My parents generation and the generations before that seemed to have this narrative where those who worked hard ended up as successful individuals financially or in other aspects of life.
We know of those who used to go to school barefoot, first shoe was worn in form 1. Now they are in their 50s-80s and have multiple vehicles and real estate investment to last a few more generations. The grass to grace story.
Someone like field marshal probably grew on a plantation in Maragua/Muranga and since he was a smart chap, he moved up the social ladder and now he can log on to a computer and entertain us with his writing as he seeps on white cap and pops a blue pill like skittles knowing well that they will eventually kill him. Better than dying at a chum den on the slopes without a penny to your name isnât it?
Most of these CEOs in Nairobi didnât speak a lick of English until form 1. Most were fluent in Dholuo, Greek, Luhya, Kamba but now can negotiate multi million dollar deals without a sweat. Life was good, your current situation didnât determine your tomorrow.
We are in 2016. Times are changed. Few in the slums and gicagi are making it out of the trap they have been born into. We only read of Uhurus kids going to the UN summit and how Kalonzos kids are driving Jaguars. Waigurus son in a DB7 Aston Martin. Railas son has a street named after him. Nyongos seed has an Oscar. Itâs a good thing for them, we donât expect bad things for their offspring or them for that matterâŚbut we also want to hear an inspiring story of someone who didnât have a silver spoon up their ass.
Unrelated to the above: I read a thread about Boniface Mwangi vying for Stare he MP. Watu wameongea meffi na matope. The work this guy has done for our country through activism is too important and politics is a way for him to keep on pressing for change. This guy is a self made man. From poverty to being a champion of the people. Whether he receives donor funding or not, his intentions and his heart is at a good place but Kenyans are good at mud slinging and shit talking. Rooting for their tribal kingpins.
Tumeona wengi wakituambia politics is the only Avenue they can effect change. Boniface has seen nothing akina Orengo had live bullets fired at them and when they got into govt they sold community land in lamp and Kaa land in syokimau then watched as the same govt sent bulldozers to wreck the homes of their wretched clients.
Mutava was once billed as the best compromise presidential candidate when at ncck he used to give Moi sleepless nights, his sermons at Nairobi Baptist had hordes of Cid officers every Sunday. Now he is in politics and heading the budget and finance committee yet he keeps mum. Tumeona wengi
On one score you are wrong - hard work still pays, and you can still get rich/live a comfortable life without stealing. True, you wonât make it in your 20s or 30s, but in your 40s and 50s, your investments will come through.
na vile hawa wanawake are impatient, I pray avumilie till nkafunge vizuri, aache kusumbuka na mambo Ya gas kuisha bila notice and other non issues inasumbua Sisi hustlers.
a generation that extolled hard work. woke us up early and pushed us out the door to go sweat for our golden tomorrow. and theyâŚthey stayed back and divided it amongst themselves,like a morsel hidden away, to be eaten when the children are out at play.
now here we are, our faces drenched from watering eyes as we watch the lies they spun unraveling at the slightest of touch⌠I say no more! of your words, they will not still my grumbling stomach!
I will use my poverty induced six pack to seduce your wife so I can eat out of your pocket!
and if you raise objections, well youâll just have to Work Hard and try stop me.
I am the betrayed generation. that one which wanders. trying to dispell the disillusionment cast upon us.
and one day maybe, our eyes dryâŚwe shall come around the bend of a distant future weary and empty. to find your bones. bleached and crumbling and we shall shed a final tearâŚfor the ghost of our childhoodâs future.
The rich stay up, very little mobility upwards. There is many reasons for this. On top of an economy or systems unavailable to support a middle class. Its every man for himself. Also our education system just teaches us books. Not to think outside the box. Hard work helps but it is not enough. The day we start building our own Thika Highway that doesnt crumble in 2 months, or design and build our own hydroelectric dam or oil refinery with parts sourced from Kenya, will mean the middle class systems are in place. Then you can see the upward mobility.
Boniface Mwangi i believe might be encountering a money problem. His resources may have run thin. To do what he does requires significant resources. To continue to do what he does the best way is through politics. My prediction is this is the last we will see of his activism once he wins office. Every activist who has gone into politics has disappeared.
Mimi nilisema itâs weird that Boniface Mwangi is starting to make sense. I used to dismiss him as just another madman, but with the massive corruption going on, itâs not easy to just dismiss him as an empty debe.
On to the main topic: I know a family friend who claims to have received job offers from 3 companies after completing his secondary education (sijui A levels). Yaani it was that easy, so long as you had some education. He actually had to turn down two companies. Compare that with the current situation where even people with a masterâs degree apply for internship at Tuskyâs and you realize just how serious the situation is. Nowadays, a degree is nothing to write home about. Those things are handed out like candy.
