What is ailing young entrepreneurs?

What is ailing young entrepreneurs?

An incisive insight doled out by Musyoka Ngui

On September 20 this year we had our first graduation ceremony ever. Earlier in January, the then President H.E. Hon Mwai Kibaki graced the charter ceremony with a very powerful message to the young people. He a successful personality and an economist with strong business acumen coupled with a checkered career spanning half a century at the center of Kenyan political leadership, the message could not have come from a lesser authority or at a more appropriate time.

Kibaki departed from his characteristic comedy and assumed a don’s demeanor complete with a dose of arrogance. He said we should depart from the employer mentality. He advocated for job creation rather than job search. He vouched for entrepreneurship. He recalled with nostalgia his days when having a university degree in the village attracted cultish respect and reverence. Today, he said, a degree is a primary requirement for most jobs. It is the barest minimum that one can have before thinking about employment. He challenged us to further our education to the highest attainable level.

I could see the determination of the president. Despite his advanced age and slow style he commanded control of the situation; launched flagship development projects and secured a firm seat in the hall of fame as far as the Vision 2030 is concerned.

Many moons later, we return to the fully fledged university to learn. Ideas have been churned. Bright ideas. Illuminating. These clarion calls for enterprise and innovation have excited the youth. They realize that they can be independent, productive and sustain themselves. They have incubated projects. Some have failed while others have taken off.  From these instances let’s draw some lessons, challenges and opportunities Which the youth stare at.

Find a work that you enjoy doing. A hobby job.  The cliché is passion. Passion makes one derive pleasure and leisure from their work. They do not serve time or quantity. They serve quality. They do not notice time passing. They wonder how short the day has been. They are immersed in the job and the job flows in their veins. They do not do their job for slavery or to wait for the month to end so that they receive their salaries. Despite all odds the passion drives such a person to wake up every single day, go forward and make a difference.

Commitment is a recipe for entrepreneurship. After starting off there is a lot of honey moon. Everything goes merry. However, as time progresses the stark reality dawns like daybreak that you do not have capital. The tap of cash switches from gushes to drips or no drips at all. What will keep you going after you exhaust your sources of capital? Will you go ahead and send your hard saved reserves for needs that can wait? Will you be the liability that will sink your own business? What happened to the devotion that you set to always remit 5o bob to the savings drawer even when it is the last coin in your pocket? Do not rock your own boat.

We have all been accused of being African timers and rightly so. We are never punctual. We are always delayed with excuses to blame for. We are dishonest and fake. We lack common courtesy to call in advance and apologize that we will be running late and thus free up those we tie up in remote places waiting for us.

Sleep is good. It rejuvenates the body, mind and soul. But there is time to kick the damn blanket in the a** and jump out of the bed and run wildly for our dreams. Whether it is at 4 am or at 8 am, please just be there in time. Keeping others waiting and being perennially a mouth of lame excuses brands you as unreliable, unbankable and untrustworthy. Earn your trust by keeping your time and honoring deadlines.

The first thing that makes us do anything is ambition. The picture in the mind that says it is possible. However, some are overambitious. They set unattainable targets which expose them to frustration. They are impatient to follow the procedure. They want to jump from a greenhorn to an expert. They join an organization as junior staffers with an attitude of a CEO. They start disrespecting their colleagues, despising their juniors and pinching the noses of the sweepers for their inability to know people. They have a bloated ego. They shed off old friends old supportive friends who have propped them up in the thick and thin. Like a snake they develop an outer scale of arrogance, pride and overvalued sense of self worth. Even insurance actuaries cannot quantify them. They become a number divided by zero. They suddenly raise the class ranks and join an elitist club which breathes alien oxygen and disregards humanity.

When one is blessed there is a high tendency of the success getting to their head. They are corrupted. Never lose sight of the humble beginnings that you had. In his song, Niko Poa,  Mejja appreciates his buddies for supporting him and despite meeting his producer and mentor Clemmo, he is in touch with the hustlers at his home- Nyeri. He calls them and promises to buy them a drink. In his own words: “MaObama mtakunywa na jagi.”

The lyrics:

(Mobile phone rings)

Mejja: Hello! Ni nani?

Fan: (At a Simu ya Jamii booth)Bro umesahau sauti yangu kiaje?

