Politicians not Leaders

The day was Tuesday 28th November 2017 when the 4th president of the republic of Kenya was sworn in to serve his second term after an election rerun which upon winning, his opponent never conceded. On Tuesday January 30th 2018, exactly 63 days after the inauguration of the president, his opponent was illegally sworn in with a controversial non constitutional title namely 'the people's president.' This is how we ended up as the only nation in the world to have two serving heads of state.
While one president is serving his term of five years as per the constitution, unless am a visitor in Jerusalem, we are yet to receive a memo of how long 'the people's president' will serve. Nonetheless, a memo of a life time presidency won't take Kenyans by surprise.
In May last year, i wrote a blog whose title was; THE PRESIDENT. My objective was to elucidate the centuries old ambiguity between two words which are commonly used interchangeably. These words are; A Leader and A Politician. According to my school of conscious thoughts, being a politician doesn't make you a leader just like being a leader doesn't make you a politician.
To help you digest this narrative in a more simplistic way, all you need to know is that; While politics is a career, leadership is a calling, and while politics is exercised through knowledge, (integrity) leadership is exercised through wisdom. In that regard, leadership can beget politics but unless its divine, politics can never beget leadership. In other words, leadership is independent and can thrive without politics but politics is dependent upon leadership for it to flourish.
The two detriments that we have continued to experience in our motherland for decades are surplus politicians but paucity of leaders and a presumption that deem all politicians as leaders.
In support of my school of conscious thought that politics is a career, inorder to vie for a particular position of power, you are required to have attained a certain academic level. Needless to say, this requirement only proofs your integrity but dosen't exemplify your wisdom whatsoever. This perception however ignores an extremely imperative aspect that; wisdom is the greatest virtue of leadership.
I am not saying that education is irrelevant in matters leadership, the point I want to drive home is; there is always a dire need of  interdependence between academic achievement (integrity) and wisdom/ intelligence (either inherent or acquired) for great leadership to be realized. The assumption that politicians are leaders is a mistake that have continued to render us to decades of recurrent outcry about failed leadership without any hope in the foreseeable future. Our frustrations out of poor leadership have continued to exacerbate because we vote in politicians in the name of leaders.
Just like virtues are contagious, vices are contagious too. Like his seniors, the man incharge of the health docket in my motherland seems not to have a smidgen idea of the decades old plight of our beloved medics and that's why he have the audacity of threatening to fire them if they fail to resume to work. Any leader who fails to keenly adhere to the needs of the people under his or her watch but rushes to issue a threat doesn't qualify for any leadership position to begin with. Unfortunately, he is just an 'innocent' messenger, thus,  why kill the messenger?
Four months after his release from 27 years of imprisonment, Nelson Mandela made his first ever visit to the United States of America. On 21st June 1990, he was hosted by Ted Koppel for a Nightline ABC NEWS interview in New York city college. These were the words of Nelson Mandela on the importance of consistency in leadership. "Anybody who changes his principles depending on whom he is dealing with, that's not a man who can lead a nation." These words of wisdom can never get more veracious than they were three decades ago when he voiced them out. My intention to qoute these three decades old words from tata Madiba is to ascertain the truth in them and subsequently expose the volatility of this phrase; "Hata slice moja wakati huu hatapata." which translates; he won't get even a single slice this time around. The man who was once perceived as a miscreant and wasn't entitled for a single slice is now the one incharge of the whole loaf and also the determinant of who gets what. This begs the question, was the single slice analogy a sincere utterance or it was just a rhetoric? The passing of time have not only helped in answering this question, it has also taught us a lesson that; A promise (s) from a politician is just a rhetoric which can never stand the test of time. 

