Life is just a Game

We are One

In late 2011, I remember watching a football match in Greece featuring the most decorated and successful Greek team, Olympiacos F.C versus the finest European team of our age, Arsenal F.C in the formers’ home ground, the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Greece. It was a typical Champions League night and the game might have been but a far-fetched memory had not a moment of brilliance occurred as the game wore on. Arsenal scored through Yossi Benayoun with the assist coming from a certain Marouane Chamakh. Neither of them is a household name even though coincidentally Chamakh wore the number 29 shirt while the goal scorer wore number 30 on his back. But the significance of that moment of magic hit me on how football can be a unifying factor. You see, ladies and gents, Chamakh is a Moroccan international and was then the captain of his national team. Yossi on the other hand, you guessed it right is the captain of the national team of Israel from where he hails. A Muslim and a Jew linking up to inflict damage on the Greek champions. Such is the magic and power of football.

Gor and Ingwe fans United

Since time immemorial, sports and football by far has been used as a tool to bring warring communities together, preach peace and campaign for moral values and their practise. At times, sports has also served to divide people especially where competing teams and their loyal hordes of fans just can’t stand the sight of each other. Amidst all this, more positive than harm can be attributed to football and sports at large.

We all know the simmering tension and warfare experienced in many parts of the world but in the world of sports, there is no black and white, Christian, Hindu, Muslim or Jew. It’s an avenue where humanity’s greatest traits are exposed, where the simplicity of a unified world is demonstrated whether on a pitch, stage or even a swimming pool.

A great act of Kindness

Needless to say, it’s not always nice and smooth. Sometimes racism rears its ugly head and nationalism exceeds human value. But also in such a stage is where we can watch citizens of the most secluded nation on Earth, the North Koreans take on a football giant in Brazil, as it happened in the last world cup in South Africa. It’s also in sports that a Kenyan lady relinquished her sprint to victory in a marathon to help an Oriental man without arms to drink a bottle of water.

There are many other wonderful things and traits that are nurtured through sports. Ranging from team work, hard work, unity and respect both for self and others but that’s a point of discussion for another time. Until then keep it sporty and live out the values of the game, especially the gentleman’s game; football.

Till next time, I remain Njabia, the 3rd.

No need for Caption

Rumours are Spreading

False 411 alert

It is said that a rumour can go round the whole world while the truth is yet to tie its shoe laces. That is quite apt and true especially in the modern era. We live in the information age where all kind of information is accessible in both easy and swift means. Celebrities of our times must be glad that their antics and contribution to whatever they add to humanity can be relayed way much easier. But still, most must rue the power of false information especially using the powerful medium that is the internet.

Around 2009 when Kenya was suffering from the hangovers of dancing ‘kuku’, ‘helicopter’, ‘slide’, ‘mosquito’ and other forms of dance moves, including my favourite of all time, ‘kangaroo’, a new style of music began to emerge. You see, it was now the decline phase of the type of music the Kenyan urban culture had come to embrace; Kapuka when Sauti Sol burst into the scene. I remember a neighbour of mine back then that would play their solo album to no end and I couldn’t avoid their wonderful style of music as my sister was a big fan. Then was when I first heard a rumour that they were gay. I thought to myself that it was just a nasty rumour that would die soon but alas! It still thrives and has been amplified by the emergence of social media.

Maybe the 'Usher-like' dressing style backfired 

To be honest, I really do not know their sexual orientation and neither does it excite me. But this is a sad tale of the many baseless stories that surface and end on their own. I am grateful not to be a celebrity because some can be really nasty; from claims that one suffers from a chronic illness to death itself. How many times have you read somewhere that Will Smith passed on after a nasty fall from a cliff Australia or Lil Wayne is dead after shooting himself thinking he was lighting a joint of weed?

I do not the genesis of such but I presume it is ‘keyboard warriors’ who have too much to spare, a weird sense of imagination and an audience that is engrossed in knowing all the happenings of the so called ‘celebs’.

Some rumours are just silly. Messi to Chelsea, aha!

So Sauti Sol are gay because of how they dress? That’s plain shallow. Let us be constructive in our judgement of people. There isn’t even a need to judge because as Jesus said, ‘Ye first remove the log of wood in your eye before pointing out the speck in thy neighbour’s eye’...paraphrased of course, lest I be condemned of spreading a rumour from Biblical heresy.

Till next time, I remain Njabia the 3^rd.

WhatsDown

WhatsApp

I heard the tale of a young lady aged 17 and in high school. Her mother is a distraught woman after accidentally downloading a nude image of a young man; the age of her daughter on the social communication app, aptly named WhatsApp. It wouldn’t be such a bad scenario apart from the fact that they are neighbours with the aforementioned lad. See the two ‘love chicks’ (not yet birds) had a habit of staring away at their gadgets’ screens to no end each and every evening after a long day at school. It was revealed later after confrontations between their parents that amidst the giggles and wide-eyed stares, they’d actually been ‘trading nudes’ of each other.