Mejja: Pole. Ulinunua simu bana, hata huwezi nipigia nipate number

Fan: Zi. Hii ni simu ya jamii. Hata sina credo itakatika saa hii ( simu ya jamii disconnects. Mejja calls)

Mejja:Hello, ulipata zile pesa nilituma on sato?

Fan: Eeh, wasee huniuliza utakuja lini. Usiwasahau hata ka unakaa jiji. Ukikaa jiji usisahau kijij…

Mejja: Nkikuja nitawanunulia majee…. MaObama mtakunywa na jagi

Fan: Haaaah wazi ndo umeanza kuongea

Mejja: Wasee wa ghetto usisahau kuwaambia. Kama Mungu aliniondolea shida hajawasahau siku yenu bado itafika

Fan: Inshallah, usibadilike sana…

Mejja: Hata ka siku hizi naitwa Okwonko, siwezi sahau nina damu ya umajengo

Fan: Wazi ngotea watu wa Nairobi.

Mejja: Wazi ngotea Majengo ya Nyeri

In highly social careers like journalism we often find strength in team work. Everybody’s effort is key in the final product of the company. We require cooperation and coordination to achieve our goals. We are excellent communicators who bond with the presidents and paupers. Ideally, in any team we have equality. But reality says that all people but some are more equal than others. That is why we have a first among equals. The best of the best who sells the foremost brand that sells the team. The person may possess monopolistic talent that some of us in the bandwagon lack.  They become subject of hate, jealousy and envy. We start what do they have that we do not have? We withdraw our support from the star so that it can fade and we are glad to replace it. Shame on us!

Instead of thanking, encouraging and appreciating such talent we do the unthinkable. Journalism is highly competitive, dynamic and has high stakes. It is about visibility and recognition.  Instead of back-biting a colleague, can’t you find your own competitive edge and further it? You are not a child of a lesser God than them. If God gave her beautiful looks or brilliant brains He must have given you something-unless you have not discovered it yet. You could be the best writer the world has never seen and known the most captivating photojournalist or the keenest designer.

We cannot all be the same. Do not compete with anybody. Rival yourself and when you have done your best, reward yourself for beating yourself.

Be authentic. Originality is the easiest person you can ever be. Do not struggle to ape others. If copy, copy selectively and domesticate the traits to fit your frame. Do not lose your identity. Do not be anyone’s photocopy. Even if you have an identical twin sibling, carve and curve your own niche. Above all, get a life. Live your life. Seize the moment. It is only once.  You will never get a chance to turn back the hands of time.

In any business idea you conceive, let it work for you. If you are already in it, aim for fair profit not VATing zero rated commodities. Stay true to human values and ethics. Good luck!

The writer is a 3^rd year student of Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University. He blogs at musyokangui.blogspot.com

Male circumcision has lost meaning: From transition rite to a cash cow ritual

Male circumcision has lost meaning; from transition rite to a cash cow ritual writes Musyoka Ngui

My holiday straddled mid month of August and September. It was a one-month break. That gave me a perfect opportunity to witness the rich initiation ceremonies at home. Not that there is anything new. In fact, with years the glamour and allure of male circumcision has paled. I took out my family photo album and admired the photos that froze the moment the knife met the flesh. It has been 14 years since.

In the past, boys of the same age group were circumcised in a mass ceremony. The circumcision was symbolic that once you braved the pain of the surgeon you crossed the line from childhood to adulthood. The initiates were secluded for some time under the stewardship of their uncles to be taught about reproductive health, family planning and other responsibilities. Soon after graduating from the informal class the boys were separated from men and got the nod and blessings from the wazees to marry. On the other hand, girls too were circumcised. They were taught about womanhood by their aunts.

The circumcision coincided with the puberty of the initiates. The adolescents were restless and hot blooded. Circumcision applied breaks on their adrenalin rush. Once the young adults healed they could experiment with sex for a “test drive”. Fathers felt proud when they saw their sons strike a rapport with village girl from the other ridge. The mothers knew the zizi will be full and their status in the village will soar.

Not anymore. Today the female circumcision infamously christened Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is outlawed and illegal. Times have changed. Girls are no longer regarded as a source of wealth once married off.