With the forthcoming general elections within the vicinity, you have the ability to obliterate the vicious cycle of politicians who have continued to impoverish Kenyans in the name of leaders. As a patriotic citizen, you have a civic duty to vote out politicians and a noble responsibility to vote in leaders who you deem capable of walking their talk through servant leadership. This act of patriotism and compassion will not only improve the lives and livelihoods of the citizens, it will also acertain the truth behind the saying; 'There is no greater recompense for a leader than to produce people who surpass his or her leadership.' 

My life in a nutshell

My roots are firmly embedded in Kenya,  my beloved motherland indeed. This is a splendid country along the equator, south of the Sahara and north of the Limpopo. Even though I was born in Enkare Nyrobi (a place of cold water) which goes by the name Nairobi, I grew up in the plateaus of Mt Kenya and experienced all the congenial beauty that came with the life of a village boy those old good days.
Since my parents were extremely conservative Christians, they decided to keenly adhere to the proverbial wisdom of king Solomon inked in Proverbs 22:6, 'Start your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not depart from it.' Out of my parent's total regard to this scripture, I was brought up in an ascetic Christian faith from my childhood. The intense exposure to the word of God, its relevance and significance in my life from my formative years aided me not only to commiting my life to Christ as a junior in high school but also in finding my purpose later on in life.
In pursuit of what I then perceived to be my trajectory towards a successful future, I enrolled in a hospitality institute soon after graduating high school. Upon completion, I secured a job in Eden Roc Hotel in Malindi which is a coastal town in my motherland. The fact that I had a career and a job didn't serve my deficiency of my purpose in life and rob me my happiness thereof. 
Although I had developed an extremely great passion in service to humanity during my teenage years through volunteering in different non- governmental organizations whose cause was service to humanity, like the biblical Moses who gave numerous mere excuses to why he wasn't adept in leading the Israelites from captivity, my calling to a noble cause of service to humanity as my purpose in life wasn't something I was willing to adhere to. My resistance to my purpose subjected me to act like Jonah who upon being called to go to Nineveh became defiant and began a voyage aboard a ship that was sailing to Tarshish.
In my own superficial perception, my relocation to the land of the free because of the brave was a matter of pursuit for the so called greener pastures little did I know that God was still pursuing me to adhere to my purpose in life. After my defiance that saw me waste not only my resources but also my youthful years, I finally believed the truth of the scriptures in Romans 8:28, 'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.' That's when I became subservient to God's purpose in my life and subsequently founded Y.E.S. FOUNDATION to help me in the fulfillment of my purpose of service to humanity. 
Through this non-profit organization, we have continued to transform young lives in Kenya through our numerous programs and my dire need to establish a youth empowerment center in my motherland is taking shape. To an extent, my purpose entails motivational speeches through an online radio where I host a radio show namely; Moral Compass. I am also an author of self-help books which are informative, motivational and inspirational. I am not ignorant that my academic pursuit in psychology have played a major role in my purpose, all the same, my insatiable desire to transform one life at a time from an inferior mindset that continues to foster mediocrity and indigence in the society is what makes the whole difference in my life. My holistic experience in my purpose driven life has taught me that; You can only enjoy life to the optimal not through accumulation of material possessions and opulence but only by finding your purpose in life and subsequently living a purpose driven life.  

Today more than ever before, I can boldly attest to the truth behind the words of Mahatma Gandhi; “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Indeed, service to humanity is a fulfilling purpose that can help you realize that you are not defined by your existence but by the efforts that forster your intrinsic ability of empathy and sympathy rendering you to a philanthropic cause which altogether reflect egalitarian as the most essential and virtuous part in humanity. That's my life in a nutshell.
www.yesnelson.org

Who owns your mind?

