MAN'S BEST FRIEND

 

THE NEW FRANCO AFRICAN DALLIANCE

As much as the colonial office in London also took part in looting the motherland of her niceties. It was equally in His Majesty's bingo card to enlighten the people of the dark continent. Who true to their word were disengaged from the advanced strides humanity had made from whence they came.

We hence retain many permanent state buildings, schools, hospitals the lunatic express and many other infrastructures that they built during the Imperial British East Africa era ipso facto. They bit hard off course. But did at least care to blow.

The French on the other hand. Looking at how stuck in the manacles of underdevelopment most francophone countries still are. Came and reigned by assimilating their colonies into the French way. Aiming to shove them deep into French dominion. And robbing them to the core of their indigenous culture, ways of life, language, name it. As if that was not enough, they heavily looted their minerals, artefacts and all available natural privileges. Shipping them home, and unlike the Brits didn't care to develop the colony. Nothing much left to show for it. They came to take, and that they did.

When the era for the struggle for independence in most African colonies came in the 50's. The French in their "wisdom" did not wait to be purged in an armed altercation. What did they do? They made their colonies sign "pact for the continuation of colonialization”. So they exited the territory physically and peacefully but left the whole system intact and under their control. To date, there are a whooping fourteen "independent" African countries that are in the CFA region. To mean they use the "Banque de Paris" printed CFA notes to date. Hence their economic state is still remote controlled from France even as we speak. In the year two thousand twenty-six. Are they really sovereign independent countries? that’s yours for the asking.

In the recent past, Africans predominantly from the francophones. Have been trying to cross the Mediterranean aiming to somehow survive the rough seas stuck in a dingy. The Italian coast guard seeing them off their waters and knowing they will be soon capsizing. Rushes to load them in their ships to safety in Italy exactly ticking every script of the trafficker’s box.

This has led to a diplomatic row between France and Italy because most of these rescued people are from former French colonies. And because the coastal passage of these voyagers desperate for greener pastures across the sea is off Italian waters. It is Italy bearing the brunt of the economic shenanigans that France continues to do in Africa. Overbearing them, continuing to impoverish them and subtly refusing to allowing them total autonomy over their own countries. To the point that they risk it out in the open waters only to be rescued by Italy. And Italy has in the recent past been calling France out a lot for these misdeeds.

This week a whole French delegation is here. In a summit codenamed "African Forward”. Finally, all of a sudden, the French have changed. And have something to offer for a better Africa. The same old Frenchmen. Who speak so seductively, have come to lay their bed for the willing to lay.

High chances y'all will be disenfranchised in many ways by the time the French are done with you. French kissed and milked dry. And then seductively appeased, ma chérie. After most of West Africa has discovered the ploy of this smooth operator. Now she finally has found footing in the East.

What good can come out of Nazareth? We are all eyes and all ears. The language sounds good but we are skeptical.

Africa forward

FIRE AS A GOOD SERVANT

Fire is a good servant but a bad master.Since the lower palaeolithic period when early man began opportunistic gathering of fire.To when man was finally able to make fire using friction and flint striking methods  towards the end of the Palaeolithic.This element of nature has played a fundamental role in the human existence .Providing warmth,light,wading off of predators and even a social cohesion platform in the traditional fireplace.

I am convinced that fire often has a bad connotation to the extent that we almost fail to resonate with this element in it's good servantood role.

Food being a primary human need cannot especially in the modern world  be taken without onboarding fire to cook it.Clothing is the next primary need.Most garments we wear have undergone singeing,edge sealing,lamination and burn testing where they are passed over open flames before they get to our stores.Shelter being the third primary need for an optimum human existence applies fire a lot too.Cement,ceramics,roofing,metalworks/welding all require fire somewhere along the way.

Hence no primary human need in the world as it is currently construed is achievable without fire.Other essential activities like vehicle,marine and air transport also require combustion which is basically fire for their engines to run.

And there cannot be modern day security apparatus without fire .Because most modern weapon systems including basic rifles  require a measurable amount of combustion or deflaragation to launch various kinds of projectiles and activate explosives. 

Last but not least,It is a known thing mankind and spirituality are interwined and that man needs spirituality to exist holistically. Since time immemorial, there have been so many deities associated with fire.Deities were christened and continue to be christened god or goddess of fire. Most notably are Hephaestus in Greek mythology,Agni in Hinduism and Shango the most powerful of deities,among the Yoruba of West Africa. 