This is an embarrassing scenario that one wouldn’t be too keen to have been part of but dear Reader, ever considered some etiquette when engaging in conversations through WhatsApp?

The developers of this amazing app that has literally sucked millions of us in its vortex-that guarantees ease of communication with minimal usage of data and across the entire planet probably never envisioned any of the unwritten violations that many of us carry out.

Reduce the spamming!

The most annoying thing, well for me that is, must be the persistently irritating, repeated, recycled, misinformed, ‘attention seeking’ and downright ignorant forwarded messages. For how long shalt I be warned that I risk a cancellation of my dear WhatsApp if I do not forward the same message to at least 36 of my contacts?! Or a common one: ‘My name is God….blah blah….. Send to 44 people and you will receive a surprise call after 17 hours, 4 minutes and 8 micro-seconds…’ Don’t get me wrong. Some of them are genuinely hilarious and can make one’s day more jovial. Importantly some offer great insights, inspiration and information but let’s rethink twice before sending such spam messages. The ability to send multi-media messages makes WhatsApp really efficient when words alone prove insufficient in relaying what we feel but this is abused too and that is downright wrong. It can be really offensive what image, audio or visual message you send. I’d be cool with a lot of stuff that many crazy friends of mine send but wisdom would help if applied again-before hitting ‘send’.

The concept of group chats is also invaluable but why (ladies mostly!) find it a great thing to start a conversation the rest of us don’t relate to just beatsthe whole idea of it being a group while messages in the dead of the night should be a no-no! ‘Amnesia…guys anyone ever seen a blue shooting star?’ Such a message awaking you at 3 a.m. ain’t such a brilliant idea. I’d include ‘WhatsApping’ us images of how delicious ones’ dinner looks but I won’t because it’s never too serious, right?

...last seen

Most of us normally have busy schedules and it’s not always possible to reply to WhatsApp messages prompt but why some of us start whining as they refer to you ‘last seen’ information just confuses me. Anyway, I’ve been guilty of that but we can collectively work on thatJ.

With a lot said, bottom line is we need to actually incorporate some common sense and etiquette even as we WhatsApp each other or it’ll pretty soon be WhatsDown.

STOP!

WESTERN DELIGHTS

Kisumu and its 'pull factors'

It is a well known fact that Kenyans barely take leisure travel seriously. I was guilty of the same until the time I enrolled at Utalii for a diploma in Travel and Tourism Management. Like majority of my countrymen, I envisioned a visit to upcountry as the epitome of being away from home. The good thing is that the perception especially of domestic tourism is changing, albeit at snail's pace. The government is doing the best it can with sensitization campaigns geared towards this especially through 

KTB’s 'Tembea Kenya' campaign. The media too is doing well with KTN’s Nature Diaries a good example.

In the course I study, we visit all the Kenyan tourist circuits and the last one is amazingly very rich, the youngest of all the circuits and sadly the least promoted and visited. Welcome to the Western Kenya Tourist Circuit.

Some of the attractions in Western Circuit

As its name states, this is the vast region west to our beautiful republic and should not be confused with Western-the administrative province. It spans from the golden shores of the biggest freshwater lake in Africa; Victoria to the high altitude slopes of Iten that Kenya’s world beaters in athletics mostly hail from and train at. Northwards it stretches to the agriculturally rich Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya’s ‘food basket’ with its undulating slopes carpeted by maize and wheat plantations. This gives way to the spectacular Cherangani hills that wind down in a surreal spiral of evergreen forests and crystal clear streams of water.

Kitale and its nearby attractions

Westwards to the town of Kapenguria lies the iconic Mt. Elgon that is rich in flora and fauna of all kinds, spectacular caves and salt licks that elephants utilize as you watch from a safe distance. One can also climb to the summit of its three peaks using both Kenyan and Ugandan routes as it sits right at the border. One can then head into Nyanza province and attractions are diverse and plenty; ranging from the homestead of the grandmother of the most powerful man globally, US president, Barrack Obama in Kogelo, Siaya County. This can be complimented by crossing the famous Yala River as it powerfully roars towards Lake Victoria and just before reaching Kisumu, Kenya’s 3^rd largest city; one can marvel and even pray at the astonishing rock formations famously known as Kit Mikaye.

The city of Kisumu is not only rich in fresh fish from the lake, but also plays host to one of the most rich sanctuaries in the land, the Kisumu Impala sanctuary that houses all the Big 5 apart from the elephant among other attractions. One can then pop into the Kisumu National Museum and get a chance to experience a Luo traditional homestead, aquariums of different kinds, snakes from around the continent among other cultural and historical artefacts.

