Raila, Uhuru, Kenyans; Why I didn't go to work today

I didn't go to work today. Not because Baba said so but because like many other Kenyans, I don't have a job.

Don't you dare call me incompetent eventhough it was a struggle to pay my school fees?
I performed well in school. I have a sharp mind. A sharp mind that is going to waste.
I am scared that I am not getting any younger. When will the world give me a chance to show my greatness?

With no job, I struggle to pay my rent. I have debts I owe left right and centre. I am a fugitive, running away from my debt collectors.

When you see me, I don't look like brilliance. I don't have the money you have to dress up and so, I am easy to ignore, Kenya needs a make over.

I opened up my business but it was broken into. I ask for a loan,
I am asked for collateral!

I ask for help, I am labelled a beggar!
I am qualified. But I don't get jobs because of my tribe.

I don't qualify for any youth funds because my age betrays me!
The world abandoned me when I was young, now that I am approaching the old zone, I am more alone.

I break in my heart hearing the news of corruption. How much money that I am in desperate need of keeps going to the ones already rich.

I see the so called middle class passing me in their expensive cars.
They call me lazy, but I am not lazy, I just lack a shot in life.

I see them comfortable in the status quo Smoking shisha, drinking Tusker. Instead of wanting this country to be better
Why can't we all enjoy wealth together?

I walk, you drive. You build tall walls to keep me away out of fear
I resent you for your condescending demeanor. When I make it, will I also look down on others?

Why does wealth have to be for the few? Why don't the ones who've made it help the ones like me in the slums?
With their power to lend a hand? Why is the poor so forgotten?
Why is my voice going unheard? Why does politics leave a bad taste in my mouth?
Why do leaders let me down? When you see me at political rallies, I am just a desperate one looking for hope but maybe my hope doesn't lie in politics.
My hope lies in my fellow Kenyans. My hope is beyond 10 million strong
My hope is 48 million strong. United we stand for each other's joy and rights. Divided we fall to the abyss of us versus them.

My hope far exceeds NASA or Jubilee. I am not Independent, I need you
You are Kenyan as much as I am. What affects me should affect you and vice versa!

My hope is that we listen to each other. Let no Kenyan voice be suppressed. A suppressed voice grows to become an angry threat.
An angry threat grows to become chaos.

My hope is in a non political God who sees us all created in His own image. The God of peace but also the God of justice. The God of our National Anthem.

Know the difference between a country and a nation. A country is that geographical place within a border while a nation is when those people in that country are united and one. Love works my brother, love works my sister.

My hope is not to work but to build a nation and earn a salary in the process for prosperity. I don't want to work in a divided country.
I want a nation that works for all.

© Dayan Masinde