In contemporary religion like Christianity .Mention is made of a lake of fire brimming with  sulphur and brimstone that will be the damnation of the rebellious .To point at fire again in the spiritual sense.

Hence evidently fire is such a useful,reliable and good servant .Without which the human existence is left in sheer disarray.If we hence tame fire well enough and subordinate it for our use and good,the benefits to reap are immeasurable.

THE FIRE MENACE IN KENYA

 

About a fortnight or so ago,Kenya woke up to shocking news of a fire that broke out or was maliciously set in a school dormitory.Leading to 16 fatalities and over 80 plus students injured in the fire.Unfortunately this is no isolated case but folklore that the country has continued to give ear to for some time now. In total,Kenya has lost at least 160 students over time when fire broke out in the dead of the night in Bombolulu,Hillside Endarasha,Moi Girls,Utumishi and Kyanguli secondary schools where 67 students died in a single dormitory fire emergency.

Market fires are another fire incidence whose recurrence begs the question of why not much is being done about the malignancy of the issue.Remarkably, Gikomba market the biggest open air market in E.Africa domiciled in Nairobi. Has had 15 megafire fires from  2018.To mean a big inferno if not two in a year that leads to massive destruction for property and loss to human life too.Again there seems to be no meaningful action being taken to nip these crises in the bud. No matter ow many times this recurrs.

Fire in informal settlements are also exceedingly common.There hardly passes a fortnight or month before all sirens are heading towards the informal settlements.In the Mukuru Sinai informal settlement inferno 120+ lives were lost including upwards of 150 persons escaping with minor to severe injuries.

If you ask me the lack of fire investigation frameworks is hugely to blame for this unfortunate scenario.As a trained fireman myself I have not met any certified fire investigator in the country.I remember even posting a question on our national first responders WhatsApp group demanding to be pointed to any available investigator.And surprisingly there was no response.The few I was pointed to are fire inspectors and auditors who have no knowledge of how to process and reconstruct a fire scene for insight into possible cause and origin.Our institutions of higher learning that offer fire related programs including the university I went to also are not teaching this.Nor are fire fighting academies doing it anywhere in the country.

Notably Kobi Fora and Chesowanja archeological sites in Kenya house evidence of early man's discovery and use in the prehistoric fire.So our land has really dealt fire and been with fire for a long time to lack investigations capability, pun intended.

If we had investigators  able to work professionally and with access to laboratories and other such facilities.The likes of Gikomba Market Traders Association would easily contract them for investigations that would lead to closure and lead to possible solutions to these market fires which continue to cause huge economic losses year in year out for our traders.

Only the National Police Service DCI unit has a small team of Investigators with know how around fire investigations.The team is offcourse overwhelmed by a big margin with the innumerable number of fire emergencies that would require their attention.They only investigate a few high profile ones with most of the fires remaining investigated hence the recurrence.

We hence should as a nation.Think towards filling this lacuna.And availing fire investigators to our brigades and first responding teams including to working on private capacity in tandem with the police service and the judiciary .Failure to which we remain sitting ducks waiting  for the next school ,residential or market fire whilst still lacking remedy to navigate the problem.

 VURUGU CHALLENGE

As Mbavu was making his attempt to destroy.Which unfortunately backfired.As predicted.Deontay Wielder and Derek Chisora ​​were squaring it out in the 02 Arena.This time two great athletes turned bosom friends had to face each other pound for pound.The fight was the 50th pro fight for both,at 42 and 40 years of age respectively.

Derek Chisora ​​now retires after a boxing career spanning 20+ years. A close bout this was. With Deontay being declared winner by split decision.

Being a Sunday there is an interesting trend that is developing in the boxing and footballing worlds. I have noticed so many boxers in the day give credit to God/Jesus Christ for their win. Something they did not do in the Tyson era.

And it's becoming way quite common to see a star footballer flash a T-shirt underneath their jersey with some gaspomessage. After putting it in the net in the characteristic celebratory phase. Something that was again quite rare to unheard of before going back in time.

I am strongly persuaded that something must be in the works.Something is cooking.

See Few

 SPORTS AND BLOODLINES

Her brother Daniel Dubois also has an upcoming match against Fabio Wardley. If by any chance Daniel wins...

and Fabio is a tough course to navigate, a nut that won't crack easily. The Dubois' will have two world titles locked in the family.

