Levin Opiyo Odhiambo; The Marketer Turned Journalist In London Who is Helping Kenyans Re-learn Their History
By Silas Nyanchwani.
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.-Alvin Toffler, American author and futurist.One of the more obvious good things to come with the internet is the liberalization of knowledge, and increased access and distribution of information to impossible proportions.
Before the internet, in most countries, especially in Africa, knowledge and information was either scanty, or regulated by the government. Colonial histories of various African countries were mostly written by ruling regimes, and was always skewed in favour of the early rulers. Case in point is in Cameroon where the first president’s Ahmadou Ahidjo visual and audio references were erased, essentially erasing his memory from public consciousness, by President Paul Biya as soon as he settled in powerBut thankfully, the internet has opened doors to the past and young people are unlearning the nonsense they were taught in their History classes.Thanks to many young Africans who have gone for further studies abroad, and researchers who are unearthing the truth about our past every day, often coming up with shocking details.
One such African is Levin Odhiambo Opiyo, a Kenyan journalist and marketer who lives in London. Over the last few years, he has developed a cult following, individuals dedicated to his Facebook posts, mostly on Kenyan history that evoke comments from the Kenyan online community,“Judging by the number of inboxes and followers I receive in a day and complaints in my inboxes wherever I don’t post, the response has been overwhelming,” says Opiyo, who ended up in Journalism accidentally.
Levin Opiyo went to the United Kingdom to study Nuclear Physics at Nottingham Trent University but that proved too demanding. He proceeded to Anglia Ruskin University where he studied Business Marketing. To sharpen his marketing communication skills, he joined London School of Journalism for a post-graduate diploma in Journalism, where he incidentally graduated top of his class with a distinction.The marketer became a journalist and has not looked back. He took the niche of Kenyan history after getting access to rare archival footage; video and pictorial of Kenya, during the colonial and early post-colonial period. And with Facebook, he broke the mould by sharing the content freely when he would have raked millions from the same.
“The internet has really revolutionized how we collect and disseminate information ,people are able to access information just by a click and at their own comfort, journalists are also able to get immediate feedback on their work,” he told African Warrior Magazine.However, he points out that online journalism can easily affect’s one’s writing skills, more so on social media;“The type of attention and seriousness I dedicate to my Facebook posts is far less compared to the type of concentration and keenness I dedicate to say writing a thesis,” he says.
He updates his Facebook posts while walking, in the train to or from work and this can result in a lot of grammatical mistakes. But there is also another problem,“Online everyone is a "journalist" and most of them don't understand how the law and media work,” he says.Of all the footage Levin has ever shared online, the one of the then Kenya’s Vice President Daniel arap Moi (and soon to be second President) placing a phone call to President Jomo Kenyatta.“I don't know whether to describe it as sycophancy or loyalty, Moi was almost going on his knees,” Opiyo says.But the one that elicited the most reactions, was a post he made about certain leaders and Colonial Chiefs who met on the fringes of their reserve to condemn the murderous activities of Mau Mau.
“What surprised many was that people who are always regarded as heroes such as Eliud Mathu, James Gichuru and Harry Thuku were among those who condemned Mau Mau,” notes Opiyo.These very leaders would go into the Kenyan history books as the independent heroes with Mau Mau given a short shrift in school curricula.But does it really matter, since Africans have been accused of pathological apathy to reading, or even interest in Africa history? Opiyo disagrees: Africans are interested. But he has a rider. To him, Africans are interested in their history, but they don’t love reading. The spirit is willing but body is weak sort of way. Resultantly, Africans rely on propaganda, the reason the phrase “I heard” or “I was told” whenever they are confronted by facts is common in Africa.
His page, however has also proved the contrary; that younger Africans’ interest in their continent cannot be overemphasized.Popular as his Facebook page is with Kenya, Opiyo has been reluctant to commercialize the who enterprise, which potentially can rake in millions. He is not even in a hurry, “history belongs to the people, I don’t think I should be in a hurry,” he notes. But there is even a bigger huddle: Copyright issues. He does not own the archival footage and he knows it is unfair to profit from someone’s work without paying for it.