First and foremost, I would like to demystify the misconception that has continued to permeate in our beloved motherland that the peace that we have continued to enjoy after the 2017 general elections is totally because of the 9th March 2018 handshake between Mr president and Mr Raila Odinga. Such a biased mentality is a crystal-clear indication of how ignorant we are about Jehovah-Shalom, our God who provides us with abundant peace.
Last week, I wrote a blog which was published on the Friday 11th December 2020 edition of MT KENYA TIMES newspaper and I also shared the blog on my Facebook page. The title of the blog was; COMMONSENSE: FACT OR FICTION? After a long philosophical study on what most people perceive to be commonsense, I came to a conclusion that; Although commonsense isn't fable, it's an illusion whose dependency impedes the use of conscious mind and the force of reason, and subsequently robs you a substantive efficiency and efficacy in your decision making. 
With that understanding, you can now tell why the proponents of the BBI have times without number claimed that this document dosen't need critical thoughts or substantive reasoning but commonsense. According to the duo and their zealots, the content therein is just but a matter of commonsense which needs no perusal. Their claim that there isn't adequate time to keenly peruse such a critical document whose 'purpose' is to amend the laws that will be governing us henceforth, and their suggestion that this document dosen't need our conscious thoughts aids us in understanding the true meaning of the saying, 'The devil is in the details.'
Unfortunately, and without any ulterior motive, most of my fellow beloved citizens don't own their mind. That's why we are easily lured into their deceptive ideas that are only aimed at feeding their enormous greed of power and opulence. They have totally brainwashed our minds that we are always ready to agree on everything they suggest to us without posing any question (s) whatsoever.
They keep telling us that the reason to why we always experience post-elections violence is because of the so called; Winner takes it all policy. However, we all know that this is a total lie. The real reason behind every post-elections violence is lack of conceding when one loses an election. Nonetheless, let's for a moment disregard our cognitive abilities because by the look of things, we are totally brainwashed to a point that we no longer own our minds and that's why we find ourselves agreeing with their fallacies. It's inarguably true that we have made them our demigods. Now more than ever before, I can totally understand the sense behind the song by King Kaka; 'Wajinga nyinyi,' which directly traslates; we are fools.
You can argue it otherwise but by the look of things, we are indeed fools. Why do we keep worshipping them and addressing them with titles like honorable when they don't hold a single moral character worth an honor? Why do we keep voting them into positions of 'leadership' after their cruelty acts of embezzling our money? Why do we keep agreeing with their selfish ideas whose only objective is to feed their greed and ego? Without any doubt, we are their enablers who keep rewarding their scandalous acts election after election thus a need to blame none else but ourselves. 
It's inarguably true that we all need a nonpartisan electro body that can conduct credible elections where transparency and accountability will be the objective. All the same, we likewise need individuals who clearly understand that; In every election, there must be a winner and a looser and, while the majority have it their way, the minority have their say and live to try another day.
Among the 13 chapters proposal in the BBI, the most irking and a total absurd proposal that will add an extremely heavy financial burden on our already impoverished lives is the increment of 70 MPs and expanding the executive. On top of the already existing state loans amounting to 6.2 trillion Kshs and a wage bill of 795 billion Kshs annually which is 48.1% of the national revenue, additional seats in the parliament will increase the wage bill with 49.7 billion Kshs annually five additional executive positions notwithstanding. 

Kenya is deficient of servant leadership but have surfeit of narcissistic politicians who have continued to extort public funds in a dire need to feed their insatiable greed. The claim that the expanded executive is for the purpose of equal representation is just a fallacy. This is another plot to continue impoverishing Kenyans so that we can continue to bow down to them for handouts, ironically from the very monies they embezzle from us. If Kenyans were enjoying effective service delivery and great livelihoods, no one would bother to know the ethic tribe of the president or whether he or she hails from a dynasty ancestry or not.