If there is sth that seems to run smoothly in families, then it must sport prowess.

Closer home Zarika njeri kangethe popularly known as Fatima zarika has a brother in Musa Mohammed former Gor Mahia captain. Not forgetting the animals' including their sister. The oliechs', the injeras'. Across the borders again, the Furys', the Itaumas', the williams' and now the Dubois'.

I mean we can go on and on.

Who else can you add on the list.

See Few

2

2

A GINI WASEKAO MOMENT

I'm coming from this part of the larger metropolis that had quite a torrent yesterday. Only to alight midway to connect the bus home and find it surprisingly all dry. I did notice some "silly" looks from some bystanders. Who were probably wondering why my shoes were almost muddy and blah blah blah...Yet little did they know it had been a measurable downpour from whence I came. Barely ten kilometers away, just a couple of minutes ago.

The reason I didn't mind them though was the eye-catching events that were unfolding before my eyes. That made me well reminisce the good old boyhood stage. Where for some reason, all young boys are fantasizing about cars and moving objects.

Back in the day, we would shuffle, as a group of boys to a certain raised ground that was overlooking a highway. Then start with the counting, and the choosing. And the tussling over who verbally possessed the next good car that appeared before the other. And with auction bid level gusto.

Yesterday though, I was all alone. This time watching matatus full of Gor Mahia fans. Racing one after the other. With flags🇳🇫representing the hood🇳🇫they were from displayed. And the fans jubilating, ululating, and blowing with zest into their whistles. As the matatu honked and vroomed down the road in characteristic fashion. And off course with substantial decibels of classics blazing. All in a celebratory spree after their win against their arch rival AFC leopards. In the famous or rather infamous, brothers-in-law derby.

Of football derbies. They are known to be high octane events. Sometimes requiring diligent organization in case things head south. When the pot of emotions behind to boil over. And that's around the globe. Whether you are dealing with a Celtic-Rangers, AC-Inter, Real-Barca or even a volatile Boca-River Plate affair.

In some jurisdictions football clubs attract a huge and heated fan base. To the extent that even the way to the top seat in government. Is carved by an access to actual leadership of these clubs. Or, at the very least, the blessings of those in their charge. Translating to the club's fan base, in its millions.

Locally, if every football club had a fan base as zealous as what Gor and AFC enjoy. Say the same for Kakamega Homeboyz, Bandari and, Nzoia sugar, Thika United, name them all. Soccer in the country would improve in leaps and bounds. The huge crowds would pull with them massive sponsorship and media coverage. The ripple effect would be affordability of better quality in the field and technical bench, better remuneration on the part of the players, sports tourism domestic and otherwise. And so many other add ons.

My viewership was however short lived.... After a dozen or so buses, the bus home arrived. Sooner than I had wished for.

Embarking, I continued to ponder on the untapped potential football would offer. If proper structures were put in place to attract the right stakeholders.

This as I sat on my seat arms crossed. Occasionally peeping through🫟the window as another fan packed matatu overtook us. Before waving my phone on the conductor to display the payment message as is tradition.

Of weekends....

 CURSE OF HAM?

Word has it that during the trans-atlantic slave trade. The conditions onboard were so inhumane. That you had to have a particular genotype, characterized by strong immunity to disease and other stressors. To survive the long voyage across the oceans.

Talk of sheer discormfort on a physical level. Some ships had the slaves shackled up and placed like merchandise on tight shelves like platforms in the deck. Notwithstanding vessel's yaw and pitch in the rough seas.

Talk of insufficient nutrition, poor health and sanitary conditions, mistreatment and thwacking by the crew, and the list goes on and on. And many succumbed to these crucible moments. Jetisonned into the sea.

The analogy then goes that the Caribbean blacks and them from the diaspora in the Americas are descendants of slave ancestors who had very robust genes. To not have gotten ill during this tempestuous journey. And it is for this reason, arguably, that they dominate in track and field, in boxing, in basketball and many other domains.

Curse of Ham??

 

MAZIWA YA NYAYO

We are throwing back, right?

Okay

Now listen to this.

For those of you or us who joined school anywhere between early 80's to if I remember around two years shy of the millennium year when it was faced out program that provided free milk to school going children was a mega highlight of going to school.