Today circumcision is done purely on medical purposes. Male circumcision reduces the spread of STIs since the foreskin is removed from the penis thus making the contact surface area less as well as easy to clean.

When one is circumcised they are given presents. In Kamba community boys are given money, goats, chicken, sheep, cows and assorted foodstuffs. The initiates are not supposed to eat salty food until they recover. However, the most popular event is the time of dancing and eating. You know on the eve of circumcision the villagers collect tins, sticks and rods. These act as drums to signify the party has began when played. The villagers dance round the huts of the initiates to scare them witless. The chiding is a bet that whoever shall bear the pain of the knife without crying gets more gifts than those who yell during the act.

When the initiate’s turn to take to the theatre comes, he is accompanied by the person he is named after or by an uncle if the person is not available. I remember the night before I was circumcised vividly. My cousin was assigned the task of bathing my brothers and me who were my fellow candidates. We showered without much drama until my cousin pulled a surprise. He whispered “You know what guys, there is a needle that you are injected with to numb the pain before the cut and the eventual stitching. But the doctor must inject you at the hole of the penis.” (could not put it more politely in his own words). I was frightened.

I shook like a leaf in the windstorm. I dressed up but not before taking a mental note of the dreaded prick. I was later to ask the doctor whether he would inject me “in the middle”. He said no. When my cousin learned that indeed I asked the doctor such a naive question he condemned me as a coward. All this time the parents are away from their kids. I guess mothers would cry sentimentally at the sight of their sons bleeding in the name of circumcision.

In a highly patriarchal society as mine nothing is as traumatizing as newly circumcised men walking around in lesos. For two weeks they neither touch their trousers nor do they wear briefs. They go commando. They only wear a kanga and a shirt or even a kanga alone.

The younger you are the faster you heal. Younger initiates are the ones who return to normal life earlier than their seniors.

During the dancing the participants are supposed to pair up in such a way that they are not near someone like their mother or an in-law. They normally end up with the opposite gender friends to grind with. The swing is energetic. There is the moment of kwikya musung’u(to tease the other dancers by daring them to come on). If you are teased you gladly welcome the challenge. This draws attention to the pair and the other dancers stop dancing to watch the free auditions.

The winner gets more local brew fondly called mawa( ground millet that is fermented). If you do not drink mawa you can ask for usuu wa mwee (porridge made from millet) which is deliciously sour and tantalizing to the taste buds.

Today due to urbanization and modernity there is less fanfare. I was baffled by parents who use the status of their children as a cash cow. One told me: “My son was circumcised and you never came to see him. Anyway he is well but you can still buy him soda to congratulate him. Or you give me money I take to him”. Another one offered: Daddy is playing with the other kids kwa plot” but buy him chips to remember he has a mentor. I bought him the chips and tipped the mother to take the money to the little boy. When I inquired from the master whether he got my tip he said, “mom alisema ataniwekea”. I felt robbed without violence and mourned the abuse of the little boy’s status by his very own mother. I gave him a pound and he ran away to buy “Cinderella”. He came back smiling happily chewing the “Cinderella” as the stickers which moments ago wrapped the candy were pasted on his face.

The writer studies Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University. He blogs at musyokangui.blogspot.com

For the first time in a very long time, Musyoka Ngui documents exclusive tricks, intrigues and games that define Kenya’s secondary education system. He goes back in time to reveal what national examiners failed to do and up to now do not seem to decipher why they are always beaten by the clever and may be academically stupid students. Can’t old dogs learn new tricks? Are the dynamics too fast to catch up with?

Sit pretty and enjoy this nail-biting show.

Script By: Musyoka Ngui

Executive Producer: Robert Onyango

Director: Martin Wangari

Executive Director: Frankline Momanyi Nyaboga

Floor Manager: Robert Onyango

Make Up: Nelson Wagita

GAMES STUDENTS PLAY

Scene 1

(A Hi School. The curtain opens with forth form learners who are waiting for their graduating exam. Day Zero is sitting rehearsal day. The supervisor and the invigilators are in the house. The principal is making sure that everything runs smoothly. The students are being taken through exam administration rules.)

Principal: Good morning dear candidates!

Students: Good morning sir!