In Kakamega one can view the exquisite rock formations that is the crying stone and the natural rain forest; the only one of its kind in the country while other attractions in the region include the  Saiwa Swamp, tea plantations in Kericho and the Kapenguria museum.

Infrastructure improving in this 'virgin territory'

Words are not enough but for an experience of a lifetime, visit the Western circuit and Tembea Kenya!

TRIBE ALL

I absolutely love football. I play it less often now, realized sometime back I’ll never make it to play for the Arsenal but that hasn't reduced my passion for the beautiful game. I watch football on TV more than anything else, talk about it almost every day whether with friends in college, at home but mostly online. My favourite team Arsenal happens to have the best blog writes who also are many covering many aspects of the North London club. Well, constant winning of awards makes me so say by the aforementioned writers. Sometime I was reading an article about ‘tribalism’ in football. Actually, it was the headline that caught my attention. It was a moment of reality of just how uncontrolled passion, while good and care-free fun, can result in disaster occurring.

The ugly side of football

The article was written after St. Petersburg club in Russia, considered to have the most violent and aggressive of fans (read racists) had attacked those of a rival team and maimed several. The writer was repeating a story that happens when most rival fans collide and blood is shed. He called it tribalism and that made me think deep of our local situation. See, in football, it’s part of the

experience to have a feeling of belonging with fans of the same team while making mockery of those of rivals especially after beating their team. Also, a lot of unbiased and negative feelings and enmity develop against any other team, more so that of rivals. To many fans, that’s just part of the experience, I included but psychos exist and so do they even in society.

Unity in diversity

There are more important aspects in life than football. And more serious issues that need addressing like tribalism. No one chose what race, nationality or tribe to be born in unlike football where one chooses. No one should gloat over the tribe they belong to but that’s acceptable in football. Growing up, the truth is it’d never hit me of my differences with friends I grew up with. All that changed in 2007. We all know what happened then and how worse it has become. I log onto Facebook and the posts I see in relation to the same make my stomach turn with ire. I heard some kids outside the barbershop I go to turn violent and abuses were hurled between them. Besides the usual ‘mbwa’ and ‘jinga’ words, the name of the other kid’s tribe was used to pull him down.

What have we become, Kenyans? Considered the most optimistic people in the planet, 10 years later we’re probably among the polarized of people. United we may seem but that’s because we choose to speak in hushed tones and now more behind out keyboards, spitting hatred against each other on social platforms. We can blame the leaders but the buck stops with us at the individual level. It starts with you, and me. Ball’s in our courts now.

One Kenya

Like footballers who earn mind-blowing amounts of money, we cheer them on and hate on them when they prove disloyal by moving to better paying clubs. Like politicians who seem ever agitating for more pay, we get duped more often than not. Their utterances make us hate each other, and unfortunately even kill each other. Makes me wish we’d live by the rap line sang by a popular hip-hop musician; WE’RE ONE NATION, UNDER GOD.

Yesterday, I attended a match between Kenya’s Harambee Stars and Nigeria’s Super Eagles. We did lose at home from a freak sole goal but I also learnt something at Kasarani. All of us were draped in the national colours cheering on our team. I couldn't tell whether the people around me were Luo, Kikuyu or any other Kenyan tribe. We joined together, singing, jeering and having a good time; as Kenyans. How I hope this would flood over in other aspects of our lives as Kenyans. I choose to act. Hope you do the same and as incense spreads a sweet smelling aroma of peace, love and unity. For this three need to define us as a nation.

Until another time, I remain, Njabia the 3^rd.

CHANGES

Old glory days..

Fashion changes. Ever.

“Where did our Arsenal go?” is a phrase I've seen many times from deluded fans of the football club I support. You see, dear reader, this famous and big club has failed to win a trophy now for a third of the period that the current giant, Manchester United went through and it’s normal to feel agitated and complain. 8 years without a trophy is no joke and it requires massive loyalty to still support such a club, but that’s a story for another day.

The world has been changing since its formation. Whether you believe in the Darwian theory or the creation one, the bottom-line is our lovely planet is dynamic, always has and will forever be. A geology-obsessed fellow I am, I can for sure give evidence of the constant change that has taken place in our world. Another change that’s always been there is in man.

The human species is a funny lot. Either we never reach the point of contentment or we’re too adventurous to settle with the normal. At the same time, a contradiction of sorts is when we’re told that people dislike change. I am not so old but I’ve lived quite some time to bear witness that change happening in our world today is too fast for most of us to handle. Whether in fashion, how people relate or even in the way we worship God nowadays, the change sweeping in our societies is too fast. Maybe I am old fashioned as some friends point out to me but I propose we take a reality check.