Political ethnicity and post-election violence solution will neither be realized from expanded executive nor will it happen through over representation, it can only arise from servant leadership which is; Intentionally having the interests of beloved Kenyans at heart and a relentless will to fulfill them without favor or bias. This will necessitate effective service delivery and simultaneously ensure that the needs of ordinary citizens precedes the greed of most if not all politicians. 
While the additional proposed seats comes with huge salaries and all manner of allowances which are never ever delayed or denied, members of medical fraternity, doctors and nurses included, spend more days on the streets picketing for unpaid salaries and deplorable working conditions than they do in hospitals.
Saying that our medical personnels are holding the government hostage because of striking due to unpaid salaries and lack of Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) especially during this covid-19 pardemic doesn't only demonstrate the highest level of ignorance and insensitivity towards our dear medics, it likewise shows how the so called 'leaders' are out of touch with reality and humanity towards medics who have continued to relentlessly sacrifice their lives on the line of duty without getting their salaries on time from a government that continues to spend tax payers money illegally on BBI whose aim is to benefit a few chosen elites but lacks the audacity to pay the salaries of our medics who unfortunately happens to be UNSUNG HEROES in the society. This is a crystal-clear indication of failed leadership, money squandering and misplacement of priorities.
My fellow beloved Kenyans, ahead of us lies a great challenge that will determine whether each one of us owns his or her mind or we are just physically free citizens but mentally enslaved sycophants who are readily willing to submit to their egocentric beliefs which totally disregards the dire need of egalitarianism, altruistic and servant leadership in our beloved motherland. 

In his proverbial wisdom, king Solomon inked these scriptures; 'The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.' Proverbs 22:7 My question therefore is; Will we give them another opportunity to continue enriching themselves with our tax money so that they can continue to rule us or, will we be valiant enough to say like Job; "What you know, I also know, I am not inferior to you. Yet I desire to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God. You, cover your ignorance with lies; you are all worthless physicians. The wisest thing you can do is to keep quiet and listen to my argument." Job 13:2-5 

In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul poses a very intriguing question whose answer renders not only a solution but also an inspiration. "Were you a slave when you were called?" Don't let that worry you, but if you can win your freedom, by all means take the opportunity. 1st Corinthians 7:21

While this blog might have motivated your inspirations towards your freedom, don't be ignorant of the truth that; He who owns your mind owns you, and he who owns you controls you, and he who controls you determines your destiny. Nevertheless, an informed decision to recoup your mind is within the force of your cognitive reasoning.

Commonsense: Fact or Fiction?

Use your common sense.' I've lost count on how many times this phrase have crossed my ears since my childhood and I am certain you aren't an exception. Nonetheless, I beg to differ with the definition of commonsense as the knack for seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done. My question therefore is; what is the universal threshold of seeing things as they are or doing things as they ought to be done? Giving this definition a benefit of doubt is equally asinine noting the recurrent reminders that beg the use of commonsense in day to day life?
In my dire quest to find an answer to this extremely intriguing question, I decided to ignore the delusional commonsense idealism and opted to think deep to my question. We can all agree that human beings are created equal but with disparate physical and mental abilities. Since our sight or deed is a matter of perception through a thought process, the fact that the mind analyses and interpretes our thoughts differently which in essence is the application of paradigm shift (fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions) is a clear evidence that commonsense is just but a delusion.
A majority of the present day problems are as a result of a total disregard of divergent perceptions and assuming that; when people encounter similar experiences in life, their interpretation pertaining these experiences should be the same. Whenever your perception towards what might seem to be a simple issue is in the minority list, individuals in the majority list tend to think that you don't possess commonsense. The truth of the matter is: you are just different.
By now, most people are asking themselves; "If indeed commonsense is irrational, what  facilitates efficiency in human relationships and habitual life in general?" Here is the answer to this very vital question. Both innate wisdom and acquired wisdom makes wonted human life viable. The fact that King Solomon asked God to give him wisdom is a clear indication that innate wisdom isn't enough by itself thus a dire need to seek for more wisdom. (Acquired wisdom) The two ways to obtain acquired wisdom are; adhering to the teachings from the counsel of the wise and also the fear of the Lord. (Proverbs 9:10)
On the other hand, efficiency in anomalous matters of life requires reasoning where both wisdom (intelligence) and knowledge (integrity) are extremely essential towards a fierce deliberation for sake of viable decisions. This deliberation is called 'soul searching,' because a human being's soul is made up of the mind and the heart. While wisdom is an independent virtue on wonted matters, there must be an interdependence between the mind and the heart for viable solutions to the realized.
What most people perceive as commonsense is what I call 'assumption of commonality' which disregards the importance of conscious thinking and simultaneously dismisses the significance of diverse perceptions. Infact, a person who labels someone as an inferior claiming that, that person lacks commonsense totally disregards the intricacy of humanity which states; we are all created equal but with different physical and mental abilities, thus the depiction of human diversity
If you develop a trend of subjecting each and every life occurrence to a conscious thought process no matter how minor the issue is, you will always enjoy the outcome rendered by your conscious mind and you will surely have the force of reason in the realization of the truth behind the saying; 'Intentional thinking is the mother of viable decisions.'