Principal: It is my pleasure to invite the supervisor to address you.  But before him, let me make my brief remarks. I expect you to concentrate and be keen on the presentation so that you do not blame yourself tomorrow at the KZSE. No cheating. If you are caught you will be on your own. KNYC examiners will be vigilant as police detectives. They are watching every move you make. Any wrong move will cost you your arm and leg. Be warned! With those brief remarks, let me welcome Mr. Sungura and his team to address the Class of 2013. Thanks! (The audience claps and welcomes the new speaker)

Mr. Sungura:  Thank you Mwalimu. Students, we are honored to serve you today. We are not here to intimidate you. Neither are we here to harden your life. As long as you do the right, you will be on the safe side. (He takes them through the examination rules and regulations. Soon the session is over and all dismiss)

Scene 2

(Students react)

Jim: Aaah! Maze hiki kisupervisor kinatukazia sana. Yaani wasee wakae one meter apart north, east, west and south?  

Carol: Ati hawatuoni poa. Nani amesema si hucopy teo? I hate them all. F**k them. F**k U!

Larry: Talking of f***king jueni teo imetungoja tangu kidato moja. Imebao na tukirelax itatuf***k!

Tina: Jim si ukona mpango ya power. Toa mpango. (Psyches up to release tension of exam phobia)

Jim: Tulieni! Hush! Shhhh! (Removes his mwakx) Unaona hii mwakx? Nitaisunda kwa ngotha na niifunge na blanda. Watatufrisk but hawataiona. Tukishaingia, afta exam ianze nidai naendesha, nifike toile niichomoe pap! Nicopypaste na nitokezee. Nini ingine? Si stori itakuwa imedie?

All: Hakuna!  Ishakuwa. (Hi five and cheers)

Carol: Me msinione ivo. My body is my business and invigilators should MTOB. Yaani they Mind Their Own Business. I will not allow male invigilators to touch me inappropriately or suggestively.

Larry: What do you mean? Ngoso nayo!

Carol: Nimejitatoo boobs, thighs and upper arms. Nikishaketi hapo kwa kona side ya mlango near the diro, ni kuunbuttonna kulift tu. Ata du?

Tina: What if he comes and orders u 2 undress your hidden parts ili aone hiyo umeandika?

Carol: Then I will scream bloody rape! Help! Help! Help! Am being raped!

Tina: Na CCTV cameras zenye waliinstall juzi?

Jim: Kwani uko nyuma aje kama by election ya 2013? Hizo tushazivandalize kitambo na tuna deal ya kuzikinda tao kwa broker fulani Down Town.

Tina: Mind you tushascrub lockers na exam room was recently repainted and refurbished. Will you get anywhere to write? Nitawasema kwanza.

Jim and Carol: Jaribu kuwa nice gal. Utajipendekeza kwa KNYC but tukiachwa na wewe tutakuchinja. We will brand you with a hot iron rod like a cow. Zile glass tulivunja juzi tym ya strike zitatumiwa kukutorture. Mwakenya suspects za 80’s zilipelekwa Nyayo House but za siku hizi ndizo zitapeleka informers kwa kichinjio. Risk at your own peril.

Scene 3

(Actual exam day. No much activity as it is hard to copy Math Paper 1 and 2. Students behave well and invigilators have started patting them in the back)

Scene 4

(All ringleaders present. The rest of the class is oblivious of what the top schemers are up to. Each has a surprise card they would pull at the opportune time. It is History Paper 1; pure theory and memory.)

Invigilator 1(Male): I will frisk the boys and you screen the girls.

Invigilator 2(Female): Why don’t you do the girls and I do the boys? Gender equality style.

Invigilator 1: No. They may refuse and protest the more. You just frisk the girls and I do the boys.

Invigilator 2: Sawa. Let’s get started. In case of anything I shall call you. (All the students line up for the frisking at the door. They are ordered to remove their shoes, wallets, bets and ties.)

Jim: This is unfair! Wasee eeh! Wasee aahh!  Sis wanoma sana. No inspection! After all kwani kuna evidence ya stealing hapa? Wamepata nani so far? Si mao na ngoso tulidu vipoa?

Larry, Carol and Tina: Power! Power! Hapo umeongea kama wasee kumi.

