It’s yet another week! Last week was ok. When I say ok I mean that it didn’t have any misfortunes worth writing about of course apart from being broke which is not news in campus during such times. The student mess just like the forgiving father of the prodigal son has opened its doors for the comrades who abandoned it and went and squandered their inheritance in exotic restaurants such as the Mugumus and the KUCC’s of KU. During such times people eat like chicken having eaten chicken and chicken products at the beginning of the academic semester. The dime in the pockets are accounted for to the last penny and in most cases restricted to the basic needs such as ugali and beans. In case you are wondering about the heartburn, don’t be. The good university understands this and provides free soup.
Another aspect of the comrades that is likely to baffle any outsider to the institution is the traffic to the post modern library, computer centre and reading areas. To an external observer this may appear as signs of an academically vibrant institution. However, the truth is not so quite flattering. In a bid to crash a semester’s work in a week, the students are just following the norms left by our forefathers. After all, one can’t read and understand without a tinge of pressure. It’s only when there is the threat of failure lurking in the background that knowledge start seeping in across the hard rocks of the skull. I know that coz am pursuing a unit in human psychology, just in case you thought am somebody like this like this, ‘mtu hivi hivi’ in Wiz’s mother tongue.
Sometimes though it’s like there are two different schools in one compound. Whereas one group is immersed in the sanctuaries of the books, others are burying their heads in the sand hoping the exams will just go away. This are the group that are hoping that the student elections follow the spectacle of the 2007 disputed polls and a strike occurs so that they can push away the danger albeit temporarily. What they don’t understand is that even a year to read for a unit will be hardly enough. Now that am talking about elections, if there is anything that I have realized campus elections are just more than ideologies and a great manifesto, there are other important credentials that you must be seen to possess.
If you wish to be a student leader, you have to be financially endowed. After all posters and banners are not picked in the trash cans. And when I say that don’t mean tens of thousands, I mean cash that you wouldn’t have qualms throwing away. a student leader must also throw caution to the wind-by that I mean one should be for example consider what he stands to gain in the event he is successful as opposed to what he stands to lose if he is unsuccessful. If for example your gross salary for the year in office is about fifty thousand, a campaign budget of about a hundred thousand will still be in order, after all in campus, influence and stature are of immense value.
YOU must also be a member of a tribe as tribe equation plays a big role in defining who the next crop of leaders are. Take for example Luo Galamoro a group that has been a dominant player in the elections for some time. (Galamoro is just a group of men who meet to discuss issues such as politics and women over drink)At the heart of this association is one man who goes by the name Odhiambo wuod Odhiambo. He is proud to say that he started leading this informal group long before I made it even to Maseno National School! He counters that that has nothing to do with retakes and failed exams. He is a guy endowed with immense knowledge in lexical items in Dholuo, firm and commanding the attention of his audience. What his slim physical physique denies him, he makes up for it in general boisterousness and a funny way of portraying seriousness. He is a compelling story teller and he tells his audience about his tribulations at the hands of the powers that be, you get the idea why he has been the official spokesperson for the Luo community all this years. He has the powers to summon presidents at will and force them to eat humble pie.
Today however, there is a group hell bent on snatching leadership from his grasp. There are claims that he accepted money for political endorsement. He however bridles through as he as always done-outthinking and outmaneuvering his way through. Sorry, I got swayed by his persona. What I wanted to say is that Odhiambo and his team believes that in as much as unity of a tribe is essential for progress; of equal importance is mutual agreement between tribes. The Luo community, the group decides, will vie for two positions and leave the rest for the other tribes. The candidates who are not approved by the Galamoro have to step down –a decision that they are not keen on embracing. However, if the events of the last five elections are anything to go by, they don’t really stand a chance. When Galamoro speaks you listen.
In case you were wondering how Galamoro makes its decisions, they pretty look for other candidates from other tribes who either have strong financial acumen or are stirring waves and include them in the lineup with the vetted Luos. As a result, the Luo candidates however financially poor or unpopular can hope to ride on the wave that comes with the lineup. I won’t speak more of Galamoro lest Kibunja and co came after me.
There are also those who will vote for a person based on the physical appearance of a person. The candidates have realized this and gone to great extents to Photoshop their pictures and make funny postures all in a bid to get noticed. Some for example think the ballot box is a runway or a project show where they strut their ways in like colossuses. In the last elections for example an aspirant lost a seat because his pictures looked like obituaries .he has learned his lesson though-he is spotting stunnas in this campaign poster. Beauty though sometimes go hand in hand with vision. Am not mentioning names like Hulton Odhiambo from Diaspora.
I hear some presidential aspirant snaked his way in school on top of a limo. One I hear, rode through the pavements on top of a white camel replicating Jesus triumphant entry to Jerusalem. We unto you if all you can manage is a bicycle. There is also the aspect of hecklers. Just like crowds can be bought in the rest of the nation, a bottle of Kibao and you’d earn yourself a multitude of followers chanting your slogans and digging jibes at your opponents for free! In case you are wondering what Kibao is, just ask any campus students. Leaders with strong Christian beliefs are not getting left behind as they delegate the drink crew to a trusted lieutenant. After all, in as much as they may not want some of their conservative voters to see them in such company, surely they could use their votes.
To succeed in Campus politics you also need the endorsement of who is who in school. I hear the guy who got elected president last time claimed he knew me. Too bad that I got wind of it after elections. There is also the aspect of the campaign crew that you maintain. A bevy of beautiful women in a guy’s campaign team is essential in wooing the male population. The same might not work for the female electorate though.
A little lie here and there won’t harm though. You just need to know where to draw the line. Promising internet in every room might have been sellable last year but no one however dumb is likely to swallow that again.
The elections are tomorrow and whichever way the results go, let’s just hope that we enjoy some tranquility and serenity at last. A school whereby is someone stops you and asks how your day was then they are genuinely considered about your welfare and not just your vote. If in any case, you are wondering who the peoples president is going to be, don’t be Tom Mboya is your man. After all wasn’t he endorsed by one Varaq Aseda?
Till next week!
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