All the same, the footage has opened the window into the continent’s history.“History should provide a firm foundation on which we can build our future, but without proper unsanitized history education and access to documented historical materials we wont be able to learn ,instead we will continue repeating the same mistakes,” observes Opiyo.Nowhere in the world are historical mistakes. These mistakes started early. Those who brought independence to Africa participated in its plunder and home guards edged up really freedom fighters from the outset.During the struggle for independence Africans were one people fighting a common enemy: colonialism.
After independence as the new government moved towards the West and embraced capitalism it wasn't going to be easy for self confessed communists like Makhan Singh, Oginga Odinga ,Pio Gama Pinto and Fred Kubai, who demanded a more equitable society, to survive in the new Kenya. This was the trend all over Africa as it became a battleground for world powers during the cold war. And the divisions from the left and the right since independence have haunted Kenya and Africa ever since and over the years, it turned ethnic rivalry that has often turned bloody.In the ensuing ethnic rivalry, Opiyo, has remained a neutral commentator in a country that is deeply divided.
He comes from the Luo community that has had political rivalry with the Kikuyu community since the aforementioned fallout of Oginga Odinga, Kenya’s first leftist Vice President with President Kenyatta who leaned more on the side of capitalism.To date, Opiyo’s name has been a source of so many misconceptions. Since the internet is like a market where people sell different things, with political bloggers ,fashion bloggers and many more, there is a misconception among Kenyans that anyone who is online must be a political activist. This has led many people to accuse Levin to be what he is not.“I do have people who feel I am not loyal enough and others who will judge whatever i do based on my name.
The price of living in the diaspora
For Opiyo, like many Africans living in the west, the food and the weather a constant source of his woes. And then there is the issue of loneliness.However, what has baffled him the most is that when it comes to racial discrimination, he has never encountered it, unless it occurred without his knowledge. But there is a different form of discrimination;He has ben discriminated more by Africans than the Whites.“This is because Africans carry the same habits they had in Africa to Europe. A Nigerian manager will only hire Nigerians and a Ghanaian will only hire Ghanians and they'll frustrate you if you are not one of them.
Brexit and Africa’s future
According to Opiyo, Brexit is bad for Africa. All trade agreements that existed before have to be renegotiated and this takes a long time. The exit will also affect the development funds for poor African countries. Britain is the largest contributor of the to the European Development Fund which provides funds to developing countries. Therefore, Brexit will deprive the EDF the resources it needs to offer development assistance.This is happening at the time when Africa as a continent is not yet fully exploited.“It will be the next foreign investment destination. Its abundant natural resources, high population and high consumption makes it attractive and that’s the reason behind the modern scramble for Africa,”says Opiyo.
Bio
Levin Odhiambo Opiyo grew up in the slums of Nyalenda in Kisumu. He attended various Primary schools, private and public before sitting for his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) from Kassagam Primary School.
His father lost his job at then Kenya Railways before he joined Kisumu Boys High School.He never wanted to be a journalist. He went to the United Kingdom to study Nuclear Physics at Nottingham Trent, but dropped out due to the demanding program.
He went to Anglia Ruskin where he studied Business Marketing. To sharpen his marketing communication skills, he joined London School of Journalism for a post-graduate diploma in Journalism where he graduated top of his class with a distinction.
He is currently a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketers, a holder of Chartered Institute of Marketers Professional Diploma and has attended the University of Oxford Summer School for a course in History, Politics and Society.The third born in a family of seven, one of his younger sister is student at Moi University and his other brother will sit for KCSE this year.Living in London has been quite an experience.
“Here you get good medical care, good education, you can easily get a job, but on the other hand London is just an old cold and gloomy city full of loneliness especially for someone from Africa. it lacks that vibrancy we see in New York or Nairobi during the weekends,” he says.