Jim: Ata si kumi ni mia. Makofi kwangu. (Laughs)

(None of the candidates is nabbed at the door with irregularities. Exam papers are distributed and soon the exam kicks off)

Scene 5

(Most of the candidates are immersed in exam. The invigilators are looking right, left and center. Others are peeping through the cracks and windows from the outside)

Tina: Shhh! Nitakusema hebu acha kucopy apo. What were you doing all those four years?

Jim: Jinga. Si useme unadhani utaongezewa marks? Nkt! Mschew! *@#$%&

Larry: Manze chunga invigilators ziko randa. Pia makarao apo nje wako ngori. Zuia noma. Pole pole.

(Invigilator 1 flies and lands on Jim’s desk. Begs him to surrender the paper he is copying from)

Jim: (Swallows the paper. The paper is stuck in his throat): Zi! Achana na mimi. Umeniona? (He coughs as tears roll down his cheeks as he tries to swallow the stuck bolus of paper)

Carol: (Hits Jim hard on the back. The bolus of mwakx flies from Jim’s mouth to the floor, full of saliva and thoroughly wet. Jim realizes that the paper may nail him for cheating in the exam and rushes to the ground and swallows it again. All are stunned. The police rushes to the scene with guns and fires in the air. Confusion ensues. Soon the situation returns to normal)

Carol: (unbuttons her blouse to get sneak peak of the literature she has tattooed he boobs with. She fishes out a leaf from her bra and copies. Eats it up. The tattooed answers seem to tally with what is in the question paper.)

Carol’s thoughts: “I told you so. Si ni wazi? Hiyo lika imegonga ndipo ka msumari. Hiyo histo ni A. A+ nikainguka sana ama waundermark. I know Larry wherever you are you are smiling. Si utaningawia ile loot tulicollect kwa maforth ili tuwaletee leakage? Sawa mzeiya?! LOL!”

Invigilator 2: (Pointing at Carol) Mr. Supervisor, that girl is nodding alone. Kwani anaongea na shetani?

Supervisor: Since I am male I cannot touch her. Even African taboos don’t allow fathers to go to their daughter’s bedrooms. They may find them naked. You just ask her.

Invigilator 2: No! You are the supervisor. Remember you are fully in charge.

Supervisor: Ok. Let me do it. (He goes and threatens to order Carol to undress her top and her micro skirt – where the rest of the literature is embedded.)

Carol: Wooiii! Woooiii! Wooooiiii! Help me mom! Police! Naomba serikali iingilie. This is a gross violation of fundamental human right of privacy. UN mko? How can you allow me to be raped in the broad daylight? Shame! (All the candidates stand up and protest throwing chairs and exam materials. They start shouting Haki Yetu and carry Carol shoulder high outside to “rescue” her. Exam stops dramatically.)

Principal: (Calling the DEO): Bwana Mkubwa!, Come! Emergency!

To be continued

Curtain

Disclaimer: This script does not in any way endorse any exam malpractice. In fact it just highlights the ways in which candidates steal their way to success hoping that the relevant stakeholders will contain the malpractice and restore honor and credibility in our national examinations.

To the candidates of Class of 2013:  Chuka University Theatre and Arts Club wishes you success and Good Luck in your tests. Cheers!

Forgiveness is not forgetting

Forgiveness is not forgetting, it is remembering writes Musyoka Ngui

“Forgiveness is not forgetting; it is actually remembering-remembering and not using your right to hit back. It is a second chance for a new beginning. And remembering part is particularly important. Especially if you do not want to repeat what happened. ”- Archbishop Desmond Tutu-  Nobel Laureate and former South African Truth and Reconciliation Chair.

We have all had relationships. Good and bad relationships. Any relationship whether business or romantic involves two or more parties. These parties often have conflicts. It is how we manage such conflicts that determine the destiny of our relationships for better or for worse.

When we were kids we would fight. Sibling rivalry was rife.  We would pick up a fight from toys, sweets, and clay when constructing model houses as kids. Our work would stall and get physical. Only after our parents noticing one with red eyes or limping limb would we explain what went wrong.

We would start: Ni yeye! (It is him). No it is him. This would put our mom in a dilemma when determining who was speaking the truth and who was lying. She would cane both of us the aggressor and the offended. That was democracy of then. Mom did not want to show that she was lenient to one son. Both children were economical with truth. None came clean.