Even facebook aint the same no more

I logged onto Facebook the other day and the first line of this question resonated in my mind, well, with ‘facebook’ and not ‘Arsenal’. Not so long ago the most popular social medium in the world was an avenue of meeting new people, posting experiences and feelings and such originally intended uses. But on my timeline was the photo of a nude man and what was written shocked me. You know what I’m talking about. Prostitution is now marketed on social media, blasphemy advocated for in our timelines and moral decay exhibited for all to see.

I watch TV and almost get sick, not because I am a holier than thou kinda person but even something as innocent as a love song is portrayed in such a wicked manner that one ends up longing for the days of boys bands when lyrics sounded as is if straight from Shakespeare and not the referring of ladies as ‘female dogs’.

Changes, changes, changes.

Process seems to have been discarded a long time ago in our age. Everything seems to be done as fast as possible. That’s what the world demands. Why wait for your marriage night to give your virginity to your soul mate, they ask? Why learn to cook yet you can buy readymade food in a supermarket, they suggest. Why stand by your morals and remain single you are told, rather subliminally…I actually have no solution to this rushing train called change. It actually is inevitable. But maybe someone will choose to be different. To be a speed bump among your peers cause that’s what we utterly need, speed bumps.

OBAMA - (not) MADE IN KENYA

Happy New Year, dear reader.

In awe of politician's shallow talks

Back in 2004, I’d just joined high school and this almost unknown guy by the name of Barrack was making his name heard over our airwaves as the son of a Kenyan immigrant to the United States and who was seeking to be the Senate representative for the state of Illinois.  Like a snow ball picks speed and increases in size, so did his popularity grow. Even a now extinct beer brand, ‘Senator’ was christened to ‘Obama’. We all know how history played itself out, if you do not, you might want to check who’s currently the most powerful individual in the world.

At that time, The Standard newspaper publication on Sundays had a pull out called Society and in which one caricaturist aptly drew a comparison of political campaign styles of Kenya and the U.S of A. Sleeves folded, a keen crowd and smiling faces portrayed Obama while a pot-bellied guy was addressing a rather rowdy crowd to exemplify the typical Kenyan counterpart. Perhaps the greatest contrast laid in the words being uttered. Michelle’s dad was speaking of democracy, healthcare and such matters of sobriety. The other dude was literally talking of nothing sensible but quite evoking with a guy in the crowd wondering out loud when a teargas canister will be lobbed to disperse the crowd, or a rival crowd shows up armed with stones and machetes.

Violence that killed 1,300 people

9 years later and a lot has happened in Kenya’s political scene. The hate speeches in campaign rallies have gone down; lest one finds themselves live on CNN, al-Jazeera et al facing international crimes. But I wonder if the hearts of the ruling class have been transformed or it is fear thet they are operating from.  One of the men I look up to, a guy by the name of Anyangu Yohana once said ‘Freedom is not worth having if it doesn’t include the freedom to make mistakes’ and I concur with him. Listening to political banter makes one realize that nothing much has changed in accordance to our attitudes. Sadly, tribalism seems to be so deeply rooted, not even the death of 1,300 people after the controversial last general election seems to have made us sober up a bit as Kenyans.

Looking at the six almost ten presidential aspirants, I personally see no better or ‘Obamasque’ one among them like Peter Kenneth. Not only with his cultured mannerisms, coherence of speech and a good track record with the people he has represented before, but even in his demeanour and sound policies he’d like to implemented if he was elected the CEO of this great nation. Sadly, we all know he’ll not even be among the top three for the majority will vote for ‘our people’. Truth be told, that guy was spot on in that cartoon publication in ’04. We seem to be a nation dazzled and almost held in a trance by the political heavyweights. It’s like when they hold a microphone, they instantly become entertainers who enchant us with their shallow speeches, funny dancing styles and belittling the other aspirans. This needs to stop. Now.

The caption says it all!

I have a theory. Hearing of so many people who use their money to fund their campaigns then lose out and eventually get sick, miserable and deep in debts, I wonder what if corruption is a never ending cycle due to such circumstances. I mean, upon gaining a political seat after spending your millions that you’d previously worked hard for, you’d want to get it back, right? Yet the buck stops with us, as former US president Truman put it aptly. We are the voters. We are the people who determine which fellas we want. We employ them. We are the bosses. Unfortunately, it’s the other way round it seems. Branded helicopters hover over and about our skies as they seek our votes but the same effort is rarely seen when the electorate are in trouble like famine, floods and war.

It’s approximately a month to the forthcoming general elections. I see no much change according to how things seem to be spiraling to another imminent disaster like we had five years ago. It seems like a 50-50 race of two men but referred to as horses now. Sadly, the race seems to be based not on differing policies as the ideal situation would call for but rather political clamour for leverage. As you decide to cast your ballot, reflect deeply. And as many of us already have our minds made up, let us resolve that as close as the election will be, we’ll accept the outcome. At the end of the day, we are a democratic nation.

 I remain, Njabia the 3^rd.