21 Questions

As I headed to work yesterday as well as today in the morning, I couldnt help but notice the increasing traffic jams along the Nairobi highways. I was dropping my best half at her workplace in Karen, then I proceed to the airport. So we were stuck at one point for over half an hour.

So I thought it must be the massive potholes that germinated and are growing with the onslaught of heavy rains the city has been receiving. However it soon dawned on me that that might just be a part of it, so could there be another reason behind it?

So as I pondered over all that, I ended up with some questions I cant answer, maybe you can, maybe the government of national unity can...

Is it true that all of Kenya's road construction engineers are currently working on Thika road network? As such there's no one left to look at the ever increasing boreholes of potholes on the roads?

Is it true that there are so many institutions responsible for the roads issues that no one is actually responsible for it? Tell me, who do we call to raise an issue with the Langata road potholes and swelling rivers alongside the road? Minstry of Metropolitanism, Nairobi City Council, Ministry of Finance? Ministry of Planning? The are MP Bwana PM? or is it the counsellors Job?

Shouldnt the Chinese engineers have laid a connecting bypass route from Nairobi to Thika so that the bulk of traffic does not pass on the unfinished roads they are laying? The place is a nightmare.

Is it true that the Kenya government and parastatals are more reactive than proactive? We just had almost 2 years without good rains. Why do the Kenya power guys decide to increase Masinga Dam's capacity in the middle of a heavily rainy season? Wont they do more harm than good? Why didnt they do this during the dry times? It could have been easier then. Who is responsible for the culverts and drainage systems to tap the massive rain water we are losing?

As we approach the referendum, there was talk of Electronic voting. Why are they IEEC lying to Kenyans, it is not electronic voting, it was partially electronic registration. Never let a non technical person make a technical statement. Why didnt they do proper research into the harnessing of IT? There are much easier ways of doing this.

Finally is it true that Kenyans are always in a hurry to get somewhere. Almost all drivers try to overtake, especially matatu drivers. Where are they rushing to? Why? Cant they just obey traffic laws?

Is it also true that you will comment on this blog post?

Of Mice and Men?

I sometimes think of myself as a wise guy. I think I am wise because I feel I take time to thnk about things before I talk and before I act. Of course this is not always the case. I have also come across many wise people in my interesting life. One knowledgeable source defines wisdom as "...a deep understanding of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to choose or act to consistently produce the optimum results with a minimum of time and energy."

So I believe I would be right to say wisdom is the ability to produce maximum output given a particular situation based on one's quickness to understand what is needed. Another wise guy also said that if you don't have a plan, then you are planning to fail.

As I sit and look at everything that's happening around me, particularly in this country of all possibilities called Kenya, I cant help but realize that Kenya is one country that is full of wise guys. Everyone knows everything about everything. Am sure you must be wondering why. Here's my argumentative proof. I am a wise guy after-all!

Am sure all of us have at least a friend or a relative who has gotten married recently. Have you ever noticed that once one gets married they are suddenly wise? They can give you advice on relationships, marriage, having a family, how to plan for one? All this might be coming from a guy who dated for only 3 months before getting married. Do the question is, Do wedding rings have mystical powers that bestow wisdom and knowledge? I want one, now! No offense to those who are there with the third ring of life and marriage....suffering! This cuts across every event in our lives. Once you go through it, you become the undisputed authority in the field.

So looking at the bigger picture now, I see the managers of our country. Our government structure as it is. It consists of the wisest minds in the land. After-all, most of them have been "in leadership" since before Obama was born. I wonder why the American president doesn't come to get some leadership skills from his Kenyan heritage.

So our wise leaders decided that caning students was a bad idea. Not that I agree or disagree, but banning caning outright and not providing a workable substitute? How are the teachers expected to punish them truants? I was a good boy in my student days, but I still landed my fair share of the cane, and look at where I am, I am a wise guy! So caning is illegal, kids do all they want and how do they get punished?.... why the silence? I thought you knew, they dont. So of course they too will end up as wise kids, knowing that the best way to vent their anger is to burn up a school or two. Isn't that a great ideology? We are creating future wise leaders of tomorrow!
Philosophical wisdom entails the best use of knowledge. So I wonder, if your wisdom is not based on knowledge, what is it based on?

Our great and wise government spokesman decided in all his wisdom that he wanted to go on a beautification spree on a section of the city. This involved cutting down the beautiful greenery and replacing them with colored stones. I know a group of people who were happy with that move, all the Kenyans who have protests in mind. They have more than enough stones to throw!
The anti riot police must not be happy to know that the people now are more "stoned" than them. In my meager wisdom I wonder, where does the beautification of the city fall in the government spokesman's docket? Recreation? Stress relief? Does that mean the government prefer stones to trees? Aren't we supposed to be planing more trees to save the environment? And where are the wise Green Belt Movement people. They seem to have one hundred million reasons to keep mum.

