educated and questioning populace. If you do not have that populace and you have a parliament full of PhDs, the PhDs will find a way to manipulate the masses and live like princes theough theft and corruption.
Our current government for example, has no shortage of people with degrees up yo PhDs. But it is failing woefully.
Why?
It is not because of lack of formal education. It is because of lack of accountability.