Another major difference between the two generations, in my opinion, involves the matter of inheritance/succession. Before, your father had a piece of land, and if you were his child (son at least), you were assured of a parcel of that land. When you came of age and married, you could start tilling that land and make your own money without waiting for the old man to keel over. Nowadays, the âlandâ most parents offer their kids is an education. You use that education to make it in life. Itâs no longer fixed. With education, you have 20 year old millionaires, and 40 year olds whoâre still struggling to make it. The lines have been blurred. While before it took decades of hard work for one to become a millionaire, nowadays it can happen overnight, and legally too. But it takes people with âa very particular set of skillsâ, to quote Bryan Mills, to make it in the 21st century. Unfortunately, most of these skills involve stealing or deception in one form or another. And itâs contagious. You see your neighbour who used to be dumb in school use his skills in forgery to become a millionaire, seemingly without facing consequences, and suddenly you feel like itâs okay to use your accounting skills to fleece the company you work for. And so on.
Donât you think it has become much harder than it was in your time? Think of all the people you went to school with and go down the line and evaluate each age bracket.
Your rambling essay seems to be rationalizing your personal failures. What is missing is whether you hade those successful grass-to-riches parents and whether they imperted any of that sacrifice on you.
Boniface Mwangi has eaten a chunk of NGO money and figured out the 5-yearly rhythm that Kenyan activists dance to once the election cycle begins. Watch as Mwalimu Mati (Marsgroupkenya), Barack Muluka, Martha Karua, Gladwell Otieno, Maina Kiai (The Peoples Court), Angela Ambitho, etc, etc. get busy and build websites to snag the dollars. 3 months after the polls, none of those sites is functional.
As Guka saya, work hard and earn a decent living. Disparities will always be there and you should not measure yourself against the privileged kids of washed-out politicians.
With the risk of sounding like Iâm blowing my own horn, Im under 30 and I think Iâve done pretty well for myself so far. My parents are hard working and I think I donât fall far from the tree.
You can inteprete my ârumblingâ as you want. I have family and friends who werenât as lucky as I wasâŚgrowing up in hard environment takes a toll on how far you can go in this country. Note that Iâm not saying there are no success stories but there are much fewer.
I think youâre using generalization to justify your criticism of Boniface Mwangi. Iâm more rational, I give people benefit of doubt.
[ol]
[li]First of all, someone (you) writes from his own perspective, what you see. Doesnât mean itâs the absolute truth or itâs wrong, itâs simply what you have observed in your circle. People are still making it and cleanly too, thatâs what I have seen. Consumerism and population growth play a major role if you angle yourself properly in business, this I have seen. Kids of the rich will always be, ata io kitambo Iâm sure most of them walisoma ngambo when others studied here. Hard work plus a modern brain will always pay. If from where youâre seated you see a lot of stagnation donât think kila mahali kuko ivo, Boniface, the example you gave is a good example[/li][/ol]
I have always thought so, which makes me wonder why you have started to sing the âmarginalizationâ dirge.
You brought up Boniface and expressed your admiration for his âactivismâ. I was also expressing my opinion, which is that he is an attention whore given to tasteless antics to grab media and international NGO attention. His pigs-blood demo was such an example, as was his attack on a public official where he poured a red substance on his uniform.
Let us see if he can mount a campaign and get the numbers needed to make a serious run for an MP position.
May be Iâm becoming a social activist like Mwangi.
In the village my parents come from, men finish primary school and demand part of the shamba. Our shaggz has really been affected by land fragmentation. As soon as you get your portion you sell it off and buy a boda boda and move either to the closest urban area or NairobiâŚsmh. The story only gets worse from there onwards.
This and many other incidents ndio nasikia.
Where does uncontrolled population growth come into your first point? Iâll keep drilling down this point into your brains until you can hold it no more. When people used to be invited for three or for jobs after Form Four, what was Kenyaâs population?
It has become harder, yes, but what factors have led to that? Except for the Moi years, Kenya has grown at an average 5-7 per cent, so economic growth cannot be entirely blamed. So what gives? My two cents? UNCONTROLLED POPULATION GROWTH & unequal distribution of wealth (this comes through corruption, cartels etc)
Talking about âuncontrolled population growthâ is like hindsight, which is 20/20. Now that these surplus people are here with us, what shall we do about them? Anyone want to volunteer on behalf of humanity to exit planet earth? Note, the people who complain of overpopulation donât see that theyâre also contributing to the problem. I think the biggest issue of our time is inequality â not overpopulation.
I think the biggest issue of our time is inequality â not overpopulation.