FOUR TEAMS...ONE FAN (Part 2)

ARSENAL...KENYA...GERMANY...REAL MADRID

21st May, 2005. The day brought with it two immortal memories, the wedding of my friends Caro and Joshu and the F.A Final pitying Manchester United and Arsenal. The game was broadcast live on K.B.C and we were crowded with friends watching the exciting game that ended goalless, even after extra time. The penalty shoot-out was nerve wrecking. Five men from either side were to decide which team I would be a supporter of; though I already had a soft spot for the team in red and white.

All but one scored, a Man-U player called Paul Scholes a.k.a ‘Ginger Prince’ due to his gold hair. He had his kick punched away by the ‘Crazy German’ as he used to be called in Jens Lehmann, Arsenal’s goalkeeper. I was in love and now had the privilege of identifying myself as an Arsenal fan. The bond remains, just grows with each passing game. Arsenal till I die. Period.

But there are other three teams I love you know?

113 in the current FIFA World rankings, mostly terrible but with genuine talent here and there and the occasional win, like the 4-0 over Comoros or the famous 9-0 win over Djibouti that happened over ten years ago! I love the Harambee Star’s, Kenya’s national team due to the fact I am Kenyan and still hope we make it to the World Cup 2014 in Brazil and hopefully win in the final against the hosts. Amen.

La Liga, the Spanish league had me a Barcelona fan since ’02 for the wrong reason until last year when I realized their pretty football, hauls of trophies and rich tradition loses its worth due to the team’s unethical practices such as player diving, player tapping and when they finally lured Super Cesc, Arsenal’s captain and cheated their way to the Champions league did I know I have to jump ship. Still in the honeymoon stage with Real Madrid but liking every single bit and memorable gamesJ

Anytime I play FIFA on play station, I choose Germany for an international game. Reason? I honestly think they are the best in World football but that’s not why I like them. Being with Germans as friends and colleagues was a factor and I took time during the last World Cup in South Africa to finally choose a team to support on the global stage…well, till Kenya wins the World Cup anyway! And it had to be Germany, brilliant skills, awesome talent and they play a style I like…technischen Fußball !

Thanks for reading you wonderful people. I remain, Njabia the 3^rd.

FOUR TEAMS, ONE FAN...(Part 1)

I love football. It was not always like that. The first time our family owned a television set was way back in 1998, the year France hosted and won the World cup. I was around a decade old but my least concern was football. I remember not leaving our house entirely due to the T.V, watching shows as boring as ‘Good Morning Kenya’ and ‘Dunia Wiki Hii’ with my small sister and as the two suggest, K.B.C was the only station we had access to!

But then the World Cup began and it was time to leave the house…that is how much I hated football. Fast forward and Japan with South Korea are the World Cup hosts in 2002. Three factors got me hooked to the beautiful game; a certain Brazilian with a unique hairstyle called Ronaldo, Kilosh, a neighbor who used to pin all the football pictures from the dailies in a blank book and my school mates who already were in tune with the English Premier League.

If it was not for my strict mum, I would also have gotten the ‘Ronaldo’ hair style like almost all boys my age. He really was the best footballer of his generation and his record speaks for itself. Period. I always wanted to be opposites with Kilosh and so when he started fancying Real-Madrid, I decided to be a Barcelona fan. But the biggest influence was listening to my classmates discuss, argue and boast of teams like man-U and Arsenal. That made me curious for I wanted to be part of the ‘pundits’.

For the next three years, I faced a football ‘identity crisis’ when I knew not where to pledge my allegiance to. The aforementioned Kilosh tried all tact to convert me into a Man-United fan but I was not convinced and so when Arsenal booked an F.A Cup final with them on 21st May 2005, I decided that was the D-day. I was finally gonna choose which among the two English soccer giants to pledge my allegiance to…

Wonderful people, have a great weekend. Till next time, I remain Njabia the 3^rd.

SANE POLITICS (Part 2)

Together, we can fly the flag high once more...

Déjà vu. That is exactly the feeling that filled me when during the funeral of a fallen statesman, our former head of state declared, rather subtly of his desire that we elect the son of our first president into the highest office of the land. A decade earlier, such an event had occurred with very little success when Moi had endorsed Uhuru to inherit him as Kenya’s president.

As we well know, our current and outgoing president was catapulted into the helm with popularity across the land and the endorsement of many leaders who rode along the ‘Rainbow’ wave and occupied senior positions in the coalition government that was formed. Since that ’02 election, it has been a decade of political betrayals, bickering and ‘break ups’ if such an expression exists. On a positive note, we’ve experienced increased freedom of expression, reduced bureaucracy in government operations and as data reflects, but not in everyday situations, economic growth.

The ugliest blot and one that will remain etched on our minds is of course the unprecedented chaos, violence and bloodshed that we experienced across the land after the 2007 General Elections.

As we stand now, the boat that is Kenya is now rocked by waves that are growing in intensity as we countdown to the election that’s just around the corner. I think that as a nation, we’ve run around the same circle like a headless chicken for far too long and it’s time we seized the moment and altered the status quo.

I am not a radical asking that we storm the streets and make our voices be heard, neither am I going to watch the unfolding of events without having my voice being heard. I love my country too much and it pains me, as it should to you that years have passed with the political elite fattening their payslip as our fellow people wallow in I.DP camps. I am not asking that you vote for a particular candidate neither, no, not at all.

All I ask is that you take time. Reflect. Then, decide. Do some soul searching and ask yourself what role you can play, either small; such as refusing to carry out that corrupt deal or in a big way; like letting those close to you know that tribalism is a Goliath that can only be felled by those courageous enough to face it. The destiny of Kenya lies in your hand; will you seize the moment or let it slip away …one more time?

God bless Kenya, as He blesses you wonderful reader. I remain Njabia the 3^rd.

SANE POLITICS (Part 1)

Kenya is me & you!

At the beginning of the year, CNN or The Time Magazine, I do not recall which one really christened this year 2012 as “The Year of Elections”. This is because 59 national elections worldwide are to be held, that is like a 3^rd of the world electing new or maintaining the status quo of their ruling class. A substantial number of them have taken place already with the Western African state of Senegal in turmoil over the result.

As a Kenyan, the political arena in my beloved country borders on both the ridiculous and maybe revolutionary. This year should be an election year but then again, it may well not be. According to our new constitution, August should be when we go to the polls yet many people still seem to favour elections in December. Funny enough, the courts ruled that we may have to wait until March next year!

Inasmuch as we are faced with uncertainty on when we get to elect our nation’s leaders, one thing that ought to remain clear is that we detest from the ignorant and Neanderthal attitudes and actions that saw us butcher one another and fragment according to ethnic lines. Much has been said and documented but it would be a shame if as a nation we fail to learn from the past.

Growing up in Nairobi, our cosmopolitan capital city made me see friends as they were, not from what tribe they belonged, and we never even teased each other along the same attribute. Hoping that a country of 40 million people exhibit such traits may be wishful thinking but it does begin with me and you. Because that is what Kenya is.

As I wind up on this first part I leave you with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, “Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.”

Have a lovely weekend you wonderful people, I remain, Njabia the 3^rd.