Unity for Opportunity: United States of Africa

My fellow beloved Africans, I come to you in the true spirit of Ubuntu and Pan-Africanism. As I extend my great and neverending love of my mother continent to you, I am neither oblivious nor lost of the fact that just a few decades ago, we were subjugated by the despotism of seven different European colonizers who adulterated our rich African culture, stole our land and disoriented our unity by partitioning our mother continent with their colonial boundaries. As if that wasn't enough, they brainwashed us to thinking that our indigenous languages were not good enough thus the dire need to learn their languages and make them our nation languages. It's for our own benefit that we forgave them even without any apology whatsoever but we shall never ever forget their heinous acts against humanity.
All the same, I am well versed that; continued lamentation about the atrocities that were meted against us for decades is just but an obstruction towards a blight and promising future. I thank God because their wishful thinking and malicious intentions of subjecting Africans to tyrannical rule to eternity was just but a short lived glory.
Even though their colonial boundaries that subdivided the great continent of Africa into 55 countries are still in existence to this day and age, and we are still speaking their languages, I totally believe without any shadow of doubt that the day of United States of Africa is more closer than it was when great Pan-africans like Nelson Rolihlahla madiba Mendela delivered his first international speech on 3rd February 1962, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. When Kwame NKrumah gave the inaugural address of OAU (Oranization of Africa Unity) on 25th May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. And much more closer than 29th July 1987 when Thomas Sankara gave a speech at the summit of OAU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia or when Colonel Muammar Gaddafi proposed the formation of United States of Africa and the introduction of one common currency thereafter which to his suggestion would be the gold dinar and when Paul Kagame emphasized on the dire need of intra-African trade on his 21st March 2018 speech during the launch of African Continental Free Trade Area in Kigali, Rwanda. 
The fact that some of these true legends and loyal sons of Africa didn't live to see the United States of Africa dosen't mean that their dreams were futile. In the very words of Martin Luther king jr. during what became his last speech, before he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on 4th April 1963, "I've been to the mountain top and I've seen the promised land." "I may not get there with you but I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land," I truly believe that dreams of our departed and living Pan-Africans will soon become a reality. The baton is now with Dr Arikana Chihombori-Quao, President Paul Kagame, Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba popularly known as PLO LUMUMBA, Julius Sello Malema among others, who are very loyal and true to the cause of unity that will beget United States of Africa.
On the other hand, with the formation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) on 21st March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda making AFCFTA the largest free trade area in the world in terms of the number of participating countries, Africans are highly optimistic of an economically stable continent because AFCFTA is expected to boost intra-African trade by 52 percent by the year 2022. No doubt whatsoever that Africa is headed to the right direction.
More to that, the establishment of African Union Agenda 2063 with an aim of delivering on its goal for inclusive and sustainable developments is likewise a positive progress. This agenda is also a robust manifestation of the Pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under Pan-Africanism and African renaissance is a well thought intuitive that will render numerous job opportunities across the United States of Africa.