Reminiscing, when it was milk day/time. Teachers would give out the packets one or two per student mostly in class. And the remainder the teacher would distribute to his or her liking. Interestingly, a student would qualify for an extra packet as a reward for saying tidiness, improvement in a subject, top marks in class or in a subject and any other thing that made them stand out. The taste was rich, energizing and that left a good creamy aftertaste.

The "maziwa ya nyayo" program was however not an original yayo era program. It was most likely a replica of a twin program in the UK that started off with PM Clement Atlee post WW2 to curb malnutrition in kids. Under PM Harold Wilson around 1969 the program underwent the fast major slashdown where it was now reserved only for kids under 11. The Iron Lady during her tenure further scaled it down to availability only for kids under five years. These suffered major backlash with popular slogans like 'Thatcher, Thatcher the milk snatcher' popping around the time. Noticeably, under-fives are still entitled to one third of a pint of free milk each day even in the present.

In Kenya, the program was equally geared towards curbing malnutrition especially in arid and semi-arid/marginalized areas. Plus, most importantly, it was aimed at encouraging school attendance. Statistics have it that it was significantly successful especially in the latter objective. It led to an enrollment boom with a 20% increase of enrolled pupils in the first year alone. The program however became unsustainable over time due to financial constraints on the part of the government and was brought to a halt.

Although a thing of the past, the program remains a key partner cultural landmark of the school going years of the eighties and nineties.

Presently we have seen devolved county governments come up with parallel programs although taking up a slightly different approach. Case in point, the "dishi na county" program in Nairobi that provides highly subsidized hot meals for school going children. Is it operational? I think so, I would need the facts though. Subsequently last time I checked, under the same. Plans to acquire a mega culinary plant capable of making a million chapatis in record time were underway. I need updating about this development too.

See yah.

 SWAHILI  FADING?

I have in the recent past noticed there is these group of kids who are coming up.Mostly from the upper middle class and rich backgrounds.Who are monolingual,equipped with only one language of communication.And what's most baffling is how their parents/guardians are proud of it.To them it's a symbol of success.That they probably were able to foot a surmountable bill in this groups of schools and blah blah blah.

In my opinion though.Thats pure injustice on the part of the kids.Well in the urban setting,a kid if the parent does not insist enough can be excused for not attaining fluency on their vernacular.But to not even speak Swahili,the Lingua Franca,the language of the streets.That dominates immediately they live the confines of the suburbs is to face the world in the Kenyan context from a point of weakness.Well it's possible that they rest in the suburbs,in the corporate world,even out abroad for most of their lives.But to me it still doesn't work that way.I consider language a life skill needed to navigate life and swahili definitely is ,in the Kenyan context.

Before I forget,Gikuyu people in the diaspora are also doing something that's a bit funny for lack of a better work.Their kids of course in the Americas will speak English,it's the Lingua Franca.And their parents will teach them Gikuyu.Where these becomes exciting is where there is a gathering of Kenyan families where millennial and baby boomer parents who are not first generation Americans.Interac

 PARETO PRINCIPLE

The Pareto principle was manifest in very obvious fashion for those who were able to catch the Manchester city versus Everton game tonight.

With an Everton defense on steroids.So compact and water tight.Almost impassable.Jeremy Doku from yards away, with razor sharp precision.Curved the ball on his left foot right into the net to put his team Manchester City.One of the league title contenders on the lead(1-0).After half time, Everton equalised(1-1).Then scored one more(2-1).And added another in quick succesion (3-1).

To many going by the few minutes of play left .Citys' goose was already cooked.Infact fans began leaving Hill Dickson stadium in droves.Dreams of a worthwhile title race seemingly shattered,and melancholy written all over their faces .To the surprise of many,somehow Harland scored for city(3-2) in that first rally of the ballimmediately following Everton''s third goal.Most fans who were still in the stadiums vicinity on their way home got wind of it.And rekindling hope,came back in.

Then in additional time.When the match was two or so minutes shy of the final whistle.Again Jeremy Doku this time on his right foot and from a distance. Curved the ball for a second time right into the net.Bypassing the massive defensive barrier, to bring the game to a draw(3-3).One point for each team.Just when the man in the middle was about to bring it to a halt on the 96th minute mark.

Without mincing words,Jeremy Doku determined and working so hard.Almost single handedly.Was able to, in two different occasions ,change the course of the tide for his side.Coming through when they needed it most.

And he keeps doing wonders on that left flank this one.Amazing.

Of Pareto