In the end, she would retort: Mwambie pole(say sorry). And you! Us kids forgot the lesson quickly no wonder the process repeated as soon as the conflict was resolved.

Now come to think of grown folks –people with brains, understanding, knowledge and wisdom yet they still do their affairs as kids. They forget fast. They blame one another and yet still do their things as toddlers who need a big brother to ensure fair play. No matter the level of the conflict, sobriety is needed. Being able to put yourself in the shoes of the offended party and accepting that you are wrong. Neither I nor my brother acknowledged that we made mistakes. We were chest thumpers. We thought it would make us less man. We were arrogant. We were full of ourselves. Grandstanding and counting who will blink first.

That was ignorance. Being unable to decipher that accepting blame is the first step to healing especially if you are the aggressor. Once one accepts the blame they are then supposed to see it to that the mistake does not recur again deliberately. Repeating a mistake in the pretense that you will be forgiven is an abuse to the patience and tolerance of the offended party.

This brings me to the next aspect of forgiveness: sincerity. Do not just say something, mean it. Walk the talk. Some people go ahead to make it up to others. I don’t know whether to call it emotional bribery or desire to be in good terms. Such people wrong you and feel that apologizing is not enough. They buy you something like lunch or a drink. While one would understand that if the act been regretted has caused another some physical harm the offender ought to recoup the loss by treating the other party well. Say I have deliberately cut your finger. I should take you to hospital. It should come from me not a reminder or a legal persuasion that I am being pushed to implement.

The above should not be confused with revenge. Revenge is when the offended party hits back in order to get even. Two wrongs do not make a right. It is a fallacy that tit for tat is a fair game. Mahatma Gandhi indeed said that tit for tat will lead to the whole world being blind.

Revenge escalates a conflict. It is not something that should be done when there are a million viable alternatives to pursue. Like having a dialogue. Communication cures many broken relationships. All relationships fall and rise with communication or lack of it.

In the political circles they call it consultation. The consultations come with terms and conditions. These ifs, buts and what ifs anchor the agreement. People approach dialogue table with doubt and skepticism. I would advise anyone to have an open mind and not jumping into prejudgment. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) you write and sign is a tool of trust. I should be able to have faith in you that you will keep your part of the bargain. Unfortunately, those who have been hurt long ago deleted the word trust in their dictionary and substituted it with doubt plus fear as its synonym.

Once you have been forgiven you should do anything and everything that is humanely possible to be faithful to the conditions that bind you. After all, the trust, the MoU, the vow and the swearing that you do will be meaningless if they are violated.

Methinks no one is too bad to be grudged neither is there a sin that is too red to be pardoned. It behooves the offended party to give the aggressor a second chance. It is also the duty of the aggressor to utilize the chance because an opportunity is a moment. It comes and goes. If you don’t capitalize on the moment do not cry over spilt milk.

Timeliness is an important aspect in forgiveness. Imagine you step on my toe and a half an hour later you come to say sorry. It that not a lazy joke or insult to my mental faculties? Apologies should come in the heels of mistakes.  That ways they are more acceptable and believable.

Still on time, remembering is paramount in reconciliation. Remembering that you have learnt a lesson from the experience and not being a fool to always learn from experiences. Learning from experience is painful. It can even take your life regardless on which side of the conflict you are in. This is not to say when you forgive somebody you keep reminding them that you did them a favour. No. The remembrance is on the part of the forgiven. Be grateful that someone has forgiven you debt of sin. When is done even God is happy and forgives the aggressor too.

Dawa ya moto si moto ni maji. If a building catches fire you don’t add more fuel, you extinguish the fire by water. Such is the situation when the standoff is resolved amicably. The devil is ashamed. When you love your enemy, they will think why they are being given a lease of life. They will reflect and eventually see the light.

Since relationships and conflicts have differences, it is not something to mourn about. It is a recipe for toasting champagne. Similarity bores. Some people just want to be different in exercise of their creativity. In the process they may end up hurting you. Forgive them, tomorrow it may be you. Diversity is the child of differences. And differences show how unique we are. Thus differences should urge us to celebrate our diversity and embrace variety.

The writer is a 3^rd year student of Bachelors of Arts Degree in Communication and Media at Chuka University. He also blogs at musyokangui.blogspot.com