THE ECONOMIST

 THE ECONOMIST

On December of 2002, there was a change of guard, a change of a long-standing regime, a political shift, and a new direction for the nation of Kenya. It was a long time coming but when it did, it forever changed this nation. The late President Emilio Mwai Kibaki, CGH came with the wind of economic change and he was determined to lay the foundation for it. No sooner than he landed on his office desk at Statehouse, than he started re-organizing Kenya and yes, we all felt the shift, even to the grassroots.

When he became president, Mwai Kibaki inherited a weak and declining economy and a corrupt system, which had plagued our nation for decades, and was determined to change it, by increasing school enrolment, implementing free primary education, introducing basic and affordable health care access to all citizens and rehabilitating roads and other infrastructure. He also vowed to sustain peace and uphold the constitution.

Kenya was never the same, after the Nyayo era. As soon as he was sworn in as the new president and landed in Statehouse Ville, he gave us twenty one business days, to get our act together and find work that occupied our time, instead of hanging around jobless corners, discussing political events that did not benefit us. It was as if, when Nyayo left us, thinks took a different turn. All over sudden, we had a president who never encouraged freebies. I just knew in my heart that it would have to rain peaches, before we could yet again enjoy handouts like we were used to in the previous regime. There was no longer enjoying free milk, no new folk songs from our beloved composer Thomas Wasonga, and no more broadcasts that first paid tribute to our previous president, no more perks, no more fun, and no nothing.

Life was drab at first, as we struggled to embrace these sudden changes. I could almost hear His Excellency in his head communicating telepathically to us all saying, “Stop with the singing and dancing and get to work!” “Well, what do you want us to do Sir? This is what we were used to. This is all we know to do.” That was my psychic response to his non-verbal message. I felt as though President Kibaki had changed on us in a jiffy. Life became so stringent, while he painstakingly steered us in a different direction that went against what we were all accustomed to. All the late President Mwai Kibaki cared for at the time, was building our economy. His was solely focused on investing every penny he could find into our infrastructure.

At the time of new Kibaki regime, I was also undergoing a personal transition, from teenage-hood to adulthood and I was on the clock, adhering to the twenty one business days, as was scheduled by the former president, to make the necessary shift. I had to quickly snap out of the nostalgic Moi era, in order to embrace the reality of being a young an adult. It was like at one moment, I was singing Tawala Kenya alongside Muungano Choir and the next, I was leering at the business daily, trying to find decent jobs to apply for, so that I may earn my own keep. The stress of becoming a young and responsible grownup was getting to me.

Nyayo era had come, gone, and became a distant memory. It is said that you never really miss someone or something, till it is gone. As much as we were jubilant at the change of political guard, we were also mandated to deal with the Kibaki era, which consisted majorly of work, more work, hard work and even more hard work. Former President Kibaki was not a man given too many words. He spoke less, moved in silence but made huge impacts.

Mr. Mwai scoffed at laziness, and regarded it as sinful for people to just sit around and wait for manna from heaven. This was one president, who hated idle minds, political banters, and jobless corners, for he regarded them all as a waste of precious time. Actually, I have a mind that Mr. Mwai regularly sent the city council police to all jobless corners, to arrest all the idlers and put them to task, by giving them jobs to do. According to him, all work and no play made Jack a wise and rich boy. That was his standard for us all, and if he could flog all of us back into shape, he would have.

 Furthermore, he cared less of critics that deemed him to be rigid and out of touch with reality. If he gave you a job, it did not come with a manual or a blue print of the position given. He instead expected you to use your qualifications and your God-given brain to figure it out, or else. This president had only one goal in mind, which was to lay the foundation for economic change in this great country, and for a decade of his tenure, he worked hard to achieve this goal.

Yet the question remains, did he achieve his economic goal for Kenya? Absolutely. Ten years of the Kibaki government turned Kenya into a hub of global commerce, with large investors swooping in to capitalize on the expanse of economic growth. While the Nyayo era gave us an education, the Kibaki government brought on economic growth and the Uhuru-Ruto government relied on both sectors to usher Kenya into the digital age. That is why I celebrate the late president Mwai Kibaki. His ways might have cut-throat and somewhat disagreeable, yet he remained resolute in ushering Kenya into the economic dream!

To The Late President Emilio Mwai Kibaki; your hard work, dedication and the ultimate sacrifice you made for this nation will live on and speak for you in eternity. Rest in Power!