I drive using Thika Road on my way to school. I do appreciate the fantastic and expedited roadworks that are taking place all over the town. I do however wonder what wisdom is in place when a road gets diverted in the middle of the night and there are no markers to show how the new road goes. Maybe the wise Chinese engineers know that Kenyans are too wise and with just one glance will know that the road that used to turn sharply left, now turns sharply right and theres a huge bump after-wards followed by massive potholes. We Kenyans love learning things the hard way.

Now once the superhighways are finished and commissioned, I hope the wise engineers put provisions for fiber as well as all other cables and pipes the other wise Kenyan engineers love yo put all over. In 3 weeks after commissioning the road, some internet provider will dig up the road to supply fiber. After wisely filling it up hastily, some water company will also dig up another section to supply water. Its wise to supply water as water is life. We, in a bid to enrich our wisdom cant avoid but need these things, so dig away!

As I contemplate the digging, I think of all the planning that is going into all these roads. Indeed if you lack a plan you plan to fail, what if you have too many plans and planners? Will you over-succeed? Which is the better of the two options?

We have a Ministry of Roads, A Ministry of Urban Planning, A ministry of Industrialization, A Metropolitan Ministry...so who is in charge of planning for these roads? Who is accountable? Whose plan are we following? Im sure you are a wise person and you already figured it out. I may just not be wise enough to understand these things yet.

In a world of mice and men, it is the good results that distinguish the mice from the men(and women).It is only a matter of time. Wise people are patient. Let's wait and see.

Is it worth waking up!

So you woke up again today, strutted lazily out of bed, unsure of the time. Is it 5, 6 or 7am? Am I late for work? You wish the night could last for just a minute longer but alas, its time to wake up. The question is, is it worth waking up?

You reach out to the bathroom only to realise theres no water coming from the shower. Its been almost a week that you have been showering with cold water in the morning as there has been an 'unresolvable' power problem that seems to require the intervention of the Almighty. Since you have gotten tired of complaining, you simply recede to your fate. Its gonna be dark for a little while longer.

The lack of water now forces you to bravely face the bucket shower. This water has been on the floor for weeks and its really cold. You cannot afford to be late so you take on the cold water. Words cannot describe the feeling, but look on the bright side, you are fully awake now!

You must be out of the house in five minutes else you will be caught up in the morning jam. Luckily, no one takes long in the shower with that cold water. You are out of the house in no time only to get the next shocker.

It rained heavily last night. The massive roadworks being done in the area have left roads dug out so t gets really muddy each time it rains even a little. Now comes the wading game. One needs to be really flexible to skip through the mud traps. You barely make it in time to the bus stage, only to realise you are one minute late. There are no matatus.

You have two options, start walking towards the main road hoping to meet the first incoming matatu and fight your way into it through the other people who have been waiting much longer than you, or just stand there and wait .Mother nature makes the decision for you, it has started drizzling.

Briskly you start walking towards the main road. You are already ten minutes behind schedule. You see a matatu enter from the main road."Yes!" you scream in your head as you make the frantic dash toward it. Unfortunately, there are another fifty or so other people dashing for the same fifteen seater. You miss a spot just as you reached it. Too bad.

You are getting wet and late now, theres no turning back. you must get to work as your boss has been on your case for a while. He is those bosses who when pissed at you, may 'forget' to include your name on the payroll. No one ever wants to be on his bad side. Being left out of the payroll means at least 2 weeks without money as you must get paid by cheque, which takes a week to process and another week to clear.

Help arrives, an empty matatu stops right next to you, actually almost knocks you as it makes a crazy turn in the middle of the road. As the other drivers are hooting madly, you scamper into the matatu and take a seat next to the driver."Phew!". Maybe, just maybe you will make it in time to avoid a thirty minute tongue lash from your boss, in the open plan office.

But before you get to smile, you hear the price of the day: "Tao 150! Kumenyesha!'. "What!" Thats ridiculous! A few passengers protest and alight. You start to move but one glance at the watch near the driver makes you maintain your seat. Its approaching eight o'clock. So what if I pay one hundred shillings extra. At least I get to work in time.

You finally arrive at work at 9.15am. The conductor insulted you for having a 1000 shilling note for which he did not have change. You argued for the whole trip and you had to wait for him to look for the change, which he took his time and came back fifteen minutes later.

As you are walking in the front door, you try your best to avoid locking eyes with the boss, who sits facing the front entrance. Just as you are about to pass and disappear, you hear your name being called! "Hey you, come here!".

You brace yourself. Yesterday someone was fired for 'lateness'. She had come ten minutes late to work. So it seems this is your day. As you open the door and walk in you are calculating how much is remaining in your account, how you are moving to a cheaper place so that you can look for another job, who to call for help....

He takes one look at you. It seems like an eternity.

"Lets get this over with!", you say to yourself.

"Rough morning its been!", he says.

"Um, yes", now you are sure that you are fired.

"Here, give these to finance as you settle in", and he hands over some files to you.

Thats it! Am not fired! Suddenly you feel like you are really lucky. The rain, the noise, the jam, the mud, all of it suddenly disappears. You just want to sit down and work. As you smile at yourself and slowly walk yo your desk you realise that yes, it was worth it waking up today.